Music Monday: No More Lame Kid’s Music!!!

Posted on 12.15.08 in Music Monday Music and there are

Today is Music Monday over at Bloggable Music Network. Be sure to check it out.

If you’re a parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent or anyone who has been subjected to the endless variety of horrible kids music, you are SO going to thank me for what I’m about to share with you.

A dear friend gave us a scripture memory cd for kids by a group called Seeds Music.

AND IT’S REALLY GOOD.

Shocking, I know. I mean, of course the lyrics are good - it’s the B-I-B-L-E - but most of the memory verse music I’ve heard has been pretty cheesy.

This is different. It’s really, really good. There are 4 other albums in the collection and I definitely plan on buying them.

Here’s the link to the Seeds Music website where you can listen to the music and buy the cd’s.

You’re welcome.

Music Monday: What’s In Your Player?

Posted on 12.08.08 in Music Monday Music and there are

Our family has been listening to Phil Wickham’s Singalong a LOT lately. It’s really such a great album. We’ve only interrupted it to listen to Christmas music.

Phil sings so passionately and it’s amazing how he can create such a full sound with only his guitar and his voice.

If you don’t own this, you really need to go download it. After all, it’s free.

This post is a part of Music Monday at the Bloggable Music Network. There’s also a new FREE song posted at the BMN site. Check it out.

Your Turn

What’s currently on your music player?

Music Monday: Get One of My Favorite Albums For “Free”

Posted on 11.30.08 in Music Monday Music Blogging and there are

JJ Heller’s album, Painted Red, is now available for free (to bloggers) exclusively at the Bloggable Music Network.

Painted Red is one of my favorite albums of the year and I’m beyond thrilled that I can play a part in getting the word out about it.

So, head over to the Bloggable Music Network and download the album.

(And please tell all your friends about it too via your blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

I Feel So Validated (and What Was YOUR Favorite Album of the Year)

Posted on 11.24.08 in Music Monday and there are

If you’ve been reading this blog for long, you can probably guess what my favorite album of the year was.

Ever since I first heard it 12 months ago, I’ve been talking and blogging about the album and the artist non-stop. I recruited my mom friends to join me on a road trip for a standing room only club concert.

My blog friends even comment on how much I talk about it.

And now I feel less goofy for gushing so much. Christianity Today just selected this album as the #1 album of the year. (Thanks Erin for the news.)

Check out my Music Monday post at the Bloggable Music Network to find out who the artist is and to get a FREE song from the album.

Your Turn

What was your favorite album of the year?

Music Monday: 5 Great Places To Find Great Music

Posted on 11.16.08 in Music Monday and there are

Now that I’ve moved Music Monday over to the Bloggable Music Network site, I get to write about music twice. Here and there.

Fun times.

This Monday, I thought I’d list some of my favorite places to find new music.

eMusic

eMusic is a subscription based online music store. I like eMusic because, since get a certain number of downloads each month, I feel the need to use them. So I download a lot of songs and albums from new artists or artists from genres I don’t normally listen to. This week I downloaded Vivaldi’s Four Season and Rebel by LaCrae - not normally a combo I’d buy on iTunes, but I’m loving both albums.

Pandora

Pandora is an online “radio station” that tailors each playlist to your musical taste. So if you tell Pandora that you like Rich Mullins, it will create a playlist of similar musicians. It usually does a pretty good job of mixing familiar music with new artists.

iTunes

I enjoy checking out the iTunes store and the different pages for each genre. There are often free downloads and occasionally featured artists I either haven’t heard of or haven’t taken the time to listen to yet.

YouTube

I get lost for HOURS on YouTube. I adore live music and I really enjoy watching all the concert footage of my favorite artists. If I hear of a new artist, You Tube is usually the first place I go to listen to more of their music.

The other night, I found this jem from Joss Stone (disclaimer: I don’t endorse all of her music...or videos for that matter.) But she has an AMAZING voice and I love her spunk.

BloggableMusicNetwork.com

Honestly? I’m incredibly excited about the direction that the new site is taking.

The basic gist is that we’ll offer “hand picked” free music to bloggers.

Read today’s post at the Bloggable Music Network site to get the details and find out when our first free album will be available and who’s album it is.

Music Monday: Two Free Songs and an Announcement

Posted on 11.10.08 in Music Monday Music and there are

I just wanted to let you all know that Music Monday has moved to the Bloggable Music Network.

I’ve also posted two new free songs over there.

And...next week we’ll announce an exclusive FREE ALBUM download just for bloggers. So, be sure to visit the Bloggable Music Network often, or better yet, subscribe to our the newsfeed.

See you there!

You Must Download This Album

Posted on 11.05.08 in Music Monday Music and there are

Check out my post on the Bloggable Music Network to find out what it is. Oh, yea, it’s “free” too, but only for this week.

(Yes, I’m shamelessly plugging the new blog. I confess. I hope to see many of you over there often!)

For Those of You Who Did Not Get the Newsletter

Posted on 11.03.08 in Music Monday Music and there are

Apparently, several subscribers to the Bloggable Music Network did not receive their newsletters today.

So, I’ve set up a simple blog and I posted the newsletter there. Check it out.

Great Music and Winners

Posted on 10.28.08 in Music Monday Music Blogging and there are

Have you signed up yet for The Bloggable Music Network?

Seriously, the ideas have been snowballing and this thing is going to knock some walls down.

If you love music, you want to be a part of this. The first newsletter goes out on Monday. Don’t miss it.

(FYI - You’ll receive a confirmation email. Check your spambox if you don’t get it within 10 minutes.)

Spread The Word

And please blog/facebook/twitter/etc. about it. The bigger we are, the more we can do for and with deserving artists whose music needs to be heard.

Here’s a page with all the info and badges you need to get the word out. And feel free to email me with any questions.

In Other News

Awhile back I did a giveaway for a $10 iTunes gc.

Except I forgot to give it away. Better late than never, right?
Here it is. The winner is...The Messy Mom.

Music Monday: The Late Edition

Posted on 10.27.08 in Music Monday Music and there are

(This post is a part of Music Monday.)

My joy is complete.

Amy Grant has a real blog. With comments, a feed and everything.

Oh happy day.

It’s so cool to see artists join the blogging world. Brody didn’t set up Amy’s blog, but I think he’s making people take notice.

Who’s your favorite artist-blogger?

(She’s going to be in concert in Ft. Worth on Nov. 14th. I’m thinking of going. Anyone else going?)

The Bloggable Music Network

Posted on 10.19.08 in Music Monday Music and there are

After the huge response I got to the post about Becky and Christian radio, I came up with an idea that I’m REALLY excited about and I hope you will be too.

It’s called the Bloggable Music Network.

WHAT IS THE BLOGGABLE MUSIC NETWORK?

It’s a network of bloggers who love music. We all have “bloggable” moments. Moments that are so amazing that we HAVE to blog about them.

I think there is a lot of “bloggable” music out there too. Music so good it must be shared. That’s what the network is all about.

Here are the details:
1. A monthly email newletter that highlights 3 artists that we feel MUST be heard.

2. We’re asking you to listen to the music, then blog about the songs you love.

3. We’ll provide the tools and information you need to share the music with your friends and readers.

WHY JOIN THE NETWORK?

1. Get free music
We’ll work as hard as we can to get a free single or two from each artist so that you can listen at your leisure. We’ll also set up giveaways and special events for you and your readers.

2. Save time
Learn about the greatest new artists without sifting through a million band sites or Myspace pages (shudder). We won’t tell you about EVERY new release or EVERY new artist. Only the best.

3. Make a difference
There are absolutely amazing artists whose music isn’t getting heard. The Bloggable Music Network is about to change that. Join us.

Your readers will thank you.

DETAILS YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW

1. What kind of music will you highlight?
While we won’t restrict ourselves to a particular musical genre, we do plan to select music that moves us toward God. Not all the artists would techically qualify as CCM, but based on their lyrics and their lives, we will choose music that encourages and challenges us in our faith.

2. What’s the catch? Does it cost something? Will you be trying to sell me something?
Nope. There are two goals for this project:
-- Great music, meet Becky.
We want to introduce artists to a wider audience

-- Becky, meet Great Music.
We want to introduce music lovers to the world of music outside of the radio.

3. Is this strictly for indies or label artists?
We have no regard for indie or label, just good music.

4. Do I have to blog about every artist every month?
Definitely not! We don’t want you to blog about an artist unless you absolutely love their music. We want truly great music to go truly viral. We’re not looking to market anything, just introduce it and let it run.

5. Are you going to do anything nefarious with my email address?
Nope. I won’t give or sell it to anyone. Period.
(Props for using the word nefarious in a sentence, though.)

6. Is this just for bloggers?
Actually, no. Anyone can sign up to get the monthly email. The content will be targeted toward bloggers, but you could use the same info on Facebook, Twitter or in an email to tell your friends about the music you find.

Again, our goal is to tell you about music so great that you can’t help but share it with your friends.

SIGN ME UP!

I want to sign up. How do I sign up?

Simple. Just enter your email below (RSS readers, click through to sign up) and try to be patient until our first newsletter goes out on November 3.

I know it will be hard, but you can do it.

(FYI - You’ll receive a confirmation email. Check your spambox if you don’t get it within 10 minutes.)

Get The Word Out

If you just can’t keep this idea to yourself and you can’t wait until November 3, here are a couple buttons that you can use on your site to get the word out about the Bloggable Music Network.

Large Logo - 200px
Just copy the code below:


<a href="http://www.thesecretlifeofkat.com/site/comments/the-bloggable-music-network/"> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3166/2956083429_7998697271.jpg?v=0" / ></a>

Small Logo - 150px
Just copy the code below:


<a href="http://www.thesecretlifeofkat.com/site/comments/the-bloggable-music-network/"> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3166/2956083429_7998697271.jpg?v=0" width="150px" / ></a>

Questions? Comments?

So, does this sound like something you’d be interested in? Do you have any questions? Suggestions? Ideas?

Please share them in the comments.

Christian Radio and Becky : A Study in Codependency

Posted on 09.28.08 in Music Monday Music and there are

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There is a ridiculous amount of incredibly great music out there that isn’t getting played on Christian Radio.

Here’s my strikingly obvious theory about why:

Christian radio bases it’s song programming on the musical tastes of it’s target audience, code named, “Becky”. “Becky” is a 30 something, married, Christian, soccer mom.

If radio thinks Becky will like it, they play it. If they don’t think she’ll like it, they don’t play it.

Makes sense.

Except, for the fact that Christian radio is pretty much the only way Becky hears new music.

So Becky only hears the songs that Christian Radio plays…

And Christian radio only plays the songs that Becky likes…

Do you see the problem here?

Becky rarely hears anything new so she just keeps giving high ratings to the same stuff over and over and over and over and over and over..

Ahem…

Becky needs some help.

Help is on the way. (More on that later...)

So, If You Were the Program Director For The Day...

What is one song you think Becky should hear?

Music Monday: FREE Music from JJ Heller

Posted on 08.17.08 in Music Monday Music and there are

(This post is a part of Music Monday.)

JJ Heller: Painted Red

Even if it weren’t free, I would recommend, urge, implore, flat-out-tell-you to go get JJ Heller’s newest album, Painted Red. The fact that it’s FREE until November 1, makes it a no brainer for you to add it to your music collection.

Top 3 Reasons To Get JJ’s Album

1. She has a unique and mesmerizing voice.
I love her voice. A lot of people can sing pretty, but JJ’s voice has “character”. Just the sound of it tells a story. It “kind of” reminds me of Leigh Nash from Six Pence None the Richer, although I think JJ’s voice is a bit richer and not as feathery as Leigh’s. (All you musicians out there, please stop snickering at my lack of technical music terms.)

2. Great production
I’m not a musician, but even as just a listener, I know that production can enhance or dilute a song. It seems like there must be a “Automatic Christian Radio Single” button in that producers press based on what I hear on much (not all) of Christian Radio. So many songs sound the same. In my opinion humble opinion, they are way over produced.

On the other hand, Painted Red is really well produced. Mitch Dane (JJ Heller’s producer) kept things simple and enchanting. Every element adds a great layer to each song and helps enhance the message and mood.

3. BECAUSE I TOLD YOU SO
Sorry, that’s the mom in me…

Seriously, though, it’s a really great album. Download it.

You’re welcome.

Your Turn

Join in on the Music Monday fun. Write a post about music and add your link below:

Music Monday: FREE Phil WIckham

Posted on 08.10.08 in Music Monday Music and there are

(This post is a part of Music Monday. Join the fun. Write a post about music and add your link below.)

Thanks to some incredible web work from Brody and Randy, last Friday, Phil Wickham released an incredible live album for FREE* on his website.

Phil Wickham’s music is stunning. He has amazing vocals and he sings with an infectious passion.

Here he is singing his song, “Divine Romance”

You can get this album for the simple cost of signing up for his mailing list.

As your friend, I am telling you to go download the album and then go buy Phil’s other albums. You will thank me.

Your Turn

So, did you download Phil’s album?

Music Monday: Lyrics vs Music and Third Day News

Posted on 07.27.08 in Music Monday Music and there are

(This post is a part of Music Monday. Join the fun. Write a post about music and add your link below.)

No Lyrics. No Music.

I remember as a kid, complaining every time my grandmother took my Amy Grant tape out of the tape player (a travesty in and of itself) and turned the radio to the classical station.

“That’s not music. There aren’t any words...”

I’m a lyrics girl.

If a song has lame lyrics, I can’t listen to it. No matter how good the music is.

Now that I’m older, I do enjoy classical music and I even enjoy music performed in other languages, but if a song is in English and one line ends with “heart” and the next one ends with “we’ll never be apart...”

I throw up a little bit.

So, what about you? Are lyrics or music most important to you?

In Music News: Big Week For Third Day

It’s been a big week for blogger Mark Lee. He and his wife Stephanie had a little girl on Friday, on Tuesday morning Third Day’s new album Revelation will release and on Tuesday night they’ll perform on The Tonight Show.

The Tonight Show. How cool is that?

So, be sure to get yourself a copy of Revelation and tune in Tuesday night to watch Third Day’s performance.

Here’s a sneak peek of the album:

Your Turn

To participate in Music Monday, just write a post about music and add your link below.

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