New Coldplay single is available today for free.

Man I’m a huge fan of afro-cuban music. My thought this morning was, “Why aren’t more people feeling the afro-cuban love?” Maybe you just don’t know.

Next time you’re looking to change up the pace of your music library, throw in some Afro Cuban All Stars. It’ll make you feel like you’re sitting in a cafe in Havana with a cigar.

I’m digging on some Snow Patrol this morning.

All that I am.
All that I ever was.
Is here in your perfect eyes they’re all I can see.

I don’t know where.
Confused about how as well.
Just know that these things will never change for us at all.

I know I’m late on this, but I just found Dave Matthews song, #41. Not the produced version from the album Crash, but the live one with him and Tim Reynolds at Luther College. Not sure how I missed it before, but it’s really, really good.

I don’t know why, but I’ve really been into Gavin DeGraw’s Stripped Down Version of Chariot. It was a good disc to begin with, but I think the Stripped version is even better.

My friend Rick gave me the heads up on this a little while ago. And by the way, he’s got a site up and running. Find him over at Chick On A Stick.

I just picked up Mat Kearney’s second release.  It looks like he has gone with a new label and is re-releasing half a dozen songs off his first album.  I know he’s getting some main stream air play too.  I heard the song, “Nothing Left To Lose” in Best Buy.

In the “Christian” music world longing for a new voice, Mat Kearney represents the singer-songwriter for the 21st century. I think this guy is the most creative, original thing to hit music in a while.  Keeping with an acoustic base, Kearney incorporates a wide range of influences that color his songs. At the same time, he captures the kinds of lyrics that reach down deep and stir us.  He’s got one of those sounds that sticks with you through the day.

If I were you… I’d pick this up.

Rascal Flatts has a new song out called, “What Hurts The Most.” And even though I’m not really a country fan (and some will argue that Rascal Flatts is not really country) I dig the song.

It’s all about regret and got me thinking about stuff:

Getting up, getting dress, livin’ with this regret
But I know if I could do it over
I would trade, give away all the words that I saved in my heart
That I left unspoken

What hurts the most
Is being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away

It just reminded me to make sure that the people I’m close to know how I feel about them. We don’t always say what we feel…. or what’s in our heart.

I just don’t want to be left with a lot of unsaid things.

My brother invited me to a Switchfoot concert Saturday night at PromoWest (I mean The Lifestyles Community Pavilion).  I have to tell you… they were off the hook.

They have so many good songs, I never lost interest.  Jon Foreman is a great front man and definitely has passion.

They opened with Stars followed by Ammunition and Happie Is A Yuppie Word.

They did This is Your Life and Dare You To Move back-to-back about a third of the way into the show.  That was probably my favorite part.  People were feelin’ it.

They did a real nice segment towards the end with Twenty-Four and On Fire.

They closed with We Are One Tonight.

Then came back out for the encore with Daisy and Meant To Live (I was waiting for that).

Other notables:  Lonely Nation, Easier Than Love, The Shadow Proves The Sunshine (all from Nothing Is Sound), More Than Fine, Gone (The Beautiful Letdown) and Company Car (from New Way To Be Human).

Terry Storch gave me the heads up on this.

allofmp3.com is selling music for about $1.40 per album.  I guess it’s a Russian site and somehow it’s legal.  I didn’t ask a lot of questions.

You have to prepay a minimum of $10 to start.  But when you do, they give you a bonus credit of $1.40 to pick up any album you want.

You can choose your file type and quality.

I ended up with about 6 cd-quality albums for under $12.

There ain’t nothin’ like cheap music.
iTunes who?

Joel emailed me this article from the Relevant e-newsletter. He said it, “It definitely confirms some things I’ve thought about Bono for quite some time…a little freaky as well.”

It’s a short read so check it out.

My response to Joel was:

“I definitely think Bono can be a little off. He is making his own way… which is admirable, but when you are out there in front all alone, you can kind of get some messed up thinking going on. The author of that article ended by saying, ‘He is, without question, the most influential person in the world, and he has an unparalleled opportunity to speak the truth to the lost world.’ I would have to agree with that. Bono is doing more to reach the unchurched and fight AIDS in Africa and shake the political world up than anyone else out there. There is huge value in that. It still freaks me out to read articles or listen to interviews and he’s like, ‘yeah, Jesus is f**king awesome.’ How do you say that?”

What’s your take on one of Time Magazine’s Persons of the Year?

Here are my favorite podcasts that I listen to on a weekly basis (well… I try to):

1.  Mosaic - Erwin has to be one of the best communicators in the country.

2.  Rob Bell - It’s really not a podcast, but you can get the Mars Hill messages every week through their website.  It’s just a little more work.

3.  Ed Young - How can you not listen to a guy who is leading a 20,000+ church.

4.  The Blogging Church - A variety of different pastors who are blogging and podcasting.

5.  The Naked Scientist - just because I feel like being a geek sometimes.

6.  Bono: The Rolling Stone Interview - Rolling Stone is splitting up their 2 day interview with Bono into podcasts.  My favorite is part 3.

7.  IT Conversations - The lastest coversations in the tech world.

8.  Greg Surratt - Lead pastor from Seacoast Church in South Carolina.

9.  Project Management Podcast - because I dig stuff like this.

10. Engadget - the coolest new tech stuff out there.

What are you listening to?

I picked up the new Sigur Ros album (Takk) right when it came out. I’ve listened to these guys for a few years and got turned on to them by my brother-in-law Ryan.

Check out their new video for Glosoli. It’s amazing.

This is a great new cd that I’ve been listening to this week. These guys are killer with melodies.

Check out their site.

Launch the ecard. It is very cool. I like cowboy stuff.

Man, I forgot what a great album this was. I picked it up off iTunes yesterday along with Switchfoot’s new one. I put Dead or Alive on repeat last night while I painted the nursery. I dig it. I could make that my theme song… if I had an opportunity where I needed a theme song… like if I was a pro wrestler or maybe a boxer or was an Oompa Loompa in the Chocolate Factory.

This is a better shot of the giant video wall they had behind them. It was one of the LED walls like they have in their “Speed of Sound” video. It did any lighting or video combination you could think of. It helped me because I was looking for something like this for our stage at church. I’m going to go pick one up next week.

During “Yellow” they released these giant yellow balloons filled with confetti.

It’s not a very good picture, but it kind of gives you an idea of the 17,000 plus people at the concert. I took this shot from the back when Neil and I walked out. We definitely would have failed a drug test that night from the amount of second hand smoke we were inhaling.

Neil is driving down to Columbus to catch the Coldplay concert tonight at Germain Amphitheater right down the street from my church. I’m going to try to get a few pictures and post them over the weekend.

Oh yeah… I am getting my wisdom teeth pulled at 8.45 am tomorrow. I obviously have Friday off, but being Labor Day weekend, I don’t have to work again until Tuesday. It’s a little crazy that I’m excited about getting them pulled because it gives me some time off. Psychoanalyze that one.

Coldplay will be playing in Columbus on August 31st at the Germain Amphitheater (right down the street from the church).

I have a great contact for tickets. Anyone want to go?

It’s not brand new, but here is Coldplay’s newest video. Anybody or any video looks cool with that huge wall of lights. That’s one of the badest things I’ve seen. Where can I get one of those?

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