New album from My Morning Jacket, Circuital, is the kind of return to form I have hoped to see from them for a long time. Really, ever since I heard "One Big Holiday" I've wanted to see them focus on being THAT band. Long live the rock band. And it's only $5!
The Civil Wars widely beloved album, Barton Hollow, is only $3.99 today. Go get it.
I don't know what to say about Sojourn Music. I feel like if I'm too positive then I'm not really reviewing. I feel like I need to find something critical to say, because I'm pretty much head-over-heels for everything they do. Seriously tough for me to do anything but tell everyone about their music because it's all worth having and loving.
That said, Sojourn has a new album of Isaac Watts hymns: The Water and the Blood. Their previous album of Watts' hymns is Over the Grave.
My initial reaction to The Water and the Blood is the feeling that it's missing something. That's what happens when you open your previous album with "Warrior." I looked for that song. There's really nothing close. Where Over the Grave rocked and rolled and in many ways roared, The Water and the Blood seems to go in a different direction. I was concerned.
The Water and the Blood is reserved. It's kinda sad. Has Sojourn lost it's rock? No, I don't think so. And it took some thinking for me to figure out why I was expecting something I wasn't getting.
I think this is a new movement in the story that Sojourn is unfolding. It's the moan. It's the blues. It's not the joyous push of going Over the Grave. In many ways, The Water and the Blood is standing at the edge of the grave and meditating on who God is in view of the grave. It doesn't lack in Gospel, in fact it gives us the Gospel richly. And it's not always brooding, as we find a bit more daylight in songs like "Blest Be the Lamb." But for the most part it speaks to us during difficulty, and the mood makes it clear. It's about death and suffering, and doesn't always give us healing. Sometimes The Water and the Blood helps us to cry out when healing has not yet come. It's seeking the LORD. It's waiting on the LORD. It's trusting in the LORD. While distress is near and pain is felt, those suffering while in the grip of Christ have One listening to our cries.
There are times when I need worship songs like "Warrior," but there are also times I need The Water and the Blood. It's rich food for the aching soul. Listen and receive grace in your time of need, and know that the LORD "spilt His Son's blood in our place." ("From Deep Distress")
I highly recommend The Water and the Blood. Please pick it up. If you move quickly, you can get any of Sojourn's albums for $6. Also, for $15 you can pick up their last three albums. Don't miss some of the best and most creative and most theological worship music I've heard. At this price, you should get it all.
I started preaching through Paul's letter to the Romans a couple of weeks ago. Thought it would be helpful to list resources/commentaries I'm using. I listed them roughly in the order of how much time I give each volume. I'm not even coming close to reading everything listed, of course. Some only get a brief glance as I need another opinion. But here's what I have and what I'll use during this series.
Most essential...
As needed and occasional...
Devotional...
When applicable...
Here are a few new albums worth buying (or at least checking out)...
Check out two new Arcade Fire songs, "Speaking in Tongues" and "Culture War" (via). These will be on a reissue of The Suburbs coming in August. By the way, The Suburbs & the rest of Arcade Fire's albums are $5 right now.
The new album from Low, C'mon, is outstanding. One of my favorites of 2011 so far. I keep going back to it. Here's their Tiny Desk Concert that showcases their talent well...
Some highly anticipated new albums streaming for free right now...
The Antlers had my favorite album of 2009, Hospice. Their new album, Burst Apart, is out and getting great reviews. Live in Studio A they play "Parentheses." Love this song...
Sojourn Music is putting out some of the most creative and theological worship music around. It's always one of my first recommendations for folks looking for worship music. Now you can get their last three albums for just $15 in their The World Didn't End Sale. If you don't have them, you need to get them now. The sale may not last long. Or buy any of their albums individually for $6 each, including the newer albums or their earlier releases like Before the Throne (song "We Are Listening" is outstanding) and These Things I Remember.
Don't miss this sale!
I really enjoy everything from Silversun Pickups. Their album, Carnavas, is $3.99 today only. Their other albums, Pikul & Swoon, are only $5 right now. They will remind you of Smashing Pumpkins a bit. Enjoy!
One of my favorite new bands, composed of three young singers from separate bands, is Middle Brother. Their new Daytrotter Session is a double -- 8 free songs. Enjoy! You should also pick up their excellent, self-titled album.
From Summer Wakes the Bear Who Sleeps by Chicago church planter Aaron Youngren, in the chapter "Exposition: Thoughts on Modern Fundamentalism"...
The strangest modern dogma is found in these four words: "I could be wrong."
[...]
How pitiable the 21st Centry martyr, who is stoned to death with nothing to say, but, "Behold! I believe that I see what my experience leads me to think is the opening of things that some call heaven, and what our theologians call the Son of Man, who seems to be standing at the right hand of what, in the Christian worldview, is commonly called God. I could be wrong."
Bob Boilen at NPR Music has been a worthy guide to good music for me for years now. So when he said today that King Creosote and John Hopkins: Diamond Mine is the best album of 2011 so far, I had to listen. I'm listening now and very much enjoying it. It's quite magical. Go stream it in full before the May 24 release.
From Boilen...
If the year ended right now, I'd know my favorite record of 2011. Out May 24, Diamond Mine does what audio does best: It takes me far from the here-and-now.
This labor of love, seven years in the making, opens on a café terrace in a Scottish town. Jon Hopkins sets his field recordings, rich in regional accents and casual conversation, against a lovely, spare piano. It's a few minutes before these soundscapes give way to the quivering vocals of King Creosote, at which point the scope of this collaboration becomes clear. This is storytelling through sounds and with song — bring your own pictures.
Creosote, a.k.a. Kenny Anderson, and Jon Hopkins describe this unusual record as the "soundtrack to a romanticized version of a life lived in a Scottish coastal village." Hopkins is a sharp musician: Electronics are his tools, dance music is how he fills nightclubs and textures are how he fills songs. Creosote is a prolific songwriter based in Crail, a small fishing village in the northeast of Fife, Scotland.
There's acoustic guitar and melodic-yet-ambient accordion holding these tunes together. The words to the songs seem to reflect big dreams — perhaps unfulfilled — set against the wonders of the everyday. This is a record for your late night or your quiet Sunday. Put it on when you when you need calm or you're prepared for a mental journey, and be grateful that in a fast-paced world, King Creosote and Jon Hopkins stopped and took their time.
New song from Bon Iver, "Calgary"...
Here are a few soon-to-be-released albums streaming free I think are worth checking out.
Okkervil River's new album, I Am Very Far, is quickly becoming a 2011 favorite of mine. Their past albums are all $5, and all worth having. It's some of my favorite music. Here they are playing Letterman with "Rider"...
New edition of Christianity Explored (follow on Facebook | Twitter) is out from the good folks at The Good Book Company. Go check it out.
Some really outstanding new albums out today...
Elbow makes some seriously cool anthemic rock songs. I'm a big fan of their previous album, The Seldom Seen Kid. Here's "Open Arms" from their new album, Build a Rocket Boys! (only $5.99!). Lyrics are below the video. Prodigal son, anyone?
You're a law unto yourself
And we don't suffer dreamers
But neither should you walk the earth alone
So with finger rolls and folding chairs
And a volley of streamers
We can be there for tweaks and repairs
Should you come back home
We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again
Tables are for pounding here
And when we've got you surrounded
The man you are will know the boy you were
And you're not the man who fell to earth
You're the man of La Mancha
And we've love enough to light the street
'Cause everybody's here
We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again
We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
The moon is out looking for trouble
And everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
The moon wants a scrap or a cuddle
And everyone's here
We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again
We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Come home again
The moon is out looking for trouble
The moon wants a scrap or a cuddle
The moon is face down in a puddle
And everyone's here
