Music Mondays

The term "shawshanked" has become a cultural reference to describe the situation when you are channel surfing and get totally caught up in watching a particular movie you hadn't been looking for. It is derived from the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" which has had that effect on many people due to its constant playing on various cable stations. 

Personally, I enjoy that movie but don't feel obligated to watch it when I see it on the channel guide. The mid-nineties movie, "Heat" however, absolutely sucks me in when I see it on. I can't recall ever seeing it on DVD, so I am sure it has plenty of objectionable material, but given the FCC edits cable stations make, I find it acceptable viewing as a thoroughly compelling and dramatic movie. Twice this weekend I ran across it and twice I forgot what I had been watching and let myself get into this classic cops-and-robbers film.

What I've grown to appreciate more and more in each successive viewing is the musical score. It matches the tension and mood of each scene. And in the climactic ending, when the protagonist and antagonist square off in a shoot-out and chase, one particular song captures the scene perfectly and ends the movie exquisitely. 

That song is lyric-less but mesmerizing "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" by Moby.

This weekend, I started to ponder both the content and title of this song- because apparently repeated viewings makes you think about such details. 

I thought about perfectly the song matched the title when you remove it from the context of the movie and apply it to Genesis 1, which describes how "the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters" at the beginning of Creation. Listen to that song, think of Genesis, and see if your mind isn't entranced by beauty, transcendence, and the glory of God.
 
I don't think all of this is just coincidence either. Moby has made a number of different statements about his belief in Christ (though His views on the Church and organized Christianity, while true in many ways, miss the point). It seems likely that Moby, being familiar with Scripture's introductory scene, was inspired to compose this piece. A piece that ended up a fitting ending to the final scene of a really entertaining (though spiritually meaningless) movie. Such is the essence of Music Monday, sometimes spiritual truth is found in what is trite.