Rehab Is For Quitters (And Everyone Else)

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The much anticipated album Rehab by Lecrae hits the street today. If you don’t know, my wife and I are part of a Recovery ministry at our church. I was so excited by the content that at first I didn’t realize how great the album was musically and lyrically. But it is truly a great record. I’ve listened to it all day.

The first track is called Check In, as in check in to rehab. It’s just about recognizing our weakness and being willing to walk through the process of God healing you. Except it has that low monotone vocal underneath the main vocal reminiscent of Timbaland’s best tracks. And it’s way cooler than when I introduce the idea of God healing.

I loved so much of this record. Killa is a great song, so much of the vocab is straight from our Recovery experience. Buying into the ‘honey-dipped lies’, feasting on our ‘secret sins’. It’s just about being tempted by something that will kill us. In other words, it’s about all of us.

Divine Intervention has a great rap for the verse, but then elevates into this killer swing vocal for the chorus. It has a great line about God speaking the earth into existence with no autotune. And of course in the background of those words is a tightly autotuned vocal. Brilliant.

If you’ll listen casually to Just Like You, you will love the cool vibe to the song. But if you listen closely, you may weep. It’s talking about young men following the men who have fallen before us. The lyric, the timing, the insight are phenomenal in this track.

Children of the Light is bold and aggressive. I can’t wait to see some of this stuff live. I can see the church lifting this up together, preparing for the battle we call life. “We are children of the light, royal rulers of the day.”

Walking On Water is another great tune. I love the lines that talk about how it’s not will power, it’s God at the wheel, that’s the real power. We don’t walk on water because we decide to. We do it because He gives us the grace to. All our success depends intimately on Him.

God Is Enough lays out all the things that the world is trying to sell us as fulfillment. And then arrives at the chorus, which simply says, “God is enough.”

And then Boasting starts with this amazing vocal, and of course, it’s Anthony Evans. Not fair. There are guests throughout this project. It’s the result of true community.

I can’t recommend this highly enough. Love the music, but also open your heart to what God has for you. God wants to heal you. You have been hurt, you are hurting yourself, you are hurting others. It’s a natural result of the fall. But God has a greater plan. It doesn’t start when we get to heaven. Life is Rehab.

Hope you take a listen. I’ve got to go listen some more. Later.

Todd

‘NEED’ Releases Today

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Hey everyone, it’s Todd. The new record comes out today. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who prayed us through this process. It was definitely a difficult one. I am looking forward to hearing people’s thoughts and reactions now that the record is finally out. I hope you will share yours, maybe in a comment at the bottom of this blog. If you don’t know much about the record, it’s called NEED and it kind of has three themes running through the record: things we think we need, things we really need, and the strange but beautiful idea that all the things we really need are found in Christ.

First, I would like to thank everyone who has been onto iTunes already this morning. Of course, the first single that has already been available, ‘Joy Unspeakable’, is the most downloaded. But the second is ‘Higher Ground’. That really touched me. It’s been one of my favorites for some time. I also look forward to hearing your thoughts on ‘Give Me Jesus’, another favorite of mine.

Actually I can’t wait to hear what you think of all the songs. Well, what God shows you, how He moves in your heart. That’s why we do this, and I look forward to his move. The other additional iTunes comment is that there are 3 bonus songs on iTunes that are not on the CD for those of you that preordered or bought it in the stores. These songs are available for purchase on iTunes; you don’t have to buy the whole record. ‘The Way of the Cross’ is a personal favorite. It was so hard not to include it on the record. And ‘All The World’ is a bit of the funky side that you may have become used to hearing from me. ‘All That I Have’ wasn’t my favorite bonus track but hopefully some of you will like it. Anyway, I hope to hear from you guys as you experience the new project. Thanks for listening.

Todd

‘NEED’ Now Available

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todd_agnew_need

Hey Everyone, October 6th has finally arrived! Todd’s new album “Need” releases in stores today! If you haven’t already pre-ordered the album, I encourage you to pick up a copy for yourself and for a friend. Below are some links to purchase “Need”:

iTunes
Family Christian Stores
Lifeway
MusiChristian.com
Mardel

We would love to hear your feedback on what you think of the album, your favorite song(s), and anything else you’d like to share.

Jenni

New Music Tuesday/What’s On The Playlist 9/8/09

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Well, it’s the day you’ve all been waiting for. Barlowgirl’s new record, Love & War, comes out today. The title threw me at first but then I developed some affection for it as I realized it was a combo of themes in their ministry. You know, we’re NEVER ALONE because God loves us, and we have to go ONE MORE ROUND in the war for His glory. So i get it. But the record comes out today. It’s kind of weird because I looked on iTunes and usually I just have to look at the new releases, but it’s not there. Maybe they’re falling behind. Maybe all the people at iTunes are watching the US Open. Or maybe it’s someone else’s fault. Either way, it’s not on the front pages, but if you search for it, you can find it. As for the record itself, it’s what you expect to come from the girls: strong rock music, sometimes fun, and strong lyrics. I was just about to assume I knew what the record held when I hit track 10, Tears Fall. Whoa, didn’t see that coming. And I mean in a good way. It’s beautiful. And then track 11, Hello Sunshine, is another fun creative track. The record finished with my two favorite songs. Anyway, check it out. You have to search for it, but I think you’ll enjoy it.

And one more, this came out last week, but I finally got to sit and listen to Jason Gray’s Everything Sad is Coming Untrue. Last week, it was a part of my five minorly major announcements, or was that majorly minor announcements. I don’t remember. Anyway, I was telling everyone about Nathan Lee’s 40DAYRISK tour, and Ted Dekker’s new book Green, and Derek Webb’s new record, Stockholm Syndrome. Oh and the NEED pre-sale, which you probably had to look at before you could get to the website. And I mentioned Jason’s new record because it came out but I hadn’t gotten to listen to it yet. Now I have, and it’s great. Jason is a great writer and that really shines through on this record. The first track is great: More Like Falling In Love. It’s way better than the first single. But isn’t that just how it goes. About tracks 3 & 4, I thought the record was settling into CCM radio world. But then Holding The Key took major steps forward and How I Ended Up Here might have been my favorite song on the record. And the record continues like that. A song or two for radio and a song or two for me. If you like both of those sounds, this may be your favorite record in quite some time. Hope you get the chance to enjoy it.

Todd