For more than a year, two of my best friends, Will Gray and Jon Kofahl, have been hard at work on a documentary about the state of the music industry and the uncertain future of independent musicians. The film is gorgeous and the story is compelling. Please support these guys, and support this conversation!
Click through to watch the trailer and read more about the film.
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Even though it never snows where I live, I grew up in a place where the cold of winter seeps into your bones and December really does hold the darkest night of the year. Sparkling lights, hot cocoa, and melancholy music all seem to make more sense in that atmosphere, but the nostalgia still feels real and I’m grateful for that.
Here’s a list of some of my favorite holiday songs this season. I tried to make sure they were either slightly left-of-center (maybe even off your radar) or so extraordinarily beautiful that you simply must have them.
Happy holidays, my friends.
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One of my favorite things to do is to create music. In fact, before I started working with leaders and writing books, I was playing shows with talented folks like The Fray / Sister Hazel / Mat Kearney and writing songs.
Now I produce and write music in my spare time, and I’m always keeping an eye on new music business models. I’ve just teamed up with NoiseTrade (Fair Trade Music) to offer my last album, The Let Go, for whatever price you like. Seriously!
You can even get it for free…
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Welcome to Part III of 12 Songs You Need On Your iPod.
This list is something I’m calling the Goosebumps Edition. I don’t mean this in a scary, book/tv series from the nineties kind of way, but more so in a “these songs tell such heart wrenchingly beautiful stories they give me goosebumps even after I hear them a hundred times” kind of way. (more…)
Strengths Insight: Communication by Josh Allan Dykstra on October 2nd, 2007
Lovin's For Fools by Josh Allan Dykstra on December 27th, 2008
A Grateful Stumble by Josh Allan Dykstra on January 5th, 2008
Travel is wondrous. Dancing is a blast. Combining them?
Genius.
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Here’s a brand new social media facts video from the kind folks at XPLANE and The Economist.
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This isn’t a technology blog by any means, but these invisible speakers have the potential to be fairly game-changing for TVs, computers, and game systems. Have your mind blown right around the 2 minute mark.
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The Social Media Revolution video I posted yesterday got some good dialogue going on my Facebook page, so I thought I’d bring it on over here.
A couple of my friends brought out some pretty interesting issues; the discussion went like this…
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My first post of “12 Songs You Need On Your iPod” was surprisingly popular, so I thought I’d do it again. Maybe this should be a regular thing…? I do love promoting good music.
This is a “relatively unknown but should be huge” list. If you don’t know these artists, I hope you’ll get to; as usual, links go straight to iTunes.
1. Owl City – “The Saltwater Room”
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2. Wood – “Knock It On The Head”
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3. Daphne Loves Derby – “Pollen and Salt”
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4. Molly Jenson – “Give It Time”
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5. David Mead – “Last Train Home”
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6. Katie Herzig & Matthew Perryman Jones – “Where the Road Meets the Sun”
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7. Newton Faulkner – “People Should Smile More”
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8. Mario Spinetti – “Delirious”
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9. Glen Hansard – “Say It To Me Now”
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10. Kristian Leontiou – “Shining”
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11. Young Love – “Close Your Eyes”
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12. Fiction Family – “When She’s Near”
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Where The Hell Is Matt? by Josh Allan Dykstra on October 13th, 2009
What Matters Now - Free eBook by Josh Allan Dykstra on December 28th, 2009
How To Discover Your Strengths by Josh Allan Dykstra on August 17th, 2010
One of my obsessions is new music. It’s like a drug… and thankfully much cheaper. 
And even if you’re not as flashy as Elton, in my humble opinion at least, here are 12 songs that will make your iPod categorically better. It’s a proven fact, actually.*
MUSIC STARTS HERE — links go straight to iTunes!
* I did a study. Not really. But it is on Wikipedia.**
** Not really. But you will love this music!
01. Meese – “Next In Line”
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02. Everest – “Angry Storm”
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03. Deb Talan – “Big Strong Girl”
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04. Iron & Wine – “Communion Cups & Someone’s Coat”
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05. The Format – “She Doesn’t Get It”
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06. The Cast of Glee – “Don’t Stop Believin’”
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07. Bell X1 – “Eve, The Apple Of My Eye”
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08. Brandi Carlile – “Hiding My Heart”
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09. The Rescues – “I Miss Missing You”
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10. Jim Bianco – “Painkiller”
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11. Augustana – “Rest, Shame, Love”
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12. The Weepies – “How You Survived The War”
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NEED MORE TUNES!?
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A Grateful Stumble by Josh Allan Dykstra on January 5th, 2008
Free Download Of "Mary," My Christmas Song by Josh Allan Dykstra on December 16th, 2007
Must-See: Slumdog Millionaire by Josh Allan Dykstra on January 17th, 2009
