A Week In The Life

Quote of the week.

Teaching guitar to a class full of kids

ME :“what should you do when you can’t play something properly?”
Kids: “Mime”
Me: “No. What should you do?”
Kids: “Give up”

The correct answer, in case you’re wondering, was “practice”.

Welcome to my world. By next year I anticipate answer number 3 will be “autotune.”

My own personal download festival

It seems like only 11 months and 16 days ago I was blogging about my song downloads surpassing the 100 mark. This week they topped a thousand!

1013 to be precise and 110 sheet music PDFs on top of that. This is amazing. Thank you!
Looks like those two days I spent doing html on my download page paid off (even if I do start twitching when anyone says “anchor text”).

The Eglon Song (375+) & The Weight of Glory (just topped 125) are still the big hitters, along with Great High Priest (though First Black President & The Ballad of N.D.C. are starting to catch up).

New kid in class The Greatest Commandment has started to make a few friends in the playground and at 25 downloads he’s no longer last to get picked for football.

My very good friends...

I had no idea when I posted my rant about gospel rap being criminally under-valued that Tedashii, Trip Lee & DJ Official would fly all the way to Nottingham to thank me personally. But they did!

OK they didn’t. But they did do a gig in the world’s best city. It was the sweatiest time I've had in Church since I had a Lamb Rogan Josh the night before a baptism service. It was off the chain fo'shizzle. But where was you? Where was you at?

Back in the real world...

I spent most of last Saturday doing some guitar overdubs on Ben Green’s new song There Is Mercy. Download the original version here unless you want to wait and hear how I ruined a perfectly good worship song.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to head to Barrow Upon Soar for a songwriting seminar run by Joel Payne of Resoundworship.org

I may have another song nearing completion. I’m on the 3rd rewrite of the chorus already so don’t get too excited. Oh, and by the way, it’s a congregational worship song.
Remember when I used to just write those?


Related Posts: A letter to my pupils

Your next 1013 downloads

DJ Official - EnterMission: Review

Don't forget you still have 3 days left to win this album right here.

EnterMission is less an album BY DJ Official and more a sampler or mix tape on the theme of urban mission featuring Reach Records artists and likeminded friends.

There’s a massive variety on display here, which is both a strength and a weakness. If you like hip-hop there’s bound to be tracks you love and tracks you hate. EnterMission serves you up everything from Nothing Without You (think Pink at her most feminine) to Chisel Me (a masochistic sanctification smackdown) to Not My Own (imagine speed reading Wayne Grudem while listening to nu-metal).

So, while they may not be your favourites, let me tell you mine

Some reviewers have described Show Off (Lecrae & Flame) as cheesy. I don’t agree (this, mon ami, is tres fromage). To me the track is just playful and fresh rather than fresh from the deli counter and as fun is not one of Reach’s strong points I say kudos to ‘em.

Streets Of New York (J.A.Z. & Magellan) is one of the best tracks by DJ Official evoking perfectly the knife edge tension of a city at flashpoint. The lyrics not only paint the picture in stark colours but motivate you to get out there.

Go features some insane speed rapping from H.G.A. (who are these guys?) & Tedashii.

Love Fallen (Gems, Jahaziel, BenJah & Dillavou) is the kind of track that shouldn’t work but is easily one of the best on the album. Crossing so many boundaries that you feel dizzy, the blend of UK & Jamacian rappers meeting over a sizzling reggae track is inspired.

On an album full of gritty realism Sho Baraka’s track Chaos is the hardest hitting of them all. The backing is a claustrophobic Prodigy (Firestarter) style track, all alarms and skittering beats representing the moral chaos Sho is rapping about. This track is Huge.

Overall there’s much to like on this album. DJ Official himself doesn’t cast a big enough shadow to give it a cohesive identity but it would make a good first purchase if you’re unfamiliar with Reach Records and want to check out the different artists.

get this album for FREE.



Related Posts: Sho Baraka - Lions & Liars review



Free songs by Matt Blick

The Final Countdown

Don't forget you have 7 more days to enter the Reach Records free giveaway. You could get your sweaty mitts on

Lions And Liars by Sho Baraka
and
Entermission by DJ Official

find out how here

Related Posts: Lions and Liars review

Sho Baraka/DJ Official CD Giveaway

Here's the moment you've all been waiting for (since yesterday). I'm giving away two great Christian Rap albums.  

Lions & Liars by Sho Baraka

 

and Entermission by DJ Official feat. Sho, Tedashii, Lecrae, Trip Lee, Justin Bieber (just kidding). Watch out for a review next Tues.

What do I have to do?

1) subscribe to this blog by RSS, email or by 'following' me. (If you already do one of these things just leave a comment)

or

2) recommend this blog to a friend, link to this post or retweet it.

or

3) subscribe to my other blog by RSS or email (If you're a Beatle loving rap fan songwriter)

or

Do all 3!

THEN

Leave me a comment here telling me which ones you've done. That's up to 3 chance to win.

Closing date - Wed 26th May 2010 (midday GMT if you want to be all OCD about it)

Small print.

Prize is 2 well looked after ex-review copy CDs. Winner will be selected by a random number generator, then announced on Wed 26th May 2010. When winner has emailed me their postal address, 2 physical CD will be sent anywhere on the planet via some sort of registered post, which is as close to a guarantee that they'll arrive as I can give.

Free songs by Matt Blick