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Haven’t had enough Viva La Vida yet? Then check out this exclusive Coldplay track called Death Will Never Conquer, which isn’t available anywhere else. The band have played the song throughout the first leg of their Viva La Vida tour. Download it here.

So tell me, have you over-played the new Coldplay album yet?
What new release are you most looking forward to right now?

An absolutely amazing music video for the song ‘I Can Barely Breathe’ by the equally amazing band, Manchester Orchestra. The gorgeous visuals for this video were filmed on the amazingly adept RED ONE HD camera by the guys at Destroy Rock Music. I don’t know how or when but I’m going to have these guys do some video work for me one day.

You can watch the video here but if you can, take a minute to watch it in HD on Vimeo. It’s worth it. (ht: double3)

click here if you can’t see the video - click here to watch in HD

Tomorrow night Lisa and I are going to have our first date night out here in Indianapolis and I’m so excited! I found out that the Ten Out Of Tenn tour is coming through Indy and I got tickets.

Ten Out of Tenn is a compilation album and tour by ten relatively lesser known artists from Nashville’s thriving underground. The roster includes up-and-coming singer/songwriters as well as several more established artists whose music has already been featured in Paste magazine or on hit TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy and The OC. If you haven’t heard of any of these artists do yourself a favor and check them out.

There are a few performers in particular that I’m excited to see including Katie Herzig, Matthew Perryman Jones, K.S. Rhoads and Trent Dabbs. The concert is going to be at Radio Radio in downtown Indy so it’s going to be a small, intimate stage and venue. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures I can share with you afterwards.

Photo by toru-Ga-toru

My daughter Chloe (7) is definitely like her Dad. She already loves music from an early age and always has her iTunes playlist jamming when she’s on the computer (gets that from me). Like any young girl she likes the girl-band, pop-rock sound (she didn’t get that from me. Unless you count that one song…nevermind).

I’m trying to have frank discussions with Chloe at an early age to help her to be critical and discerning about what she listens to rather than blindly loading up her playlist with music that contradicts the values we’re trying to instill in her. Thank God for artists like Superchick who have amazing musical talent, a great sound that kids and adults alike will love and relevant lyrics.

Before we buy anything on iTunes I always sit down with Chloe and look up the lyrics to the song first so we can have a discussion about the message. As much as I would like them to, today’s songs for girls don’t talk about rainbows and ponies anymore. Consider the message of this song:

The seven things I hate about you
You’re vain,
Your games,
You’re insecure,
You love me, you like her,
You made me laugh, you made me cry,
I don’t know which side to buy
Your friends, they’re jerks,
when you act like them, just know it hurts
I wanna be with the one I know
And the seventh thing I hate the most that you do
You make me love you.

Seriously? I want my 7-year-old getting the message that it’s ok to fall for vain, insecure, two-timing, two-faced jerks? As a dad to two daughters let me just say…Hell no!! Those are the kind of guys I plan on greeting at the door with my shotgun.

When examining music I also try to be conscious of how old she is. She’s 7 years old, not 17. She doesn’t need to be listening to all the boy-girl, first-love, I-have-a-crush crap that the pre-teen music market is filled with these days. Why aren’t there more artists like Superchick with songs like this?

You need that boy like a bowling ball
Dropped on your head
Which means not at all
You have too much to give, to live
To waste your time on him

It would be so much easier to revert to my legalistic days and separate everything into “christian” and “secular” music but it’s just not that simple. That same artist who sings the ‘7 Things’ song also has some songs with good messages that I do let Chloe listen to.

So I’m looking for your honest opinion.

As a parent, how do you decide what music to let your child listen to?
What musical standards/guidelines have you established?
What do you look for in good music for your kids?

Any thoughts?

Sub Pop, one of my all-time favorite record labels, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Sub Pop is home to amazing artists like The Shins, Iron & Wine and The Postal Service. I love that they have carved a niche for themselves that allows them to promote artists that they feel best match the style and taste of the label and its fans. You know you’ve done well when people not only are fans of the artist but of the record label itself.

By the way, if you’re a fan of Sub Pop artists like I am, be sure to check out the special 20th Anniversary Sub Pop Sampler that iTunes is currently offering. This sampler features 20 songs from artists like Iron and Wine, Band of Horses, The Go and Flight of the Conchords for only $7.99! You can’t beat that!

Here’s a list of some of my favorite Sub Pop albums and artists in no particular order.

Who is your favorite Sub Pop artist?

If you want to listen to highlights from the most recent Smoking Hot Music list then check out my muxtape I put together. It includes the 12 best songs I’ve been listening to recently:

1. White Winter Hymn - Fleet Foxes
2. Love You ‘Till The End - The Pogues
3. Washed By The Water - NeedToBreathe
4. Waiting for A War - The Morning Benders
5. Forevermore - Katie Herzig
6. Jesus Stole My Baby - The Fratellis
7. When Water Comes To Life - Cloud Cult
8. We Were Free - Priscilla Ahn
9. Your Face - Joy Whitlock
10. Primavera - Ludovico Einaudi
11. Hymn - Brooke Fraser
12. The Daydream - Tycho

This is the second edition of SMOKING Hot Music! These albums and artists are simmering in my playlist. Some are new, others are old albums I just discovered. Click on any album cover to read my mini-review. I’d love to know what you think.

Special thanks and a little link love for some music friends…

• Steven Russel for the Joy Whitlock tip. Joy actually goes to Steven’s church. How cool is that?
• Brody Harper for the Katie Herzig tip and tons of other great music. If Brody recommends something I can almost go out and buy the album without listening to it. Great taste in music.
• Brian Alexander for the Ryan Star tip (I’m still waiting for your first music video)
• CJ Mills for being so cool and having musical tastes so similar to me it’s scary (remember CJ, what we have is very special)
• Reba Baskett turned me on to Brooke Fraser and has awesome taste in music. I would like her more if she didn’t go to so many cool concerts and make me jealous.

Is there new music out there you think is good enough for my SMOKING Hot Music list? Leave a comment with your suggestions.

Last week a revolutionary new music download service was launched that, in my opinion, will redefine how independent artists get their music to new listeners. This new service is called NoiseTrade and was started by none other than singer/songwriter Derek Webb who in 2006 gave away over 80,000 downloads of his ‘Mockingbird’ album for free online.

The concept behind NoiseTrade is simple, “A great record is its own best marketing tool,” says Webb. “All the marketing dollars in the world can’t accomplish what one great record can, especially if it’s set free to roam around and connect with the right people.”

NoiseTrade gives you two ways to download music.

1. Tell 3 friends about NoiseTrade or
2. Pay what you want

That’s right. This service lets you actually set your own price for what you think the album is worth. Even better, 90% of what you pay goes directly to the artist as opposed to iTunes where well over half what you pay gets split between Apple and the record label (see this article).

Even though this service was launched last week I’ve already seen the catalog of albums offered grow. Even better, there are some excellent artists getting in on this such as Joy Whitlock and Katie Herzig. I’m convinced that this represents a huge paradigm shift in the way that new music is distributed in the future.

What do you think of the NoiseTrade concept?
If you had a choice, would you pay what you thought was fair for good music?
What do you think is fair for a digital album download?

I love good music. But even more than listening to music, I love sharing it with others.

I’m going to Gift this great EP by Goldfrapp to someone. This EP includes the single A&E off of her new album as well as several remixes (including an instrumental remix that would make a great music bed for your next video). If you already have this album let someone else have a chance to experience it.

Be creative. Convince me.

Do you see that? My socks got rocked right off my feet! Here’s why:

The Raconteurs Consolers of the Lonely	She & Him Volume One
Adele 19	Bryan Karas Cambridge Songs

Thanks to Tim & Kassie who turned me on to She & Him (and lots of other great music). Thanks to @thelongbrake for the Bryan Karas tip.

Let me know if you get a chance to check any of these albums out and what you think. Any other new artists or albums I should know about? Be sure to leave me a comment and let me know. I think I’m addicted to finding new music.

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