If this is the new direction of Vampire Weekend, I'm in! These two songs have me all worked up over the awesomeness. New album, Modern Vampires of the City, out in May. Here's "Diane Young" and "Step."
In his new blog post about his book, Every Good Endeavor, Tim Keller discusses four ways Christian faith influences and shapes our work. It is what he says is the meaning of his book in a nutshell. Here they are listed for you. Go read Dr. Keller's post, "How Faith Affects Our Work" for more explanation of these four points. And pick up a copy of Every Good Endeavor.
The Christian faith gives us a moral compass, an inner GPS giving us ethical guidance that takes us beyond merely the legal aspects or requirements in any situation.
Your Christian faith gives you a new spiritual power, an inner gyroscope, that keeps you from being overthrown by either success, failure, or boredom.
The Christian faith gives us a new conception of work as the means by which God loves and cares for his world through us.
The Christian faith gives us a new world-and-life view that shapes the character of our work.
In this world, one thing is certain: Everybody hurts. Suffering may take the form of tragedy, heartbreak, or addiction. Or it could be something more mundane (but no less real) like resentment, loneliness, or disappointment. But there’s unfortunately no such thing as a painless life. In Glorious Ruin, Tullian Tchividjian takes an honest and refreshing look at the reality of suffering, the ways we tie ourselves in knots trying to deal with it, and the comfort that the gospel brings for those who can’t seem to fix themselves—or others.
This is not so much a book about Why God allows suffering or even How we should approach suffering—it is a book about the tremendously liberating and gloriously counterintuitive truth of a God who suffers with you and for you. It is a book, in other words, about the kind of hope that takes the shape of a cross.
Two Gallants: The Bloom & The Blight | Forgot about this one too! Loved it while it was streaming. Now buying it. It's like Jack White & Nirvana & The Black Keys created a band.
Deerhoof: Breakup Song | Some of the quirkiest music out there. It won't be your favorite album for reading a book, but these guys are clever and interesting and cool. You are getting an experience with this album. And the reviews are good too.
Stars: The North | Hip indie band. Catchy and fun!
Lecrae: Gravity | If you haven't found Lecrae yet, you should. Christian rap & hip-hop, the way it should be done. Stream it free here if you need an introduction.
I made a discovery today. Streaming free today is an album by a band (dude) I've never heard of. Gregg DellaRocca is American Gospel. Tomorrow American Gospel's album, Tall Tales Volume 1, is out. I'm guessing very few of my readers have heard of this album and I hope you'll check it out. Gregg is the vocalist/singer for The Republic of Wolves.
The album is DellaRocca on nearly every instrument and vocals. Gregg writes...
Tall Tales Vol.1 combines story telling and personal experiences to deliver a fun, compelling, and sometimes dark, multi-genre musical experience. From a production standpoint the entire album was DIY, and for the most part I’m playing all the instruments (with an exception to the horns). Because most of the songs are about stories I could go on and on about them, but for the sake of time I thought I would sum them all up for you on this track by track.
The name, American Gospel, first intrigued me. As a preacher of the Gospel and I often talk about the American version of the Gospel vs. THE Gospel. Match an interesting name with an album titled "Tall Tales" and I had to give it a shot. I had no idea what to expect, but what I found was a creative, thoughtful, and at times provocative album. Listen to it for free today and buy it tomorrow if you like it. Let me know what you think.
Here's "Bayonet" followed by Gregg's explanation of the song...
This is a song that deals primarily with religion, death and trying to understand my own purpose in life. Written shortly after the passing of my great grandmother, “Bayonet” is about finding your place in the world, and being able to make the decisions to get to that place on your own. Structurally it’s short and constantly building, It’s broken up into three sections that don’t repeat themselves. In comparison to the opening track “I Know”, “Bayonet” is much more minimal in design, thus creating a strong point of contrast and setting the tone for track to track dynamics for the remainder of the album.
I get excited thinking about the direction some are taking with worship music. While there's a glut of stuff out there that all sounds the same to me and that I just can't listen to, there's a new breed of creative, biblical/theological worship guys at solid churches who are changing the game. I want to do what I can to encourage the creation of new, good worship music. Some of the music I've pointed to before includes Sojourn, Bifrost Arts, Aaron Ivey, Joe Day, Page CXVI, and others. Today I want to introduce you to someone who may be new to you.
Stephen Miller, worship leader at The Journey church in St. Louis, has a new worship album out today: God & Sinner Reconcile. I've been enjoying it for a couple of weeks. It's entered the rotation of music for personal worship as well as what we listen to on Sunday morning as a family before gathering with the church. I've also shared it with our worship leaders. I hope many of my readers will check it out and pick it up.
...on June 21, Bon Iver will finally return when Jagjaguwar releases their self-titled sophomore album.
Vernon and brother Nate recorded and mixed the album over a three-year period at a former veterinarian's clinic in Wisconsin. Regular Vernon collaborators Sean Carey, Mike Noyce, and Matt McCaughan play, sing, and contributed production to the album. Volcano Choir members Jim Schoenecker and Tom Wincek helped out with processing, and Rob Moose, who has worked with the National and Antony and the Johnsons, helped arrange strings. The LP also features pedal steel player Greg Leisz and a horn section that includes Mike Lewis, C.J. Camerieri, and free-jazz monster Colin Stetson. The lush cover art, from Minnesota artist Gregory Euclide, is above.
True Widow: As High As The Highest Heavens | (buy) Dark, heavy, fuzzy. Love it so far. Play it loud if you need to slowly strip the paint off your walls. ..::stonegaze::..
