Friday, June 18, 2010

You Can Take the Rast Out of Jamaica, but…

When I was looking for that photo of Pastor Wilken in the kilt the other day, I also came across this photo of Dr. Larry Rast, who is Academic Dean at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne and a Professor of Historical Theology.

Some of you may not know it, but Dr. Rast spent a couple of pre-sem summers [possibly] bumming around in Jamaica, [definitely] sporting dreadlocks and [possibly] studying Rastafarianism for a yet-to-be-released book. Hence the title for his blog, Rastaman Vibrations. Rastaman Vibrations is also the title of one of reggae singer Bob Marley’s albums, which has the well-known song “Positive Vibration.”

If you’ve ever wondered what Dr. Larry Rast is thinking, you’ve obviously not visited his blog. There you can climb behind that dapper smile and get an idea of what’s going on in Dr. Rast’s head – thoughts on soccer, Lutheranism, herding cats, and, if you tarry long enough, a nice selection of tunes to play in the background.

After I perused for a minute or two, music started playing. As has happened in the past, I wasn’t totally sure from whence this set of music emanated (since I had multiple internet windows open), until I noticed the little video playing towards the bottom of the right sidebar. Of course, I should have known from the title of the blog and the tag line as well: “This is Lawrence Rast's blog. It deals with stuff that interests him--especially American Religious history, Lutheranism, obscure music, and Africa.” I didn’t hear any Bob Marley, but plenty of tunes from groups such as The Raspberries, Elvis, The Lemon Pipers, The Beatles, and The Flamin’ Groovies. Having listened to the lyrics of some of these songs, I can safely place Dr. Rast under the not-a-pietist recording label.



So if you’re in the mood for Rast’s random thoughts or some good music, this is the spot. I just heard October Country’s “My Girlfriend is a Witch” playing:

Riding high
Leaving trails of smoke across the sky
On a broom
Glad that I am safe within my room

I wonder if he’s got the original vinyl for that one?



To set the stage, here’s a little positive vibration for you:

4 comments:

Ted Badje said...

Thou shalt not do bad Photoshop.

Scott Diekmann said...

It's actually http://www.yearbookyourself.com/.

Dr. Lawrence Rast said...

Around the 4th of July I got all fired up about John Philip Sousa. Now I've switched all my music to marches. Come have a listen!

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