The new Fleet Foxes album, Helplessness Blues (preorder it), is streaming free. You should check it out. They just played two songs live on Jools Holland, "Bedouin Blues" and "Sim Sala Bim."
The National | "Bloodbuzz Ohio"
"Bloodbuzz Ohio" is one of my favorite songs from The National's outstanding 2010 album, High Violet. It was my #2 best album of 2010.
The Antlers: Burst Apart | Streaming
The Antlers: Burst Apart is streaming online for free. You can buy it on May 10th. Their album, Hospice, was my #1 album of 2009.
Fleet Foxes: Helplessness Blues | Streaming
Fleet Foxes new album, Helplessness Blues, is out May 3rd. But it's streaming free right now. Go take a listen.
Shearwater | The Island Arc
You can stream free the new live album from Shearwater, The Island Arc. Or buy it, 10 tracks for $8. One of my favorite bands. Just listen to the first track, "Hail Mary," to find out why. Amazing mix of fragile melodies and vocals that often explode into confident proclamations. These songs are pulled from a 3 hour concert...
On January 15, 2011, Shearwater presented the three albums of their thematically-linked 'Island Arc' Trilogy - Palo Santo, Rook, and The Golden Archipelago - in a sold-out, 3-hour epic concert with longtime friends and collaborators at Austin's Central Presbyterian Church. This album consists of excerpts from that concert, mixing favorites like "Hail, Mary" and "The Snow Leopard" with rarely-performed tracks like "Lost Boys," "Going is Song", and "Missing Islands".
Books on the Cross
I posted a Twitter question asking for favorite books on the Cross. Here are the responses given without comment. My favorites are at the end.
6 Mentions
- The Cross of Christ | John Stott
2 Mentions
- Redemption Accomplished and Applied | John Murray
- 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die | John Piper
- Death By Love | Mark Driscoll
1 Mention
- King's Cross | Tim Keller
- The Death of Death in the Death of Christ | John Owen
- Scandalous | DA Carson
- In My Place Condemned He Stood | Packer and Dever
- The Cross and Christian Ministry | DA Carson
- Christus Victor | Gustaf Aulen
- The Cross-Centered Life | CJ Mahaney
- God the Peacemaker | Graham Cole
- The Cross and Salvation | Bruce Demarest
- A Scandalous Beauty | Thomas Schmidt
- Jesus and the Victory of God | NT Wright
- Crucifixion | Martin Hengel
- Spectacular Sins | John Piper
- The Wonderous Cross | Stephen Holmes
- Atonement | TF Torrence
Fake Joe Thorn said Note To Self, but maybe he wasn't serious. :)
My response, 5 of my favorites...
- The Cross of Christ | John Stott - clear winner for me too
- 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die | John Piper
- Redemption Accomplished and Applied | John Murray
- Jesus' Blood and Righteousness | Brian Vickers
- The Cross-Centered Life | CJ Mahaney
Keller | Lloyd-Jones on the Primacy of Preaching
Here's a snippit from Tim Keller's blog post today: Lloyd-Jones on the Primacy of Preaching...
Dr. Lloyd-Jones effectively dismantles the idea that watching a video or listening to an audio of a sermon is as good as coming physically into an assembly and listening to a sermon with a body of people. It is obviously a good thing if a person who never hears or reads the Bible listens to the recording of a good gospel message and is helped by it. But the Doctor argues that people experience the sermon in a radically different way if they hear it together with a body of listeners and if they see the preacher. Watching on a screen or listening as you walk detaches you and the sermon becomes mere information, not a whole experience. There is a power and impact that the media cannot convey.
Bon Iver Self-Titled Album | June 21st
...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.
[...]
Bon Iver:
01 Perth
02 Minnesota, WI
03 Holocene
04 Towers
05 Michicant
06 Hinnom, TX
07 Wash.
08 Calgary
09 Lisbon, OH
10 Beth/Rest
Shop at WTSBooks.com
I'm now linking most books through Westminster Theological Seminary Bookstore as I've become a "blog partner." I've been buying books there for a couple of years and it's an outstanding store, often cheaper than Amazon.
If you don't buy your Christian books at WTSBooks.com, I strongly encourage it. My experience has been that shipping is cheap and fast. Click through the permanent banner on my sidebar or on the picture in this post and it will help me buy books for my ministry since I don't have a book budget at my church. By the way, this program works through the number of "click throughs" I get, so click away and buy some great books!
A few Reformissionary Recommendations to get you started...
- Note To Self by Joe Thorn (pre-order | cheaper than Amazon)
- Love Walked Among Us by Paul Miller (cheaper than Amazon, one of the best books I've read)
- Think by John Piper ($5 for hardcover | $4+ cheaper than Amazon's paperback)
Wye Oak | Civilian
I paid full price for Wye Oak: Civilian. It's a steal at $2.99, and already a favorite of 2011 for me.
Explosions in the Sky | Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Explosions in the Sky's new album, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, releases next Tuesday but is streaming free on their website right now. (Thanks to Tyler Braun.)
Redeemer City to City
Redeemer City to City, a network founded by Redeemer NYC and Dr. Tim Keller, has a new site up and it looks great. Here's a video intro to their ministry.
Tempted & Tried by Russ Moore
I mentioned a few days ago that my review of Tempted and Tried by Dr. Russell Moore is up at The Gospel Coalition. Here's a new and creative intro video. Well done. I really hope many pick up this book.
Tallest Man On Earth | "King of Spain"
The Tallest Man On Earth is one guy, with a guitar, playing great music. Here he is on Jools...
Music Monday | Cheap, New, Free | 4.18.2011
FREE MUSIC - DAYTROTTER
- Delta Spirit | Tom Waits covers
- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
CHEAP
- Sleigh Bells: Treats ($3.99)
- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes ($3.99)
- Trampled By Turtles: Palomino ($3.99)
- Freelance Whales: Weathervanes ($3.99)
$5 ALBUMS | APRIL
NEW & STREAMING FREE
Good New Music (out now)...
Coming Soon | Streaming Free
- Steve Earle: I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive
- Emmylou Harris: Hard Bargain
- Sojourn: The Water & The Blood: The Hymns of Isaac Watts, Vol 2 | wonderful
PJ Harvey | "The Last Living Rose"
If you haven't heard PJ Harvey's Let England Shake ($5), you are missing out. She's an odd one, but this album is outstanding. Here's PJ on Conan playing "The Last Living Rose," one of my favorite songs off the album. Starts with an objectionable phrase.
My Morning Jacket | "One Big Holiday"
My favorite My Morning Jacket song and just a great song. I first heard it when I saw a video of it live several years ago. Here's a better version of "One Big Holiday" played live a few years ago, though I just stumbled across this video today. It's from their It Still Moves album. You need to crank it up!
The Gettys | New Song at TGC11
Keith and Kristyn Getty's band played a new song (that hasn't been recorded as far as I know) at The Gospel Coalition. It's "a hymn about money" that's "set to the story of the rich young man." My buddy took the video and sent it to me so I could share it with my Music Monday friends. Enjoy!
And when I cling to what I have
Please wrest it quickly from my grasp
I'd rather lose the things of earth
To gain the things of heaven
Note To Steve
When I take trips, Molly always hides little notes to me in various pieces of clothing in my suitcase. It puts a smile on my face when I'm away from my family. Most notes are what you would expect. "We miss you!" "Hope you are enjoying the conference!" "We Love you!" But for the Gospel Coalition Molly gave me a note I'll never forget, securely taped to the shorts I sleep in...
Avett Brothers | "Back Home Again"
The Avett Brothers covering John Denver's "Back Home Again" with a little backstage discussion beforehand. Unique view of one of the best bands in the world. (I think there's a racy word in the first few seconds.)