CCM Links

You may have noticed a recent blank spot in posting here. I’m just back from a three-week vacation to the great Pacific Northwest. We (my wife, son, and I) had a great time and are happy to be back home. That blank spot represents visits to my parents, brother and sister, aunts and uncles and cousins, and close friends.

My recent post on Switchfoot’s Bootleg website has gotten a fair amount of attention…as it should. A top-shelf band like Switchfoot that releases free tracks should get plenty of attention as a crowd-pleaser (not to mention as smart marketers).

What do the two paragraphs above have to do with each other? RSS, that’s what.

If you don’t know what RSS is, read a little here. If you do know what RSS is, think about this: while on my three-week vacation, Switchfoot posted new bootlegs from 10 new concerts…and they patiently waited for me the whole time. If you’d like to be notified of new SF bootlegs, go to their site and subscribe…or simply use this link:

http://switchfootbootlegs.com/feed/

For the record, I should add own feed’s link…I just noticed that there’s no direct link in my template for it. For those of you who don’t use a browser that auto-detects feeds, here it is:

http://ccmlinks.com/feed/

Switchfoot just keeps getting better and better. I don’t just mean musically (though they do), I mean “better” in almost every sense of the word. Today’s free Christian mp3 offering is really an entire website devoted to free Switchfoot music:

http://switchfootbootlegs.com/

Yep. Better. You can download free copies of bootleg recording from their Oh! Gravity tour. I chose the Seattle show, since I grew up there (and am about to return for a three-week vacation)…and here’s a list of the free songs from that night:

awakening
american dream
gone
ammunition
4:12
shadow proves the sunshine

Each song is available in AAC or MP3, making it work for just about anybody. Don’t feel like listening to their Seattle concert? Fine…try Hartford, CT:

awakening
oh! gravity
stars / easier than love
the fatal wound
this is your life
lonely nation

Notice something interesting: the song list differs by location! I think I’ll have to visit a few cities to get the entire playlist:

1. Oh! Gravity.
2. American Dream
3. Dirty Second Hands
4. Awakening
5. Circles
6. Amateur Lovers
7. Faust, Midas, And Myself
8. Head Over Heels (In This Life)
9. Yesterdays
10. Burn Out Bright
11. 4:12
12. Let Your Love Be Strong

Source: Amazon

Have fun…and go get ‘em!

I might sound like a broken record, but you really should bookmark My Free Music Friday…or, better yet, sign up for their newsletter. What will you get today?

Geoff Moore: Every Single One
Phil Wickham: Mystery
The Turning: Escape
Michael Olson: God is With Us

Why are you still here? Go get ‘em!

ShoutLife friend Kristyn Leigh is offering a free mp3 download of All That I Want, from her sophomore album The Heavy & the Holy.

From her site, click Downloads and you’ll see it listed with the word FREE.

Thanks, Kristyn!

I feel the need to apologize for the lack of posting. My web design business is keeping me very busy at the moment, and I hope to get back to posting new free mp3s soon.

In the meantime, you might want to stop by My Free Music Friday to download free songs from:

Skillet
High Flight Society
The Wedding

I’ll see you again soon!

Free mp3 of Maker of All from Daniel McLaughlin. Daniel is a new friend of mine, and I hope you’ll all take the time to listen to his song.

Daniel will be at a “Concert of Prayer” at Greenway Spirit and Worship in Winchester Va. on March 4th at 6pm. This is more of a worship event, and a great opportunity to connect with both Daniel and other Christians in the area.

Kat is a new friend, and a loyal CCM Links reader…and she’s a great music resource. I may be blogging about her blog on a regular basis, so you might as well get over there now (in case you’re not already a loyal reader like I am).

Why now? Because…she posted a nice interview with Andrew Osenga. He’s part of one of my very favorite bands, Caedmon’s Call, a solo artist, and a founding member of The Normals. Learn a little about Kat, a little about Andrew, and follow Kat’s link to Andrew’s free mp3, After the Garden.

Don’t forget to look at her Recent Posts section to see what you may have missed recently: free mp3s from Shaun Groves and Katy Bowser.

Thanks, Kat…

Free mp3s by David Mohn:

Sometimes
A Much Better Place
Bended Knee
I Remember the Day

If you like contemplative acoustic guitar and heartfelt lyrics, go get ‘em!

Free mp3 of The Easter Song from Atomic Opera. Yes, this is the one written by Annie Herring (of 2nd Chapter of Acts fame)…It’s one of the most covered Christian songs ever, and I’m pretty sure I haven’t heard anyone do it like this. Quality stuff.

Scroll down just a little on their main page.

Free mp3 of We Are Here to Worship from Wishes Were Fishes.

The link is right in the middle of their homepage. Go get it!