I’m releasing a new song, Kingdom Coming, in phases. Because I’m a nerd. I’m experimenting to see how many downloads each phase gets. I want to know what works to get the word out and exactly how well. Again, I’m a nerd. I’m making bar graphs. I’m OK with this.
For phase one, I let you guys who read my blog know about the free download. I posted about it and I put a little widget over there to the right for you to grab and spread around. A couple thousand downloads resulted from phase one’s first week thanks to BooMama, BigMama, Bush and several other B word bloggers who spread the word from my blog to theirs. Muchas gracias.
For phase two my friend (and genius) Ben Stewart built a web page where Kingdom Coming can be downloaded: shaungroves.com/freemusic It has a simple(ish) address so, for example, folks on the radio could mention it if they felt so inclined. For example. Hypothetically. Also, in phase two a lot of people I (barely) know will get an e-mail from me about that page.
Phase three, monkeys with tiny crowns and tiny scepters released into public places handing out tiny business cards with shaungroves.com/freemusic on them.
Phase four, celebrity endorsements.
Phase five, infomercial and a bonus bottle of car wax if you DOWNLOAD NOW!!!
Phase six, a viral music video starring those monkeys and celebrities.
Like I said, it’s all very experimental and scientific like.
If you haven’t downloaded the free tune, click that widget over on the right or head over to shaungroves.com/freemusic
And please, pass it on. Thank you in advance.
Last night a sang a few songs and then spoke at a church service full of twenty-somethings. You know the type: veins full of kool-aid and Ramen noodles, part-time jobs, splitting rent with a couple or four room mates. Not exactly folks who consider themselves to have more than enough.
There were 130 of them. 33 of them sponsored children.
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: This generation just after mine is very interested in doing something about what they believe. Whether it’s a belief in a political process or candidate, belief in science, belief in God - these people don’t separate belief and action the way my generation and I do so easily.
All we have to do is give them proof that this action or that works, actually brings about the change they’re after, and they take it.
I’ve never seen any room of Baby Boomers or Gen-Xers do what a room of twenty-somethings did last night...and does almost every time I speak to one.
To put this in perspective, at an average Christian concert full of mostly youth groups and middle aged women, 5% or fewer of the crowd will sponsor a child when given the opportunity. And that’s an incredible response really, with all the opportunities these folks have to give every day, that they would choose Compassion is beyond kind. But twenty-somethings somehow, for some reason, go beyond beyond kind. And they do it routinely, in my experience.
Somebody smarter than me, explain the cause of this phenomenon without belittling other generations in the process.
Thanks to everyone at Rhythm for releasing so many kids from poverty last night.
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The podcast of last night is now available at Rhythm’s site.
"Penelope busted Gresham’s ball,” said the oldest.
“What? She did what?”
“She busted his ball,” she repeated with that why-did-anyone-leave-you-in-charge tone she sometimes speaks in when mom takes off and leaves me in charge.
“Say that again.”
“She. Busted. His. Ball.” And the hand went to her hip.
And my hand went to my mouth to stifle the laughter.
And then I took a picture.
And my children still have no idea why their father was so amused by Gresham’s misfortune. But they will. Or Gresham will. When he’s about twelve.
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Speaking of busted. I had a guy come out to the house to make sure our heater was working. Seems like it runs non-stop and our gas bills last year were enormous.
An hour after he arrived I was told, “You’re not gonna like what I have to tell ya.”
Nossir, I didn’t. I didn’t like it at all. What he had to tell me was that our heater, because it had rusted through in places, was pumping carbon monoxide into our house. Well, that explains the dead plants, head aches and possibly the princess’ rampage against Gresham’s ball.
After a second opinion, I got to spend a lot of money on a new heating and cooling thingy. And it’s possible I paid too much on account of my not being all that knowledgeable about home repairs. You may have guessed that by my calling this deal I just spent thousands on a heating and cooling thingy.
A crew is coming out to the house tomorrow morning to install it. I’ll be on my way to Virginia to speak at a church service for young adults. Now that’s something I know a little bit about. I know, for instance, that the ball story is not a good one to lead with but one to keep at the ready in case the crowd turns out to be all twelve year-old boys and I’m in desperate need of “relevance.”
I’ve been putting my Compassion Bloggers job ahead of my soft rock star job lately. So, my site hasn’t exactly been up to date for a couple or five weeks. My apologies. I am catching up this morning before heading out of town tomorrow.
I know there are tens of you dying to know where I’ll be this weekend so, heads up, the Tour Page has been updated...sort of. I have this weekend’s shows up anyway.
Check it out and come say howdy if I’m going to be in your neck of the woods.
Thanks for your patience. (That means you, Nancy.)
A saw a few minutes of news last night while dining at the mall to celebrate my niece’s half birthday. (God forbid a television not be on at all times in all places.) A smart looking guy in a suit used the words “economic crisis” more times a minute than a thirteen year-old says “like.”
You’ve been hearing about it too, I’m sure. How couldn’t you? After all, you’re a consumer and according to the smart guy in the suit your confidence is at an all-time low. To prove it he said Home Depot’s revenues dropped by a third this quarter. And then there’s the auto industry crisis, mortgage crisis, airline crisis and on and on. Everyday the economic crisis, we’re told, gives Americans one more wallop to the wallet. We, we’re told, are having some major financial problems.
But iPhones are selling like, um, iPhones. And so are Apple computers - now accounting for 25% of all money spent on computers in the U.S. And they aren’t cheap. I know. I’m using one right now.
And most of us - wouldn’t you say? - are still buying soft drinks, snack food, texting plans, cable, vitamin water, and lots of other stuff that’s hardly essential too. We’re not exactly living like people in the midst of an “economic crisis.”
And this got me thinking way too deeply to reconcile this contradiction. And I thought about this theory of change I heard once. The theory goes that people are most likely to change their behavior if the consequences of doing so (or not doing so) are believed to be eminent. I won’t stop smoking unless I’m convinced I’ll die very soon if I don’t. I’ll stay late for work if I’m certain I’ll get the promotion I’m up for if I do. Maybe, I thought, if we really believed we weren’t going to pay the bills this month, and that would mean losing our house, we’d back away from the Oreos and iPhones. So, we’re just not convinced the consequences of our spending are eminent, I thought.
And that was way too deep. Seth Godin, the marketer, has me thinking the more probable reason for our continued spending during this “economic crisis” is much simpler, but no less profound. He writes:
Marketers taught well-fed consumers to want to eat more than we needed, and consumers responded by spending more and getting fat in the process.
Marketers taught us to amplify our wants, since needs aren’t a particularly profitable niche for them. Isn’t it interesting that we don’t even have a word for these marketing-induced non-needs? No word for sold-hungry or sold-lonely…
...Think you could live without the $1800 a year you spend on cell phone service and $1200 a year you spend on cable TV? Of course you can. You did ten years ago. But now, that high-speed, always-on connection to the rest of the world is so associated with your basic need of connection that you can’t easily divorce the two.
Ouch. I like my theory better. But that doesn’t make Seth wrong. Read his whole post. It’s well worth a minute of your life. And it might help you stay away from the Oreos and get those bills paid this month.
