This week I'm gonna start trying to comment on pre-releases I get in the mail. Well, at least the ones worth commenting on. And since the Cindy Morgan album doesn't fit on the list of ones worth commenting on, I'll give you a little bit on Sanctus Real's The Face of Love.

Last night I went out with my parents and saw the Third Day/David Crowder Band concert. It was pretty chill.

Although we didn't really get there until 7:10, if they started right at 7 Crowder's set was just too short. It was great, though. They did a great job with their "rock opera", "You Are My Joy". And, of course, we had fun with "Foreverandever Etc..". They only played 40 minutes or so, though, but oh well. The opening band never gets any respect.

Where have I been? Well, that will probably be the discussion of the next couple blog posts. But first, where have I been in music?

Well, the last three days or so I've spend lots of music listening to my Paste Magazine samplers. I've got the entire collection, and it's not easy to randomly go through some 400 songs. But it's an eclectic ride, to be sure. I've definitely been listening to more country and classic music than in a long time. And it's pretty darn fun.

Speaking of rock 'n' roll, just a side note that May 2nd is going to be a great day. Not only do we get the long-overdue rock 'n' roll release from The Elms (I mean, who wouldn't want a rock album called The Chess Hotel?), but I just noticed that the album a year and a half in the waiting, mars ILL's Pro*Pain is finally gonna be released. That is, unless the EMI good music Nazis have their way....

Interesting. According to an article republished on Mute Math's MySpace Blog, Mute Math is no longer on Warner Bros., and that's why they can distribute the record at the show if they want. The show mentions their Teleprompt label as still being theirs, but they didn't like the "Christian band" status that Warner was giving them, so they dropped the label.

Their last issue mentioned it, but now it's here. The folks at Paste Magazine are now producing a weekly podcast called Paste Culture Club. What is it? Well, it's an extension of the magazine's content and samplers.

Well, it looks like the industry machine is starting to ramp up for the spring. Right now, the industry is moving to the sounds of Mute Math, a great new band from New Orleans. Their debut EP has been out for over a year, but this spring is finally going to bring them into the full spotlight with the release of their full-length album.

delirious? is my all-time favorite band. For years, they've been breaking ground as a Christian band with a reach into the non-Christian world. It's cool and I still totally respect them even though their last couple albums haven't been as stellar. (Well, that may be because I haven't seen a live show from them in almost four years.)

Christian artist (and now producer) Max Hsu just found out that he's in the Top 25 of Billboard's Top 25 Hot Christian Producers. Yeah, Billboard has a list for everything if it has to do with music.

Here's my take on it:

"Out of the 20 producers that work in Christian music, Max Hsu got #18. In order to make the list a Top 25, they allowed 'special' artists like Peter Furler, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Chuck Dennie to pretend to be producers."

According to an e-mail from PasteStore.com, the upcoming issue of my favorite magazine has a killer sampler. Not only does Paste Issue 20 have a Sufjan Stevens track, but the gem is a track from the forthcoming full-length from Mute Math. Sure, all of us who are avid Mute Math fans have been watching the "Chaos" video for months (if not years), but it'll be great to finally have the studio version on my iPod.