Category Archives for Music

This Week’s App Discovery: Songza

Don’t let the hideous icon fool you. Behind this toothy nondescript monster is some lighthearted—yet genius—app goodness. That being said, you might want to hide the app in one of your iOS folders once you download it….

Why Another Music App?

Sometimes Pandora or Spotify are not enough. Spotify is good for social music interaction. If I want to discover what my friends are listening to, I turn to this music-related social network; it is there to discover new music friends enjoy. It is in this unique situation that I turn to Spotify. Of course, Spotify offers other things, but I already have playlists created and have them ordered in my iTunes, so playlists in Spotify don’t especially interest me. Spotify is not a home of my music—it’s a music hangout.

Then we have Pandora. It’s great for when I want a radio experience based on my favorite artists, songs, albums, and genres. It has social features too, but it’s not paramount with Pandora for my usage. Pandora is mostly about ‘self’. If I want to mix my favorites Pandora is good for that. I can build playlists in Pandora for music I do not have in iTunes, and I may hear a few artists in Pandora that are not in my personal library because Pandora’s algorithms figure out what I like and play for me similar songs and artists in my custom radio-like stations (playlists). Pandora figures me out then gives me something exclusive.

But there is another way I’d like to interface with music, and I discovered that Songza is just the ticket to do it.

Songza calls itself a “music concierge.” Rather than find music based on artists, albums, or genres, you choose what sort of music you’re in the mood for based on the time of day and where you are at, then it plays a very selective playlist that’s geared to match your unique setting. All the while, Songza takes into consideration what music you’re in the mood for at that moment.

Songza claims they have “playlists for everything,” so you should never be in a situation their playlists won’t work for. I imagine science class, church, or the weekend conference may not have playlists suitable for those occasions, but otherwise Songza’s claim appears true.

And one of the oddest and interesting things about Songza:

At this time, there are no audio ads.

That alone is a reason to use Songza over the likes of Pandora or Last.fm. It’s so very refreshing and distraction free to get a truly commercial-free music experience for hours of listening.

Songza is already an established website with a music player at the top of the site for your listening pleasure. You can login with Facebook, or create a unique user account to save your favorite playlists.

Get the free Songza app here.

Take Away

Essentially, Songza is Pandora with a different way to navigate the tunes and playlists. It’s not a Pandora or Spotify replacement, but it has it’s place. There are moments I want to navigate my music the way Pandora does, and other times I want the desktop style player of Spotify. Songza is there for a whole different music experience.

Play Songza over their website, app for the iPhone, Android, and Kindle Fire. I recommend you check it out.

Nathan Clark George Concert

At the Regional Worldview Conference of Morton Illinois I have the privilege of recording then post-producing music videos of Nathan Clark George. He will be posting them from week to week on his YouTube channel. Here is one of them:

I have interacted on a few occasions with Nathan, and I can testify he lives what he sings. He really has a solid worldview, walk with God, and an great family.

Something that I have pondered in the genres for Christian music. I have often wondered what sort of music God likes, and whether we will hear our brand of Christian music in Heaven. Music has come a long way since King David would play on the harp while watching sheep in the Old Testament. Does God like Hebrew music most? Is He partial in any way? I don’t mean on moral grounds—does He simply have His own musical tastes? I can’t wait to find out (and, hopefully, He and I will have something in common in this regard).

The World Glass Music of Dean Shostak

My brother was on vacation in Williamsburg Virginia recently, and brought back with him a music album of an American artist. Dean Shostak, a different sort of musician, has a focus of skill in glass musical instruments. Honestly, glass instruments took me some getting used to as a child when my Dad played selections for me and my siblings. Now, I am rather fond of their unique reverb and hollow quality. Continue reading →

What’s God Think of Your Music?

The Bible has a great number of references to music all throughout—particularly the Psalms. In fact, the entire Old Testament was put to music for the Israelites to sing as worship and help memorize. Of course, what the children of Israel would call music and what we have to listen to in this day and age is very different. Have you ever wondered if your standards of music are consistent with what God considers good? Have you ever felt some music in your collection is so “secular” it shouldn’t belong to or be listened to by committed Christians? Continue reading →

Michael Billings

Michael Billings was a very dear man of God that worked at The Vision Forum. Last year, November 4th, Michael was killed in a car accident. Still, friends of Michael care about his legacy, and yesterday they gathered for a memorial service in his honor a year after his death. (More info on the memorial service here)

I didn’t know Michael too well, but what I did know of him, and the few times we conversed, he was a good and Godly young man. I respect(ed) him and what he was doing with his life. His character was impeachable and his expression of living the Christian faith a good model for young men. Continue reading →