At the risk of appearing to engage in self-promotion, I would like to draw Vox Nova readers’ attention to two acoustic Christmas recordings that I made over the past few years which I have made available for free download. The first is a full-length CD called happy xmas, x is here that I recorded as a sort of audio Christmas card for friends and family three years ago. It is made up of mostly traditional Christmas carols, plus some contemporary songs and an original tune called “The Prince of Peace.” It’s available here. The following year, during our first Advent in Toronto, I recorded a three song EP called The Rebel Jesus after the Jackson Browne song of the same name. In addition to the Browne song, it features my version of Rory Cooney’s “The Canticle of the Turning” and a Chicago-area Xmas favorite “Hardrock, Coco and Joe.” It’s available here.
Over the past year I have done a little writing and speaking on radical music making practices, drawn from my own experience in independent music communities, and why Christians and Christian communities should think of music and music making a little differently than they usually do. I hope to share some of these reflections here at Vox Nova in the new year.
Anyway, I can think of no better time to experiment with musical “gift economies” than Advent and Christmas. I offer the songs as a gift to the readers of Vox Nova and hope that in some small way they may contribute to your own reflection (and merry-making!) during this holy season as we continue to welcome the Rebel Jesus to our world and into our lives. If you feel so inclined, let me know what you think.
“Lord Jesus, come and reign!”
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