All posts in Music

Don Ross & Andy McKee – Ebon Coast

DIG IT.

“Ebon Coast”, a composition by Andy McKee, arrangement by Don Ross and Andy McKee, from the CD, “The Thing That Came From Somewhere” available at http://www.candyrat.com


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExgqnilG4pU

[tags]Andy McKee, Don Ross, Ebon Coast, video, acoustic, guitar[/tags]

Largest Archive of Vinyl Records

This is a really interesting short video.  Aside from the fact that this collection is a cultural treasure, it raised some questions for me as I watched.

Here’s a man that, by his admission, gave his life to music and to archiving it in this way.  He’s a purist.  He has refused to follow the current cultural trend towards superficial, “fast food” music production.  And no one cares.  His collection is worth over $50 million and he can’t sell it for $3 million.  He’s gone blind and he has to close his music store and retire.  All he has to show for his years is this priceless archive of musical history.

I found it sad for two reasons. One, the idea that a man as passionate as this gave his entire life to the pursuit of something so fragile and temporal.  Two, the idea that America really has lost it’s soul and sense of history.  And I’m not just talking about music.

What do you think?


The Archive from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.

Free Music – Phil Wickham

I had heard of Phil Wickham, but never listened to his music.  Until today.  I still don’t know much about him, but he made me a fan today.

He released a completely free album.  That’s right.  Completely free.  No donations.  No strings.  The dude just wanted to bless people and bless God.

Here’s a sample.  The song is titled “Beautiful”.

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From Phil about the project:

This record has been something that I have wanted to do for a long time and finally on May 9th this year, I was able to do a show in Portland, Oregon with just me and a guitar and record it. The album artwork is simply the faces that were sent in to my blog from people that either attended the show or watched the show as it was broadcast on my blog.

It seems like the CCM industry has become celebrity driven these days.  Phil Wickham has done a radical thing here.  He’s made it clear that worshipping Jesus and compelling the Body of Christ to do the same is his passion.  I think that’s awesome and I think that’s right.

The album is great too.  It’s pulls in the sound of the crowd singing along and makes it prominent in the mix.  That’s something you NEVER hear anymore.  You really feel pulled into an intimate moment with Jesus as you listen.  They are simple arrangements.  Just his voice, his acoustic guitar with no effects, mingled with the sound of a room full of singing worshipers.  Simple.

Go get your copy and be blessed.

[tags]Phil Wickham, Sing Along, free music, album, mp3[/tags]

Live From Abbey Road

I’ve discovered a show on the Sundance channel that’s pretty awesome.  I usually avoid the Sundance channel.  It’s too much like NPR with pictures.  I’m afraid if I watch too long I’ll turn into a liberal, relativist tree hugger.  However, this show rocks.

Abbey Road is a recording studio in London made famous by the Beatles.  They have started having musical artists come and do live shows in the studio.  Each episode features 3 different artists, each one does 2 or 3 tunes.  The variety of acts is what I like; everything from Wynton Marsalis to Iron Maiden (I kid you not).

Here’s a sample from a recent episode with Dave Matthews.  Good stuff.

Sad News from Delirious

I just got this in my inbox.

The End of an Era……

We would like to address all our fans, our friends and people around the world who have faithfully supported Delirious?

After 14 albums, thousands of shows in front of millions of people, and many extraordinary memories, we have decided that at the end of 2009 we will take a break from recording and playing as a band.

Our decision was triggered by a request from Martin to be released from the band to pursue new projects including his work with CompassionArt and the desire to be at home more with Anna and his children. We have of course honoured this request and made a decision together that now is the time to end this chapter of our lives.

We will continue to play and be excited about our current tours and bookings but will not be adding many more over the coming 17 months..

We are all so deeply grateful to our incredible fans who have sung the songs and allowed Delirious? the privilege of providing the soundtrack to many lives over the years. From the school hall in Littlehampton to the stadiums of the world we have many stories to tell our children’s children. Delirious also would not be what it is without our amazing wives and families, and our gratitude to them is immense. We will now move forward to the next part of our lives where new challenges unfold and greater stories will be written.

We want to make it absolutely clear that although this decision has been extremely painful and difficult, we are still great friends and our respect for each other is unquestionable. We love playing in this band together and know that even though 2009 will bring an end to this current journey, there will be more adventures together in years to come.

We always used to say that we were ‘taking it wherever it goes’. The music ended up going further and deeper than we could ever have dreamed, yet we are now at a point where our creative futures will spread out and take on different journeys.

Thanks again for believing in us through all these years. We believe the best is yet to come.

Jon, Martin, Paul, Stu G and Tim

I’m really bummed out, but this decision makes me respect them even more. God rarely gives us the same assignment for life. He moves us in and out of things, and knowing when to quit and go to the next thing is just as important as knowing when to start.

Delirious has been a kind of a oasis of reality and creativity in the middle of a deluge of over-produced mile-wide-inch-deep Christian music (especially in the “praise and worship” genre). They will be missed.

[tags]delirious, break up, holy, news[/tags]

Ronald Jenkees – One Talented Dude

I just discovered this guy, but it appears he has a following on YouTube.  He’s clearly talented both in his ability to play the keys and in composition.  The beats he composes to play over are pretty cool.

And, yes, he’s a tad strange.  But kind of endearingly so…

Here’s my favorite that I’ve seen so far.  He’s playing around with a guitar sound here.

????????

There’s another video after the jump of him improvising.  Pretty awesome.

Coldplay – Violet Hill

Cool song, cool video. Gotta like Coldplay.

Note: Coldplay haters will be banned and where would you be then? Where would you go? What kind of life could you have without this blog? Think about it and don’t be a hatuh.