dan – Page 12

friday review – free music

[Quick note: I am changing the Tuesday 10 (at least for a while) over to the friday review. While I seriously love putting this list together, I have been so busy lately that I have neglected it. So, instead of neglecting it anymore I thought I would move it to later in the week and not worry about the number of things that I’m bringing to you. If I have 10 on the list, I’m sure that will be cool. But if I have less than 10 at least I will have been consistent.]

Today is about free music. I know we all love free stuff. We like giveaways, contests, the possibility of something for nothing. We like free so much that we even wrote it into the last line of our national anthem.

So, while I personally don’t have anything to give away to you today, I do have these wonderful ideas for you on some freebies you might want to consider this summer….

1. Back in the month of May, the lovely folks who make Reason software offered some great free music lessons that are currently still available. You should run, not walk…run to their site to learn how to take your music production to the next level. Fantastic videos.

2. Maybe making music is not your thing, but how about listening to music? Then check out Spotify – a seriously cool new service that has just become available in the US. It legally let’s you listen to any music you want and right now you can get a free membership by clicking this affiliate link for Klout. Once you signup you’ll receive a free account PLUS you’ll help me get an upgraded Spotify account. Win Win.

3. Here’s yet another site you need to know about. I have doubled (& possibly tripled) my music collection thanks to the crew at Noisetrade. When you get there you can browse by **Artist, Album, or even For Fans Of, which lets you put in artists you like to discover ones you might not have heard of just yet. Preview the full tracks, & if you like what you hear, trade them your email address for their music. Does not cost a thing – free! (You can leave a tip, but that is up to you).

4. If you still don’t have enough free music, try out this site – Come And Live. While you’re there you can download even more great albums for free. If you would like, you can donate at Come And Live to help support “musicianaries” (like myself), but the main idea is to download the music & share it with people if you like it. (referred to me by @extremehick)

5. I’m sure everyone has heard of, if not tried, Pandora Radio at some point. I love to use it in the mornings to pretend I’m rich. I’ll explain – remember early in the movie “The Family Man” where Nicolas Cage is rich and not quite the best version of himself yet? The classical music is blaring as he steps out of his posh bathroom. And, even though the point of the scene is that he’s not the ideal role-model at this particular point in the movie, when I saw that, I liked the thought of having classical music playing in my house as I prepared for the day. So somedays, when I have extra time to get ready I will pull up Pandora (which already has my YoYo Ma playlist set up) and pump the classical tunes. It’s a fun way to start the day plus what is it kids? That’s right!! FREE.

6. You know this, but if you’re like me, I sometimes forget the resources available to me. This summer I’m searching out and watching some amazing concerts & music videos on YouTube (much like the classic one below). This video is for all my drumming friends. Even if you are not a drummer, check out this video. It holds the key to unlocking your inner rhythm – the MULLET!

tuesday 10 – hit the “links”

I know – bad pun – but usually in the summer I love to hit the golf course (aka – “the links”) with my brothers and dad. Unfortunately that isn’t possible right now, but when they visited last week we did get in a quick round of golf at a local course.

Regardless, I thought today would be the day to share some great links, sites, recipes, & music for this summer day. So without anymore stalling here is what I have for your various interests:

Summer Listening

1. I unintentially came across this group – The Brilliance – the other day and it’s all I’ve been listening to lately (in fact I’m listening to it while I write this now). If you enjoy piano & beautiful string arrangements, or perhaps just need an album to turn on after a long day, then you definitely want to check out The Brilliance Music. My current favorite track is “The Sun Will Rise”, but honestly there isn’t a bad track on this sweet little album.

2. My good friend Jason Benson, along with his team, put out their first album of original songs last month. The album is called “You Are God” and I had the chance to listen to it (for 3+ hours) on a recent drive. It is cool album with songs you can immediately use at your church, plus charts are available for download free from their site.
I have a few copies available for $10, OR if you would rather preview the tracks before you purchase, then go to their Download Album Page.

3. This is ridiculously amazing!

What are you listening to this summer?

4. This idea falls somewhere between music & reading and is my summer challenge to you…Try to take 15-30 minutes each day during the summer and read something, or watch a tutorial video. Work on increasing your skill/knowledge in an area that interests you. I’ve been challenging myself lately by digging into Ableton Live’s Launch Pad & software. Hopefully this will make it’s way into some upcoming songs & perfomances.

Summer Reading

5. Ever get your best thoughts in the shower? An interesting article on why this happens, with record producer Brian Eno over at the99percent.com.

6. I’m currently reading the Kindle versions of “Poke The Box” by Seth Godin, “The Accidental Creative” by Todd Henry, and “Prodigal God” by Tim Keller. (sidenote: if you have not downloaded the Kindle software for any of your devices you are missing out. The Kindle software is great because you can put it on almost all of your mobile devices, plus your computer. So whenever I have wait time I can pull up a book and keep reading.) These books are all challenging me in various ways and I am really enjoying it.

What are you reading this summer?

Summer Viewing

7. Holy W O W Batman!!

8. I still love watching Michael Jordan highlights.

What movies, shows, or concerts are you watching this summer?

Summer Cooking

9. We were driving by our friends’ house the other night when they waved us down and forced us to stop and have smore’s with them. Check out these great ways to enhance an already awesome dessert. The Smore’s Maker…

and now at your local grocery store… the Stacker Mallow!!

10. Delicious & easy fish tacos. Felic and I made these the other night and half way through the meal I revealed to the kids that they were eating fish tacos. They were shocked! Great recipe from over at pinkofperfection.com.

What fun foods are you cooking this summer?

Thanks for checking out the Tuesday 10 – see you later this week…

tuesday 10 – your turn

Hello friends! I have plenty o’ links, thoughts, and general merriment to share with you all, but I thought we would save all that goodness until next week. For this week’s Tuesday 10, I thought it would be fun to have you help me put this list together.

Since May is over and summer has unofficially begun (officially on June 21st…in case you were wondering) I thought it would be cool to go back and look at your favorite blog post that you wrote during this Spring.

If you’re a blogger, leave a comment with a link to your favorite blog post that you wrote in March, April, or May. Please don’t be shy. Remember you’re helping me fill up my Tuesday 10 list.

Or, if you’re not a blogger, post a link (in the comments section) to one of your favorite blog posts from this Spring. You could also challenge yourself to go and leave a comment on that blog post you enjoyed. I know it would mean a lot for that person to hear your voice.

So that’s this week’s Tuesday 10. Thanks for stopping by and I’m excited to read your favorites!

a new pomp & circumstance

I threw this track together last Sunday afternoon in time for an evening graduation at our college. It’s a symphonic-y attempt at Gungor’s “The Earth Is Yours”. Since we are in the graduation season I thought I would post it today to say congratulations to all our graduates. We wish you all the best!!

the earth is yours (symphonic) by danieljohn

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Also, a quick reminder that it’s not too late to sign up for our M O S A I C project. Just use the form below.

the M O S A I C project

Welcome to the M O S A I C project. I am sure most of you have seen a mosaic before (if not just click on the picture above. It is a mosaic of the world made out of apps). Most mosaics are formed by overlapping various broken materials. I like the phrase various broken materials because it is a good description of us all. We are all broken in some way. We all have hurts and imperfections, but when we are in community and share our lives with each other we begin to see a bigger picture take form. We begin to see a *work of beauty under the artful hands of God.

Now I want to finally give you the details for our M O S A I C project:

1. pick ONE creative project. video yourself telling a story, photograph something beautiful, dance, sing a song, paint a picture, rap, write a short story, try out a new creative endeavor. I dare you.

2. sign up for this project. at the bottom of this post is a place for you to enter your name, email address (we will not publish this), and your site/blog address. this is how we will know you have signed up. I strongly recommend that you take this step. the positive peer pressure of community is helpful in avoiding procrastination.

3. work on your project for a week. you have until next wednesday to submit your project to me (and yes you can send it BEFORE wednesday). so get started – you will really enjoy seeing your creativity come to life!

4. capture your project. take a picture of your painting, post your movie to facebook/youtube/vimeo, write out your story and save it in word, record yourself singing that hit song. with the resources you have available to you, capture your creativity because we want to see what you’ve done. (if you need help figuring out how to capture your project, please contact me HERE and I’ll be happy to give you some ideas for how to do this.)

5. send me your info. once you’re finished your project, EMAIL ME the link to your project or send me your project because I want to display our M O S A I C next Wednesday at 12 pm (CST).

6. help me curate this project. this is not a plea for me to have more visitors on the blog. this is me asking for your help because people need encouraged. invite a friend, or a group of friends, or get your kids involved for this newest project. you can use this link – http://ow.ly/4XXxY – to tweet, post a message to facebook, or email people you think this would help.

I said yesterday that I would tell you the story of the creative farmers, and I think it is a fitting story for us all to hear as we begin M O S A I C; however, it is not required reading. If you would rather not read the story, feel free to skip to the end of this post and sign up for M O S A I C. I can’t wait to see your projects!!

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On Monday morning, my sister and I took my daughter, Ada, to the dentist office. After Ada went back to have a cavity worked on, two farmers in their mid-60’s strolled into the office and began talking with one another. They started off with soybeans and I barely noticed as I dove back into the book I had been reading. I probably would have missed their whole conversation, except I heard the younger looking of the two ask his friend this interesting question – “So I hear you’ve been writing poetry lately?”. The eavesdropping began.

“Yes,” he answered. “Ever since 9-11 I started writing. It’s really very cathartic for me. I don’t know that it’s very good poetry, but I enjoy doing it. I mostly write what I happen to be thinking about at the time. Someday I hope my grandkids will read it and say ‘wow – so that’s what was important to Pop!'”. He smiled a little. He gave a few more details and then his friend interrupted with a similar story.

“Well, at Christmas time I wrote a short story for my granddaughter!” At this point it was all I could do NOT to grin from ear to ear. I would never have mistaken these two men for authors, much less for wanting an outlet for their creativity. He continued, “I can’t draw very well so I searched until I found a local artist from Macon who does illustrations. She illustrated it for me, then the book was bound and I gave it to my granddaughter as a Christmas present. She loves it and it probably only makes sense to her and me because there are a lot of our inside jokes in it. But I loved writing it.”

I so enjoyed listening to them as they continued to talk about other things they wanted to write about, art they were interested in trying to make and at the same time I realized something. We all have a desire to do creative things. No matter our day job, we need to have times where we attempt creativity. Even if it’s as simple as coloring with a child for a few moments – find something you enjoy, sign up and join M O S A I C. I promise you will love being a part of the picture!

*borrowed from About Mosaic at mosaic.org.

tuesday 10 – takeaway

Welcome to the Tuesday 10 – “takeaway” edition. Life has been a little hectic around here since our [5in5] fun, and I thought today would be a good day to go back and recap what I “took away” from our last project before I INTRODUCE our newest project! First, though the Tuesday 10. My hope is some of these takeaways might encourage you to jump in and be a part of our next online community project.

I need deadlines. My nemesis is procrastination. I am learning to fight it by simply doing. And recently we DID. Felicity and I wrote a song each night for [5in5]. We were really only fighting the time deadline and we noticed that it helped to unify us. It pushed us past difficult moments and in turn we did something. We created things we had never created before!

I need community. The same way the fight against time helped to unify our little husband-wife songwriting team – joining a group of people all taking on the same challenge helped us all become a part of something bigger. It gave my days purpose. It felt important. My thoughts were not just ‘what will we put together this evening?’, but I was constantly rooting for my friends to do well. I wanted to see what everyone else was going to do and the journey together was the best reward and the most

I need to be inspired. I have been thinking and talking for more than a year about an idea for a song called “Cathedrals”. The premise was about a person living a beautiful life that would in turn cause those around them to look up and see the beauty and wonder of God. But I could not get this song to work until….I heard a song that had elements I never knew I had been waiting to hear. The moment I experienced this other song I could hear “Cathedrals” finished and had regained the desire to do so.

I need to inspire. During the [5in5] week I received many emails from friends saying how inspired they had been watching from a distance. I had a young woman sit down in my office and tearfully tell me about the dark place she had been in but was now coming out of thanks to the songs we were all writing. Out of that place she was inspired to write her own beautiful song!

There were some who cried healing tears while listening to “Home”, young women wanting to fall in love after hearing “Love Seat”, and songwriters who loved the project so much they joined us mid-week.

I need honest feedback. One of the best things my wife does for me is tell me the truth. She is completely honest with me. The same is true of my friend Darin. I’m not going to lie to you and say I am always good at receiving their feedback, but I am getting better and developing “thicker” skin in the process. It is good, and I need it. You need it too. Not everything we do is perfect. Most everything starts out sloppy and needs editing and refining. With my friends’ help I am able to take my art from alright to something I proud to release to the world. Find real friends who are strong enough to tell you the truth and trust them.

I need to let go. Before we started, Felic and I made this simple rule: no creative idea was so important that we had to hold onto it. If we could not make the idea work or agree on the idea, we would set it aside. Plus we did not have the time to be so proud. We rarely revisited these ideas and only came back to them if they seemed they might legitimately be worth exploring.

I need to live in consistent creativity. Once I start the creative process it seems that creativity is more readily available. I think it is an example of disciplining your art so that you when you need it is there for you to use.

I need to dig deeper. Unfortunately, not every song just popped right out. A couple song ideas took only moments, but most of the writing/composing took hours of time. I always laugh at the amount of time that goes into a 3-5 minute song. Literally hours of time, but in the end the work is worth the reward.

I need to believe. Most of us feel like we are mostly feigning creativity until someday someone will come along and expose us as fakes. Or we imagine that we will need to be creative. But, we will try and creativity will not be there. Our well of ideas will have run dry. It is one of our fears. But it is completely untrue. We are creative and we have something to offer. So believe.

BELIEVE

I need to help curate others. Which is why I want to invite you to be a part of our newest community project – M O S A I C. It debuts tomorrow….

the tuesday ten [05.03.11]

A bit of a late post today, but that is due to all the fun we had last week. If you missed the [5in5] challenge we hosted, then be sure and check out the [5in5] page in the navigation bar up above.

Now, here are ten things I thought you might want to know:

I want to order this cool stylus for Felicity’s iPad & for a fun little project I am going to try and demonstrate at the bottom of this post.

Even though the songwriting challenge is over, I am always interested in helping musicians with their music. If you have a song you would like for me to hear, please click on the DROPBOX icon over in the right column. ->
You can upload music there and I will take a listen and get back to you.

Story 2011 has launched their website and the conference (for creatives) is going to be phenomenal! They have increased their seating to 1,000 people this year, but you will still want to hurry and sign up before May 31st for the best price. Let me know if you’re going & we will connect in Chicago.

I learned a valuable lesson last week while songwriting with my wife, the English major. If you want to be successful as a writer, you first have to sit and write. Then be open to constructive criticism. Find people who love you, but will tell you the truth and challenge you to increase your skill.

These are some of the most beautiful photos I’ve come across lately. I love this photo of the Candy Shop because this real shop seems so “magical”. Such amazing photography. Check out the whole photo set HERE.

Friday I am unveiling a fun, new project that I hope many of you will participate in. Check back Friday for all the details.

If you have as many stray accessory cables as I do, you might look into this great product – Grid-It! – to help you stay organized.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday – May 8th….Don’t Forget!!

My new guilty pleasure is “Newspaper Blackout” at Austin Kleon’s site. He takes New York Times articles and looks for words to make a quick poem, or funny saying and then blacks out the remaining words. My favorite one is “that distant rumble you hear is the sound of approaching joy”. It is more difficult than it appears, but if you’d like to try it for yourself on your iPad, he explains how HERE. Or if you’d like to go more low-tech, then grab a sharpie and a newspaper and see what you can “write”.

This is my first “newspaper blackout” attempt. I called it “a teenager’s thoughts on manhood…”

Have a great week!