I find it increasingly difficult to keep up with all the music being released these days. And, perhaps due to my increasingly crotchety old man disposition, I find myself favoring old-timey indie rock (although, I still enjoy plenty of current music, as you’ll see below).
So, without any further caveats, here is some of the music (and music-related) stuff I liked from this past year:
Santa’s not the only bearded gift-giver this Christmas! Get your fill of free hirsute holiday music (oh, there will be banjos)…
From the folks at Sounds Familyre records, get yourself a free Christmas album (or two, even). Not your standard muzaky holiday shopping soundtracks…
At The Record Machine, get all woodsy with a free copy of The More The Merrier Christmas.
And, this one’s neither Christmas-y nor beard-y, but you can download alternate versions of songs from A Thousand Shark’s Teeth by My Brightest Diamond via Asthmatic Kitty.
My experience, within mostly evangelical Protestant circles, with practices such as Sabbath, fasting and the liturgical year has been limited mostly to academic study and/or suspicious caution. That’s why I was glad to see the Ancient Practices series released, which covers many of these practices. As followers of Jesus, we miss out immensely when we ignore the wisdom of those who have pursued Christ wholeheartedly before us.
This one’s a bit early, but I haven’t posted any freebies in awhile, so here’s one from the robots at Gmail.
Visit gmail.com/holidaycard and send a holiday postcard, on Google! I have to say, though, there’s something odd about using the Gmail machine to send an old-school snail mail postcard.
I am so excited that our church community is participating in the Advent Conspiracy this year. AC is a grassroots movement of churches who believe that Christmas can still change the world. Together, we are following the lead of our Savior who came into the world to give Himself away. Here’s a brief introductory video explaining AC:
headsparks* 