Free stuff

Who says you can't get good stuff free? One of my most listened to albums of the year, Derek Webb's "Mockingbird," will be available for free download in 12 days. I love this collection because it doesn't flinch addressing some tough issues -- war and peace, poverty and justice, church and state -- from a faith perspective (and with pretty good theology, mostly). I'll try to write about some of its highlights in the coming days. Mockingbird hangs together as a collection very well. I saw Derek and his wife, Sandra McCracken, at Circle of Hope in Philly this spring, and they devoted the second set to playing through the album, without comment, and it was powerful.

Derek posts this about why he's offering the work for free:

i love music. i have grown up with music as a close confidant. and i believe in the power of music to move people. there's something remarkable about the way a melody can soften someone to a new idea.

as an artist (and often an agitator), this is something i am keenly aware of. my most recent record 'mockingbird' deals with many sensitive issues including poverty, war, and the basic ethics by which we live and deal with others. but i found that music has been an exceptional means by which to get this potentially difficult conversation going. and this is certainly an important moment for dialogue amongst people who disagree about how to best love and take care of people, to get into the nuances of the issues.