...or to be more accurate Christian 'Oi! Punk' bagpipes. welcome to the weird world of Flatfoot 56, hailing from Chicago, Illinois the Christian Oi Punk capital of the world.
Sadly their originality doesn't extend to their online precence, all videos are 'disabled by request', so you'll have to drag yourself over to youtube to watch them, but I think you'll find them weirdly compelling.
I've been listening to some of Sovereign Grace's most recent worship conference mp3's and want to recommend Worship In The Valley by Matt Mason which you can download for free. As someone who's live through Hurricane Katrina, not to mention several person tragedies, he know what he's talking about. Check it out.
Steven Curtis Chapman has a new album out, Beauty Will Rise and it's well worth a listen. It's his first since the tragic death of his five year old daughter Maria.
Beautiful moments abound from the 7/4 metre of the title track to the heart rending lyrics of songs like Jesus Will Meet You There and (my favourite) February 20th which remembers the day Maria gave her life to the Lord, just a few months before her death. The album is refreshingly free of hype and artifice and at some points is the sound of a man hanging on to God by his fingernails
When you realise the dreams you had for your child won't come true
whatever valley you must go through, Jesus will meet you there
And yet like Jeremiah, the writer of Lamentations, he has fashioned something beautiful, and quite probably enduring, from the pain.
If anything, Beauty Will Rise proves the maxim the greatest or most meaningful art produced usually emerges from the worst of circumstances. It’s a true gift from an artist who lost so much to give so much more away to the rest of us.
You can stream the CD at Tangle.Com Spotify (UK only and you'll need an invite from a paying user*) Lala (US only)
For one week only NewReleaseTuesday.Com is allowing you to stream Switchfoot's eagerly awaited albumHello Hurricane. (recently rated 9/10 by SoulAudio.Com).
NRT is free to sign up to, and as well as streaming album you can download selected tracks. This week you can get Different Kinds Of Happy by Sara Groves.
Never ask for a review copy of an album, even from a ministry you respect & even if they've not made a bad album in 10 years.
You may strongly dislike it and then spend months trying to psych yourself into liking it more than you do, before you face up to the dilemma of whether you
go back on your promise to review the album
or
give a bad review to a ministry you love despite the fact that you said to yourself you would really try to avoid negative posts...
or 
