Rivers in the Wasteland by NEEDTOBREATHE free essay sample

Needtobreathe is an American alternative rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart with lead vocals, guitar, and piano, Bo Rinehart with backing vocals and guitar, and Seth Bolt with backing vocals and bass. Their most recent album is called â€Å"Rivers in the Wasteland† and was released this year. It is easily recognizable by their more organic and acoustic-driven sound, attributed to the recent resignation of their former drummer Joe Stillwell. This new album is more mature, featuring beautiful lyrics describing their never-ending faith, loyalty to each other, and relationship with God. The opening song, â€Å"Wasteland† is the story of realizing what matters most to us in the end. Sometimes in all of our lives we feel as if we are living in a wasteland, constantly being bombarded with the negativity of society, and this song tells us to have hope and look for the â€Å"river in the wasteland†. We will write a custom essay sample on Rivers in the Wasteland by NEEDTOBREATHE or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This song perfectly sets up the album, by explaining the title of the album and revealing the trials and tribulations of the band right at the starting gate. â€Å"Brother† is a song essentially about the relationship of the band. Their brotherhood was put to the test with the resignation of Joe Stillwell, and they passed with flying colors. Not only did they come back even stronger than before, but it also reflected in their music. Lines like â€Å"brother let me be your shelter†, and â€Å"I can be the one you call when you’re low† show just how much they care for each other as a band. Bo Rinehart says in an interview â€Å"The band had to go through a pretty tough time to realize how much we needed each other, but we came out the other side with an appreciation that only brothers can have.† â€Å"Difference Maker† is probably the most meaningful and thought-provoking songs in the album. At first it comes off as beautiful and inspirational, but after really listening to the lyrics, you realize it might be just the opposite. It is more of a sad satire, about an arrogant man who looks back at the crowd and says that he is the difference maker; he is the only one who speaks to God. What Bear wanted us to realize is, â€Å"How valuable are we, really?†. It shows us how foolish our pride really is. The last song, â€Å"More Heart, Less Attack† pinpoints the theme of the band as a whole, to be more loving and less hateful or negative. It is the perfect ending to a fantastic album, leaving us inspired and wanting more. In an interview, Bear says that the album to him is autobiographical. He says, â€Å"That’s what the wasteland is all about. There’s a crack in the door filled with light, and that’s all we have to start. Our ambition got in the way and our priorities got in the wrong place, and being on the road, and not knowing where we are. At the end of the album, the truth is there, and we’ve realigned our priorities. That really is the story of what happened to the band over that year. God had a plan for this album.† Rivers in the Wasteland teaches us about love, faith, and brotherhood with inspiring lyrics and beautiful melodies. It is an eye-opening album that I will continue to listen to for many years to come.

The Differences Between Rack and Wrack

The Differences Between Rack and Wrack As Jeremy Butterfield points out: The relationship between the forms rack and wrack is complicated, and the spellings are sometimes interchangeable (Oxford A-Z of English Usage, 2013). Definitions Rack and Wrack as VerbsAs a verb, rack means to torture or cause great suffering, or to place (something) in or on a rack. The verb wrack  means to wreck or cause the ruin of something. Rack  and  Wrack  as NounsAs a  noun,  rack means a frame, a shelf, an instrument of torture, or a state of intense anguish. The noun wrack means destruction or wreckage. Idiomatically, we may rack the billiard balls, rack up points, and roast a rack of lamb. But when it comes to nerve-(w)racking experiences or (w)racking our brains, most writers, dictionaries, and usage guides admit to being (w)racked with uncertainty. See the (sometimes contradictory) usage notes below. Examples One  bicycle, rusted as if  it had been there for years, leaned in the rack, its fenders supporting crescents of white. (John Updike, Flight.  The Early Stories: 1953-1975. Knopf,  2003)To delight in seeing men stabbed, poisoned, racked, or impaled is certainly the sign of a cruel temper. (Joseph Addison, The Spectator, April 20, 1711)I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all, I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing. (Agatha Christie, An Autobiography, 1977)Penny was wracked with sorrow for his friends. His face was strained. (Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling, 1938)There is a half-filled baby bottle on the cupboard shelf. She picks it up. The babys cry is becoming nerve-wracking. (Paddy Chayefsky, The Goddess, 1958)But having to be present for merchandise deliveries that Eunice ordered online or on the phone was nerve-racking. (Joseph Wambaugh, Hollywood Moon, 2009)Lud had been going to wrack and ruin for centuries. (Stephen King, Wizard, and Glass, 1997) Usage Notes and Idiom Alerts Rack and wrack are confused so frequently that most dictionaries now list both spellings for the verb meaning torment and the noun meaning destruction. (Margery Fee and Janice McAlpine, Guide to Canadian English Usage, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, 2007) Idioms and Variant Spellings In some senses, the verbs rack and wrack are synonymous, and the two words, each as either noun or verb, are nearly interchangeable at some points. The usage problems arise over which spelling to use where there seems to be a possible or a clear overlap in meaning. Most Edited English will prefer to rack your brain, wrack and ruin, storm-wracked, and pain-wracked, but other Standard written evidence, including some Edited English, will use the variant spelling for each. (Kenneth G. Wilson, The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Columbia University Press, 1993) (W)rack and Ruin The expression (w)rack and ruin preserves the original sense of destruction. (These days rack, and ruin is the more common spelling in both British and American English, by the evidence of the BNC and CCAE.)...As often, figurative uses of rack and wrack have enlarged their domains and made the spelling interchangeable wherever the sense of severe stress and destruction apply. Wrack seems to be gaining ground there, although still less common than rack in collocations such as nerve-racking and racking ones brains. (Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage. Cambridge University Press, 2004) Nerve-Racking Wrack is commonly used as a verb synonymous with the figurative senses of rack...Probably the most sensible attitude would be to ignore the etymologies of rack and wrack (which, of course, is exactly what most people do) and regard them simply as spelling variants of one word. If you choose to toe the line drawn by the commentators, however, you will want to write nerve-racking, rack ones brains, storm-wracked, and for good measure wrack and ruin. Then you will have nothing to worry about being criticized for- except, of course, for using too many clichà ©s. (Merriam-Websters Dictionary of English Usage, Merriam-Webster, 1994) Rack em Up The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage has a great idea here: Never use wrack, because it confuses people. Instead, when wrack means wreck, just use wreck. (But when you mean inflict damage, spell it wreak. You wreak havoc on; you never wreck havoc because havoc is unwreckable.)O.K., keynoters, lets rack em up: Its traditional to rack up your opponent with a good tongue-lashing for having led the country to wrack and ruin, and after you rack up a victory, you can wreak patronage vengeance from high atop your city on a hill. (William Safire, Quoth the Maven: More on Language from William Safire. Random House, 1993) Wracked With Doubt The noun rack applies to various types of framework; the verb rack means to arrange on a rack, to torture, trouble, or torment: He was placed on the rack. She racked her brain....The noun wrack  means ruin or destruction, as in wrack and ruin and wracked with pain. Also nerve-wracking....The verb wrack has substantially the same meaning as the verb rack, the latter being preferred. (The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law 2011. Associated Press, 2015) Practice He placed his trunk in the luggage _____ and took a seat by the window.The bridge had fallen into _____ and ruin. Answers to Practice Exercises Answers to Practice Exercises: Rack and Wrack He placed his trunk in the luggage rack and took a seat by the window.The bridge had fallen into (w)rack and ruin.