Andrew Peterson’s Counting Stars releases today.

After listening to this record (which I got to do for the first time on Sunday), I wanted to sell my house and buy a copy for every person I’ve ever met.

I haven’t done the math on that (not one of my strengths), but you get the idea. You know something is special when you have an immediate, overwhelming desire to share it with others for their good. And this record is so very good in so many ways.

Counting Stars continues Andrew’s uncanny record of hitting me simultaneously like a new piece of art that astounds, while feeling as familiar as the natural soundtrack to my family’s life.

With each successive song-story you find yourself going deeper into the mystery and magic of the world God made, but it is not always “new” ground. It is only that Andrew can call your attention to what you failed to see before, but might if you try (or stop trying). He is not content to let ordinary be bland, he will say something about magic. Here are songs about loving your wife (or husband), looking in on sleeping kids, planting trees, and hope in the night. All told by a wordsmith who is more like a wizard than an ordinary singer-songwriter.

He offers here a humble tonic against ingratitude. A poem for the glory of ordinary chores. A thin place where the wall between the divine and the plain is tenuous at best.

On this record, as you may guess from the title, Andrew again alludes to Abraham. This is one of my favorite recurring flavors of his musical catalog. He makes us feel like we serve and love the same God that Abraham did, not by diminishing the patriarch, but by putting us in our place –surrounded by the love of that same God.

The Magic Hour is one of the songs on Counting Stars, but it also describes my experience of listening to the entire record.

Get yourself a copy here, so I don’t have to sell my house.

Note: Tonight a 8pm (EST) Andrew will be playing a Counting Stars concert live on the internet. He will be standing on the internet, playing. See about it here.

I am very excited about the World Cup, an unmatched sporting event. In America we have a hard time understanding, or appreciating the scale and importance of this tournament.

Also, the host country is my beloved South Africa. I have seen some rugby matches at some of the stadiums they are using.

Cool: All the games are going to be available on ESPN 3 this time.

The U.S. team’s opener is Saturday, June 12, at 2:30pm. We play some team called England, or something.

Hello and welcome to this edition of Things I’m Quite Fond Of. I’m your host, S.D. “Bumpnose” Smith.

Today I present to you this record.

Check out dude on far left. Coolness.

That’s right, it’s Van Morrison and the Chieftains wonderful record, Irish Heartbeat.

My favorite kinds of music are, I guess, mostly of the folky variety. As for folk, I guess Irish folk music is pretty high on my list, probably right after Americana music (which I’d call a blend of America’s folk music –but I’m no expert).  

You can listen and watch them perform “Star of the County Down,” a brilliant standard, live here.

I am not going to review the record; I just want to let you know that I’m quite fond of it. Especially grand are the standards, but Morrison’s new songs (2, or 3) are pretty good too. The Chieftains are just tops. Love them.

This has been Things I’m Quite Fond Of. Tune in next time when we find out if Sven completes an ollie and get’s in Ulrich’s new skate video.