Sufjan Stevens - death with dignity live in london, 2015

"As we progress through the Lenten season, I am embracing anticipation for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. By the grace of God, I find myself closer to understanding the significance of Holy Saturday than ever before; enduring, with patience and hope, the indeterminate time and space of the in-between. And, at thirty, I am expectant and ready to be greeted by the Risen Christ on Easter morn, as if for the first time."

Holy Saturday

"That Saturday morning seemed to have a pattern. I wonder whether all days have. It was a withdrawn day. The little gray whisper of my Aunt Deborah came to me, "Of course, Jesus is dead. This is the only day in the world's days when He is dead. And all men and women are dead too. Jesus is in Hell. But tomorrow. Just wait until tomorrow. Then you'll see something." - John Steinbeck, "The Winter of Our Discontent"

Sufjan Stevens - no shade in the shadow of the cross live in edinburgh, 2015

"No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross" is a song by American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens. It is the tenth track and lead single from his seventh studio album, Carrie & Lowell, and was released digitally on February 16, 2015 on Asthmatic Kitty and as a one-track 7" on March 3, 2015 on Joyful Noise Recordings."

Bonnie Prince Billy - the cross, 2016

"When it first appeared on Prince's 1987 opus, "The Cross" stood out as a direct expression of gospel-soul, but with a Purple imprimatur all over it. The song's words were classic and timeless, pointing to a particular cross-section of tradition — African-American and Christian, with an awareness of the urban rings of hell first described in hymn by Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield. Yet the instrumentation was led by a metallic electric guitar and sitar that pulled the song out of a well-defined period and idea. Instead, it reached into something psychedelic, cosmically and spiritually fulfilling, and yet also ungrounded — scriptures as ecstatic metaphor more than text. No denomination or religiosity; just a hint of eternal truth."

Holy Friday - Good Friday has always troubled me

"Good Friday has always troubled me. Even as a child I was deep taken with sorrow, not at the agony of the crucifixion, but feeling the blighting loneliness of the Crucified. And I have never lost the sorrow, planted by Matthew, and read to me in the clipped, tight speech of my New England Great Aunt Deborah. Perhaps it was worse this year. We do take the story to ourselves and identify with it."

Bonnie Prince Billy - i see a darkness, 1999

"Mojo deemed it a "modern classic" and the twentieth best album released during the magazine's lifetime. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die."

Holy Friday - Why do they call it Good Friday?

"Why do they call it Good Friday?" "It's from the Latin," said Joey. "Goodus, goodilius, goodum, meaning lousy." - John Steinbeck, "The Winter of Our Discontent"

The Reds Pinks And Purples - me and magdalena, 2023

"Have you heard of the band with three colors in it? You can try to guess, but I’m still gonna tell you. San Francisco’s local alternative indie band The Reds, Pinks & Purples, led by Glenn Donaldson, infuses hints of 70’s jangly pop into instrumental sessions with lyrics that leave you feeling the same way you might feel after listening to Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence album."

Holy Friday - I do love you

"She put her arms around him. "Let's be silly," she said. "Please don't say swear words on Good Friday. I do love you" - John Steinbeck, "The Winter of Our Discontent"

Bear's Den - loneliness, 2023

"Heartrending and cathartic all at once, “Loneliness” is a poetic unburdening of painful, heavy emotion."

Holy Friday - Do you remember?

"Did you wake up silly?" "The year's at the day. The day's at the morn." "I guess you did. Do you remember it's Good Friday?" He said hollowly, "The dirty Romans are forming up for Calvary." "Don't be sacrilegious. Will Marullo let you close the store at eleven?" - John Steinbeck, "The Winter of Our Discontent"

Fragile Animals - lonely in the sun, 2023

"Fragile Animals’ debut album is a bold, best-foot-forward fusion of dreamy, distorted shoegaze and boppy indie-pop. But don’t let Slow Motion Burial’s triumphant, upbeat sound fool you – themes of loss, loneliness, and self-doubt are tackled with their trademark subtle lyricism."

The Radio Dept - this repeated sodomy, 2015

"Jangly guitars and reverb-drenched vocals—the Radio Dept. have gone back to their indie pop roots with "This Repeated Sodomy", their latest one-off single to follow 2010's excellent Clinging to a Scheme. With a skittering drum beat lagging slightly behind Johan Duncason's slack vocals and loose guitar, "Sodomy"'s musical elements are cut to the quick by its lyrical content. "Establish equality/ Instead of this repeated sodomy" is pretty straight forward as far as politics go, and as always, couching their message in a lovely puff of dream-pop makes it all the more biting."

The Go-Betweens - the devil's eye, 1988

"Unbelievably brilliant, I think the whole album was incredible. Normally if you have an album with two singers and two writers, there's always one that you like better. Not in the case of The Go-Betweens, two equally talented guys, just like Lennon and McCartney."

Shrimp - this body means nothing to me, 2019

"You are touching some deep stuff here. Please continue... seriously good purge. Exorcize those demons for all of us!"

Death Cab For Cutie - asphalt meadows, 2022

"Gibbard has been admirably candid about the personal turmoil he suffered while creating Death Cab for Cutie’s most beloved music, in contrast to the sobriety and equilibrium he experiences now—challenging fans to consider what they miss about “the old Death Cab.” But the existential burden of being in a massively popular band with dwindling acclaim has lightened over the past three years."

Jars Of Clay - they will know we are christians by our love cover, 2005

"Redemption Songs is a collection of reinvented hymns and spiritual songs. As part of a church community that believed passionately the blessing of understanding the story of redemption through early church songs and ancient hymns, Jars of Clay found themselves a part of a growing renaissance, one that inspired them to write new songs using the rich hymn texts as the foundation."

Holy Thursday

“I didn’t always use Major Charley’s method, but on a day like this Thursday, when I knew my attention should be as uninterrupted as possible, I awakened when the day opened its door a crack and 1 visited my family as Major Charley had. I visited them in chronological order, bowed to Aunt Deborah. She was named for Deborah the Judge of Israel and I have read that a judge was a military leader. Perhaps she responded to her name. My great-aunt could have led armies. She did marshal the cohorts of thought. My joy in earning for no visible profit came from her. Stern though she was, she was charged with curiosity and had little use for anyone who was not. I gave her my obeisance.” - John Steinbeck, "The Winter of Our Discontent"

The Vacant Lots - amnesia, 2023

“It’s about feeling dissociative and getting burned by the fire. Then coping with how this inevitably leads to the dissolution of the relationship.”

The Waterboys - red army blues live, 2007

"Red Army Blues" first appeared on the twelve-inch single for "December" from The Waterboys. The song is a first-person narrative of the life of a young Soviet soldier in World War II who participates in the Battle of Berlin. The soldier, along with many others, is sent to the Gulag by Joseph Stalin. The song is based upon the book The Diary of Vikenty Angorov and borrows main musical theme from Polyushko-polye by Lev Knipper."