Hey everyone, it's Hart. It's been a while since I've posted, and unfortunately it'll probably be a while before I post again. But Vanessa does a wonderful job of keeping this thing updated so I'm not worried! But the reason I'm posting is because I wanted to share a way to get some really good music for FREE! The bands giving away the music are Page CXVI and The Autumn Film. The thing is, these 2 bands are actually 1 in the same. Here's a blurb from them explaining:

"After forming The Autumn Film, an indie-pop trio from Colorado, band members Reid and Latifah Phillips and Dann Stockton created their alter ego band, Page CXVI, to focus on re-imagining old hymns. The name is drawn from the page number in The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis, the brilliant passage where Aslan begins to sing Narnia into creation out of a black void. According to Relevant Magazine, '...(Page CXVI's) genius is in making the compositions as thoughtful as the lyrics.'

As the band celebrates seven years of crafting music as The Autumn Film and Page CXVI, they are giving away their catalog - from both bands - for the entire month of March. Eleven albums, seventy-four songs, two bands. Think of it as a Jubilee. Think of it as a sweet springtime gift. Think of it as something to share with your friends."

There stuff is really great. I've been enjoying their music for probably about 4 years now. And I highly recommend at least downloading the hymns because that stuff really rocks. And pass this on to your worship leaders and pastors. Our church has incorporated several of their versions of hymns. In fact I bet their version of Rock of Ages may be one of our most popular songs we do at Crossroads Downtown. Anyways, go download this music so you can enjoy it. It really is free! All you have to do is provide an email address. Also, spread the word, pass this on, so other people can enjoy this music and so this band can gain more exposure. But be quick, all of their music is only free for the month of March!

Go here to download the music: http://www.pagecxvi.com/jubilee

Page CXVI - Hymns II

I'm excited to announce "Hymns II", a new CD being released by Page CXVI. On their website they describe their "mission" as this:

Page CXVI is a project started with the idea of making hymns accessible and known again. They are some of the richest most meaningful and moving pieces of music ever written. The name comes from a reference to page 116 in our copy of 'The Magician’s Nephew' by C.S. Lewis. It is a poignant passage where Aslan begins to sing Narnia into creation out of a black void. It starts, “In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction is was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. There was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it.” ~ C.S. Lewis

I really like Page CXVI because 1) I love their desire to make hymns known again. Having grown up in a reformed and traditional background I have been surrounded by hymns all my life. However, it wasn't until my college years when I began to really appreciate hymns. Prior to my college years I dreaded hymns. The reason I dreaded hymns was because...I'll be honest...the music sucked. Usually the hymn would be really slow, and it had 6 or 7 verses, so it felt like it took FOREVER to get to the end of the song. But like I said, in college I started realizing how awesome hymns are. The reason I started noticing that was because I was involved with something called RUF (which is where Vanessa and I met...praise the Lord for RUF!!!). RUF is something similar to an FCA or Campus Crusade, but something unique about RUF is that they incorporate hymns in their music. But what was different about these hymns was the style of music. Just like Page CXVI, there other bands, such as Indelible Grace and Red Mountain Church who take old hymns, but put the hymns to newer music that is catchier, fit the words of the hymns better, easier to sing, etc. And RUF used a lot of Indelibe Grace and Red Mountain's versions. And so then I started enjoying hymns, and then started focusing on the words and realizing how awesome the lyrics were. I mean, take for example the words to And Can it Be:

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

How cool are those words? Is it written in a way different from how we would speak it today? Yes. But I don't know about you, but I've asked that question so often...God, why would you let me, a sinner and the reason Christ had to die, actually gain freedom from His sacrifice? How great is your love God!

Anyways, I've rambled on that point too long. The 2nd reason I like Page CXVI is because they're music rocks. On their 1st Hymns CD they had some AWESOME versions of some hymns. They're version of Nothing But the Blood is so Coldplayesque. It's awesome! (As a side, that doesn't mean I thought all their versions were awesome. I thought Solid Rock was a little slow and took too long to build, and I really didn't like their version of "I've Got the Joy"...but anyways. And the 3rd reason I love these guys is because sometimes they like to give away their music. And starting today (April 27) until May 4, you can download their 1st Hymns CD for FREE!!! Why are they giving it away for free? Well, like I said at the beginning, they're releasing their 2nd project really soon, and so they wanted to spread the word about that. Now if you want the 2nd CD you'll have to buy it...I mean come on, it takes money to do what they're doing. But honestly, I wouldn't be shocked if eventually down the road the Lord leads them to give this one out for free too!

Anyways, hopefully I've got you really wanting to download their 1st CD. If you want it, you've got to go to this link to download it: http://www.pagecxvi.com/share.

If you download it, and like it when you listen to it, be sure to tell your friends about this. But remember, it ends on May 4!