Music
Go pick up the Bifrost Arts free sampler. Love their music!
STREAMING FREE
DAYTROTTER FREE
$5 ALBUMS
NOTEABLE RELEASE
A Very She & Him Christmas (out today, only $5)
I don't talk much about my favorite songs. I talk about songs I like, and there are many. But one new song that I've just completely fallen for is "Wait" by M83. It's off their new 22 track double album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, which is sure to be high on my list of best albums from 2011. This isn't an official video, just a picture, but you get to hear the song. If you want to really digest it, close your eyes and crank it up. It builds and soars. Enjoy!
This is how you sing the National Anthem without making it about you. It's classy. I give you Zooey Deschanel respectfully and beautifully singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a World Series game. For more beautiful singing, check out here albums with M. Ward -- She & Him: Volume 1 ($5) & Volume 2 ($5.99). And just out today for only $5...A Very She & Him Christmas.
Here are all the songs from Friday/Saturday in order. At least that's what worship leader Jimmy McNeal told me. I'm pretty sure he repeated "Let Your Kingdom Come" on Saturday, but since I can't remember exactly where, I'll leave it off. If someone knows, let me know and I'll fix the list. Hope you enjoyed the corporate singing as much as I did.
Jimmy tells me he has an album coming next year. If I learn more, I'll let you know.
Friday Morning
"Your Great Name" - The People's Church
"From the Inside Out" - Hillsong
"You Alone Can Rescue" - Matt Redman
"How Great Thou Art" -hymn (Arron Ivey version)
"Let Your Kingdom Come" - Aaron Ivey
Friday Afternoon/Evening
"You Alone Can Rescue" - Matt Redman
"Hallelujah! What a Savior!" - hymn (Aaron Ivey band version)
"How Marvelous" - hymn
Saturday Morning
"The Wonderful Cross" - Chris Tomlin
"Your Great Name" - Hillsong
"Hallelujah! What a Savior!" - Aaron Ivey version
Saturday Afternoon/Evening
"How Marvelous"
"Hallelujah! What a Savior!" - Aaron Ivey version
"Forever Reign" - Hillsong
"How He Loves" - David Crowder version
I very much enjoyed the song choice this morning, so I asked th worship leader, Jimmy McNeal, for the set list. Here you go...
"Your Great Name" - The People's Church
"From the Inside Out" - Hillsong
"You Alone Can Rescue" - Matt Redman
"How Great Thou Art" -hymn (Arron Ivey version)
"Let Your Kingdom Come" - Aaron Ivey
If you haven't gotten into the vintage 80's sound of M83, you should. It's great stuff. Their new album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, releases tomorrow (pick it up) and is streaming today. Their previous album, Saturdays = Youth, was outstanding. Here's the new video for "Midnight City"...
Some good albums streaming free before their release. Enjoy!
Great four song Tiny Desk Concert from Wilco. Love their album, The Whole Love. You should pick it up if you haven't already.
Tim Casteel asked me a great question in a comment on a recent post: "I'd be interested to know: what else is on your potential 'best albums of 2011' list?"
There are a bunch that will get my consideration and I can't list them all, nor recall all of them. I expect some to pop up high on the list that just haven't come to mind as I post this. I give each album a good, fresh listen as I work on my list. So don't quote me when my list comes out in December and there are some new names high on the list and listed albums not on the list. :) Here are some I expect to compete for the top albums, in alphabetical order.
What isn't on my list that should be?
If you aren't a fan of Bifrost Arts (and brainchild, Isaac Wardell), I hope you will remedy that. Come O Spirit! is amazing, and their Christmas album, Salvation is Created, is maybe my favorite Christmas album. I gave it high marks in my review. They are making great, historically based worship music, and I want them to make more! Here's how we all can help them make more through their Kickstarter campaign...
Bifrost Arts has had a very full year!
Between a conference, a new curriculum, lots of new songs, and new liturgical materials, we've barely had time to catch our breaths. We're so encouraged by the ways that God has grown this project of ours into something larger than we could have foreseen four years ago, when we began.
Now, after a two-year hiatus since our last full-length, Bifrost Arts is excited to announce that a new record is fully underway. Our plan is to gather together some of our favorite singers and musicians from past records, as well as a whole host of new talent to converge in the recording studio this winter, to record another full-length record.
For the last two years, we've been writing an compiling new church music, trying it out in our congregations, as well as demoing the new material. The theme of the record is the Lamb of God. Many of the songs are are about death and resurrection, about communion, and about suffering and redemption. Folks who have attended Bifrost Arts events in the last two years will recognize some of them from our hymn-sings.
Please consider giving generously to this project so that we can continue our work of writing, producing, and performing new sacred music for our churches and for our communities.
(You can email bifrostarts@gmail.com with questions about the details of the project, and the recording budget.)
Go support these great artists as they produce more music to bless the church.
The Field: Looping State of Mind came out today. When it started streaming free online recently I got my first listen and loved it. I just picked it up today and I'm listening as I do some work. It breathes wonderful, danceable, non-concentration breaking, atmospheric soundscapes. It fills up the room. I think you will like it a lot. Don't believe me? Ask Pitchfork, Drowned in Sound, CokeMachineGlow, and others.
I surprised many by choosing Four Tet's There Is Love In You as my album of year last year over Arcade Fire: The Suburbs and The National: High Violet. This year The Field is already making a strong argument for my best album of 2011.
Pretty cool marching band version of LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem."
Another month, another 100 $5 albums from Amazon. My favorites & some greatest hits albums...
GREATEST HITS
When I write, study for sermons, etc, I often like to listen to music to drown out other distrations and give my work some rhythm. If it's too lyric-driven (which is a lot of the music I like), it doesn't work. Here are a few of the albums I enjoy when I'm doing work that requires concentration and focus. Name in the comments some albums and artists you like to work to.
Wilco's brand new album, The Whole Love, is out today and on sale for $5.99.
UPDATE: The Whole Love Deluxe Edition is also out on Amazon and it's $9.99. It's the regular album plus 4 songs, so if you purchased the $5.99 version, you can go here and download the other 4 songs and essentially pay the same price. If you haven't bought it yet, I would get the deluxe edition.
Streaming FREE
Daytrotter FREE Sessions
Beirut's Tiny Desk Concert is wonderful, as is their album The Rip Tide
Wilco played "Born Alone" on Letterman, from The Whole Love...
One of my favorite bands in the world, Beirut, playing a Tiny Desk Concert. You should pick up their excellent new album, The Rip Tide. It's only $6.99.
By now most of you have seen the amazing video of Marc Martel (member of Downhere) auditioning for the Queen Extravaganza. It's really remarkable. Watch it below. And then watch Marc sing "Asleep in the Light" by Keith Green.
Andrew Peterson's new live album, Above These City Lights, is only $5.99.
