Switchfoot
Site Review: Guvera
I don’t normally review music websites (the last one I did was for the now defunct SpiralFrog, back in early 2008), but new website Guvera has too much going for it to ignore, especially since Guvera succeeds just about everywhere SpiralFrog failed. I’ve been using the site for a month or two now, and I’ve been loving it too much not so say anything about it here.
Basically, Guvera is a music store that allows members to download any song they like from the site’s extensive catalog for free. It’s a simple idea, really – you search and find a song you want to download, then click the “Download” button. You’re then presented with a list of advertisers. Pick one that offering a free download, and you’re taken to a promotional page where you can stream the song for free, and download it if you like, and that’s it. Your song downloads right away, with no additional hoops. To sweeten the deal, the songs I’ve gotten have been in 256 kbs DRM-free .mp3 files, which seems to be standard. That’s equal or superior audio quality then most other music stores.
Of course, you can only get free downloads if there’s advertisers will to pay for it, which is the biggest restriction on the site. The number of available downloads changes regularly (at the moment, I’ve got six free downloads available, a high for me – usually it’s between zero and two.) When you sign up, you’re also required to fill out a short questionnaire about your interests to help Guvera match advertisers with you. Still, considering that every single song you get is completely free, Guvera makes a fantastic alternative to iTunes for individual songs.
Guvera has an impressive song library as well – they’ve got a huge chunk of Tooth & Nail Record’s discography, including Solid State and BEC Records, from Aaron Sprinkle and Falling Up to Demon Hunter and Project 86, plus songs from the Happy Christmas and X series’. They’ve got plenty of non-Nail artists as well, including Lifehouse, Amy Grant, Above the Golden State, David Crowder*Band, TobyMac, Chris Tomlin, Josh Wilson, Sanctus Real, Flyleaf, Newsboys, Paper Tongues, Switchfoot, 12 Stones, and The Rocket Summer, just to name a few. To put it simply, there’s something for just about everybody.
In closing – I honestly can’t think of a single good reason not to sign up. Between the selection, and the simplicity, Guvera just might be the best site for free music out there. (Notice I said site – not blog.) 
It’s just that good, and what few cons there are are easily outnumbered by the pros. Absolutely worth checking out.
Update: What songs are you going to be checking out? I have my eye on Anberlin’s “Impossible” for my next download.
Announcing The 2009 Free Christian Music Awards Winners
It’s time! The votes are all in, and it’s time to announce the winners in the first annual Free Christian Music Awards! You helped picked the nominees, and you voted on the winners – so read on to find out how your favorites did!
Free Song of the Year:
- Switchfoot – “Mess of Me”
- Owl City – “Fireflies”
- Tie: Thousand Foot Krutch – “Bring Me to Life” / Relient K – “Forget and Not Slow Down”
With 41% of the vote, Switchfoot is clear winner in free song of the year, which really isn’t a surprise – Switchfoot’s dedicated fans gave “Mess of Me” a lead from the start, and the fact that it was a radio smash for the band didn’t hurt any. Taking second place with 34% of the vote, Owl City’s wonderfully-popular “Fireflies”, followed by a surprise tie for third between Thousand Foot Krutch & Relient K.
Free Album of the Year:
- We Shot The Moon – “Fear and Love”
- Esterlyn – “Lamps”
- MercyMe – “10 Live”
The award for “Free Album of the Year” was the closest of all the races this year, with We Shot The Moon’s Fear and Love beating Esterlyn’s Lamps for the title by only 1%, and MercyMe’s digital-only live album 10 Live only 3% behind Esterlyn for a respectable third place finish.
Free Christmas Song of the Year:
- Relient K – “I Celebrate the Day”
- Thousand Foot Krutch – “Jingle Bell Rock”
- TobyMac – “This Christmas”
Relient K may have tied for third for “Free Song of the Year”, but they dominated “Free Christmas Song of the Year” from the start, with “I Celebrate the Day” finishing with 1/3 of the vote. Not far behind, with 22%, Thousand Foot Krutch’s rocking rendition of “Jingle Bell Rock” takes second place, and TobyMac’s “This Christmas” takes third.
Free EP of the Year:
- House of Heroes – “The End Is Not The End EP”
- B.Reith – “The B.Reith EP”
- Esterlyn – “Mending The Meaning EP”
2009 was a good year to be House of Heroes – not only was their The End Is Not The End EP the undisputed winner of “Free EP of the Year” with a whopping 49% of the vote, but the same EP was also the most-nominated of any of the songs or albums in the running. B.Reith picks up a strong second place finish with 25% of the vote, followed by Esterlyn at third with 20%.
Free Sampler/Compilation of the Year:
- Tooth & Nail Records – “Fuel Sampler 2009″
- Huntington University – “Picks”
- Creation Festival – “Creation Festival 2009 iTunes Sampler”
Taking first place in the coveted “Free Sampler/Compilation of the Year” category by a wide margin is the 2009 version of Tooth & Nail Record’s Fuel sampler, with the underdog and my personal favorite, Huntington University’s free compilation Picks taking second place, followed by Creation Festival’s 2009 iTunes sampler in third.
Most Giving Artist of 2009:
- House of Heroes
- Esterlyn
- MercyMe
“Most Giving Artist of 2009″ is a special category – rather then being nominated by fans, those in the running earned a spot by being exceptionally generous with free music this year. In an impressive (and much deserved) second #1 victory, the title goes to House of Heroes, with Esterlyn in second, and MercyMe taking rounding out the category in third.
Well, that’s it for this year – what are your thought on the results? I don’t know about you, but I’m sure looking forward to seeing what’s in store for 2010. Also, if you’d like to see the full results of the voting, feel free to check out this page for a full list of nominees & how they did.
Free Switchfoot, Family Force 5, Leeland, & More!
I’ve got some very exciting free music news to share today… “Mess of Me” anyone? That’s right, Switchfoot’s latest hit “Mess of Me” is available for free, plus several other great songs. The list:
- Leeland – “Count Me In”
- Underoath – “Writing On The Walls”
- Rapture Ruckus – “One”
- Hillsong United – “No Reason to Hide”
- Parachute Band – “Shout It Out”
- Family Force 5 – “Dance or Die (The Secret Handshake Remix)”
- Falling Up – “Streams of Woe at Acheron”
- And of course, Switchfoot’s “Mess of Me”
All eight songs can be yours, for free, thanks to Parachute Festival (the New Zealand equivalent of Creation or Cornerstone Festival.) You do need to sign up for the Parachute Festival’s website to download the songs, and you can only download each song once, but the music is great, and it’s free. Definitely worth checking out. Enjoy!
Switchfoot – “Mess of Me” (The Official Video!)
This is the brand new, official, music video for Switchfoot’s new song and single, “Mess of Me”, and it pretty much rocks. It’s one of the best live music videos I’ve ever seen, and the song is pretty awesome too.
Even though I do really like the video, though, that’s not why I’m writing this post. It turns out, Land of Broken Hearts (a Switchfoot fan site), has put together a list of objectives for Switchfoot fans everywhere, to help promote the new video. They’ve done an amazing job so far, the video has hit the top of Digg, been featured on YouTube’s homepage, and several other very cool accomplishments. Despite the progress, though, there’s always room for more fans, so if helping Switchfoot conquer the world musically sounds like fun to you, check out the Land of Broken Hearts website for information on how you can get involved. Rock on!
Switchfoot – “Mess of Me”
November 10. Hello Hurricane. It’s coming.
Free Song From Fiction Family
Just so you know, Matt apparently has some sort of internet problem and hasn’t been able to post anything, and I’ve been busy with classes starting this week, so I haven’t been able to post anything until now. Anyway…
As many of you know, Jon Foreman (of Switchfoot) recently put out solo work. Now, in addition to Switchfoot and his solo work come Fiction Family, a side project he has started alongside Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek. Over a period of two years they worked on their new self-titled album, recording parts of songs and sending them back and forth until perfected. Now they are offering their new single “When She’s Near” for free. This week, it is the free download at iTickets, and it is also available for a limited time on the Fiction Family website. I’m giving you both links because I’m not sure how long the download on their website will last.
Free Switchfoot Bootlegs
Last year, a band called Switchfoot released a CD called Oh! Gravity. You may have heard of it. When the CD came out, Switchfoot went on the Oh! Gravity tour to promote the CD. While they were on tour, they recorded every show and sold the live bootlegs to every single performance after the show. Later, on the Switchfoot website, this band called Switchfoot gave fans the right to freely share the bootlegs they bought.
Overnight, Switchfoot Bootlegs was born.
Basically, Switchfoot Bootlegs asked every fan to upload their bootlegs so any and all Switchfoot fans can enjoy the live shows wherever they are. The sheer amount of music blows me away. It is a Switchfoot fan’s dream land. Definitely worth checking out.
While I don’t think it was anything I did, the site is off-line for some reason, so you’ll have to wait till it’s back to enjoy the free music. Bummer.11 Bands to Watch for in 2008
11. Stellar Kart. If we really can Expect the Impossible, it must be pretty cool.
10. Inhabited. Their new album Love has been getting good reviews already, and looks to be an great CD.
9. Inhale Exhale. After a great debut, their sophomore disk looks to be great as well.
8. Pillar. With the apparent return to their older style, For the Love of the Game looks to be a worth squeal continuation to the Pillar legacy.
7. Hawk Nelson. If past awesome-ness is a sign of future awesome-ness, they are in great shape.
6. The Afters. After, what, three years, the band return with their second album, which looks to be as good or better then then I Wish We All Could Win.
5. P.O.D. (Payable on Death). Overlooking there new CD, When Angels and Serpents Dance, would be a serious mistake.
4. Showbread. Is a so crazy. They are releasing two different CDs on the same day. Who know what will happen? For sheer unpredictability, you need to keep an eye on them.
3. Kutless. With a new CD supposedly on the way, the massively popular band will definitely be one to watch for.
2. Underoath. The hardcore phenomenon. The mere fact that they are doing a new CD has music fans around the world in desperate anticipation.
1. Family Force 5. In two years, they went from unknowns to one of the hottest bands in Christian music. With a new, untitled CD on the way, the dance party that is FF5 will likely continue to spread.
Honorably Mentions:
A Rotterdam November. Despite being unsigned and unknown, they landed a hit with “City Without a Heart” and look to be a promising band.
Fireflight. Looks Unbreakable.
Leeland. Blindside. Switchfoot. Anberlin. John Reuben. Krystal Meyers. Deserved to fit in the top 11, only I ran out of room.
Free Music from Ivoryline, Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, and More!
Fuse.tv has just put up a new sampler with some new songs from Ivoryline, MxPx, Secret & Whisper, Jon Foreman from Switchfoot, and Far-less. It’s called the “Fuse Dozen Days of Downloads”. Most of the songs are available else where, but a couple are so new that I’ve never even heard them.
Though you have to scroll down through maybe ten or so mainstream songs to find it, the first song on the thing is Far-less, “Toast to Bad Taste”. After that is Ivoryline’s new song “Be Still and Breathe”, followed by a song from Jon Foreman’s new solo EP, Fall. The song is called “The Cure for Pain”. After that is MxPx’s “Secret Weapon” and Secret & Whisper’s “XOXOXO”. I’m not familiar with Secret & Whisper, besides knowing that they are new to Tooth & Nail Records and have a CD called The Great White Whale coming out.
Unreleased Switchfoot Song!
Remember the Switchfoot song “Rebuild” I posted about a week or two ago? Well, this is the predecessor. It’s called “Daylight to Break”, and you can download it free by signing up for Switchfoot’s mailing list. If you have enough emails to handle now, that fine too. Just sign-up and unsubscribe when the first email comes in.
Enjoy everyone!
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