St. Augustine Tunes in to the Top 40
The hit-making sound of pride, sex, sin, and salvation
Hello friends! We’re still snowed in here in Nashville. Our recording session for the audio book was canceled—well, postponed till tomorrow, assuming we can get out of the neighborhood to a main road that’s been cleared. But in the digital realm, the show must go on! It is Music & Meaning new episode drop day. Let’s do it.
Podcast show notes description:
In this episode of Music & Meaning, we take you on a sonic sojourn. We're dialing back the clock to the dusty scrolls of St. Augustine—the original bad boy rock star turned philosopher-saint, a proto-Kendrick Lamar with parchment and pen, not a playlist. Now, picture Augustine with a pair of Apple AirPods nodding to today's Top 40. What does he hear? Beats that drop harder than Roman empires and lyrics that scratch at the eternal itch of the human heart. Augustine's own lyrics, his confessions, had it all: pride, sex, sin, and salvation—the same stuff fueling our hit parade today. Listen as Charlie and his co-host, St. Augustine, sample the charts and the lyrical stories we tell each other and the world. It's confession time. Bend a knee while we bend your ears.
New podcast here: Apple — Spotify — CT Media
This episode was quite fun. I enlisted the mellifluous vocal tones of Kevin Max to play Augustine for a recitation. While son and daugher-in-law, Sam Ashworth & Ruby Amanfu, contributed a truly special version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” Country fans will remember Luke Combs’ recent hit with his remake. Granddaughter Bridget sang a few bars of Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer.” I was glad for the help. Speaking of which, I thought my co-composer David LaChance made some perfectly emotive and impressive contributions to the soundtrack. Mark Owens nailed the mix. Thank you gentlemen.
On the book front, Why Everything That Doesn’t Matter, Matters So Much pre-orders are going very well. Thank you to everyone for your help. As I explained in my last post, though we support all locally-owned bookstores, momentum with the gargantuan digital retailers is a classic case of rising tide lifts all boats. So if you’re a pre-order type person, go for it!
We’re having our launch day event at our local shop, Parnassus Books here in Nashville. As of today, tickets are still available—its the kind of thing where you pay for the price of a book—signed—and then we will personalize them at the gathering. All that, and seeing old, beloved friends—which is the real goodness. Sign up, see you there Nashville.
Finally, here’s the first chapter for you to sample courtesy of the good people at HarperCollins W imprint.
Peace to you.
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New podcast here: Apple — Spotify — CT Media
