Happy Halloween From The Night Beat. There, I've said it. That should cost me a few conservative readers. I know the accepted Conservative Christian doctrine is that Halloween is a day cleverly devised to teach our youngsters Devil Worship, Witchcraft and Ritualistic Serial Killing Techniques. GIVE IT A REST! It's all about the Candy.
I was celebrating Halloween from a very early age. I'm told that my first costume was as Jerry The Mouse (Tom & Jerry). It was homemade. I don't remember. I do remember being Little Stinker (a skunk, also homemade, with a wire coat hanger used to keep up the tail). I'm sure there would be some sort of OSHA regulations against such things nowadays.
Yesterday (That would be Friday the 28th. I'm doing this post in advance), the town I live in had a main street merchant trick or treating walk. I saw a lot of kids going into and coming out of business establishments in search of CANDY. There was nothing disturbing about the scene, except that the parents seemed to try to hit ALL the establishments, not just the ones that had originally signed up. Seeing kids go into an auto parts store and a liquor store was a little disturbing. Exactly what kind of treat were the parents expecting. Chocolate Schnapps, Candy Oil Filters? I digress.
If your town has had Trick or Treating already, I hope it was good. If it's tonight, I wish you much success. Kids, Hide Your Stash Quick. Your Parents need your help.
Any day centered around candy can't be bad. That hits just about all of them. Valentines Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Check, Check, Check, Check and Check. Happy Candy Hunting from The Night Beat.
The Home of the Platinum Vinyl Awards. Reviews of New CD releases, mostly CCM but also mainstream releases that may interest the Christian Music listener. Music News and Commentary, especially when there's a CCM connection.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Heating It Up: Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter Nominees- Pop
We come to Pop Music. Now this is an overloaded category if there ever was one. Just about everything, if it is not obviously Rock & Roll, could be categorized as Pop Music. If you use a true definition, as popular music, then just about anything people like fit here. For sanity's sake, of course, I use the more restrictive, non rock definition.
Eight down and only three to go. Whew. Stay with me as I complete the fourth quarter roll out of the initial nomination pool of the Platinum Vinyl Awards. As always. I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter Nominees
So Basically, the definition is, if it's not Rock (loud), but still bouncy, it's Pop. But if it's too bouncy, it's dance, and if there are heavy use of Synthesizers, it's not only dance but Techno. You Can see how this can get confusing.
Pop Music
- Jessa Anderson - Not Myself Anymore
- Big Daddy Weave - The Ultimate Collection
- Steven Curtis Chapman - Re: Creation
- Jason Gray - A Way to See In the Dark
- Shaun Groves - Third World Symphony
- Matt Hammitt - Every Falling Tear
- Mat Kearney - Young Love
- Dara Maclean - You Got My Attention
- Matt Maher - The Love In Between
- Jon McLaughlin - Forever If Ever
- Manic Drive - Epic
- Geoff Moore - Saying Grace
- Ginny Owens - Get In I'm Driving
- Andrew Peterson - Above These City Lights (Live)
- Robert Pierre - I'm All In
- V.Rose - V.Rose
- Selah - Hope For the Broken World
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Heating It Up: Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter Nominees - Modern Worship
Moving On to Modern Worship. And there's only one Hillsong Entrant. I guess it is possible to have a best of Modern Worship not dominated by the Australian Megachurch.
Scroll down to the bottom of the Darlene Zschech review for my bonus on C.C.R. Now while The Ember Days doesn't exactly crank thinks up as high as I would like, no one can doubt that they set themselves apart with an Alternative/Trance Sound. They definitely are the Anti-Hillsong. There is still more to come, so stay with me. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter Nominees
Like I said, this is Modern Worship. Now for anyone not clear on the concept, basically it is worship music with a rock beat. Now I have a problem with most modern worship music, but it's not the same problem that most have. Sure, there is the standard gripe that Hillsong Church seems to dominate the genre, but my biggest gripe is it's too tame. I Prefer Skillet and Worth Dying For. Let's crank this up to 25. Who do we think we are, the Talley Trio?
Modern Worship
- Jeff Anderson - A Thousand Tongues
- Daniel Bashta - The Sounds of Daniel Bashta
- The Ember Days - Emergency
- My Epic - Broken Voice
- Hillsong Live - God Is Able (Live)
- Leeland - The Great Awakening
- Planetshakers - Nothing Is Impossible
- Pocket Full of Rocks - Let it Rain: The Best of Pocket Full of Rocks
- Cindy Cruse Ratcliff - Twenty Three
- Matt Redman - 10,000 Reasons
- Jeremy Riddle - Furious
- Vineyard Worship UK - My Soul Yearns
Friday, October 28, 2011
Heating It Up: Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter Nominees - Alternative
Moving on with the Fourth Quarter Nominations. For those new on the scene, the year of eligibility for the Platinum Vinyl Awards is October 1-September 30. So the fourth quarter is the summer months of July, August and September, hence "heating it up".
There are a few multiple entrants here. Daniel Bashta is here and in Modern Worship, and Switchfoot is here and in Rock. We'll keep things going, hopefully one a day, and get through the genre based nominations in a week. As Always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
2011 Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter Nominees
We come to the Alternative Rock genre. Again, the genre was well represented, with ten entries this quarter alone. Let's get to it.
Alternative Rock
- Daniel Bashta - The Sounds of Daniel Bashta
- DecembeRadio - Southern Attic Sessions
- Divided by Friday - Prove It
- Gungor - Ghosts Upon The Earth
- Kiros - Outlaws & Prodigals
- Mikeschair - A Beautiful Life
- Rush of Fools - We Once Were
- Sidewalk Prophets - These Simple Truths (Deluxe Edition)
- Southbound Fearing - Southbound Fearing
- Switchfoot - Vice Verses (5)
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Symphonic Steamrollers: The Night Beat Christmas "Rap" Vol.1
Christmas seems to come earlier every year. I consider myself a traditionalist that way. One of the local easy listening stations that gets pumped into just about every restaurant or Dunkin Donuts out here will start playing non stop Christmas/"Holiday" Music (Don't get me started on "Happy Holidays", it's Merry Christmas) It's too much. Christmas is supposed to be a time of great joy, and if hearing the 5 Trillionth play of "grandma got run over by a reindeer" or "Last Christmas", by November 25 leads one to thoughts of homicide, that kind of spoils the holiday cheer.
There is a cure to HMIHT though (That's Holiday Music Inspired Homicidal Thoughts. If anyone can think of a better acronym, I'm all ears). The cure is simple. Break out the Mannheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. There are some others, but these two are key. They will get you into the proper spirit fast, and they rarely make a music FAIL. 5 Emeralds can get awarded on reputation alone. Usually.
Given enough time even Mannheim Steamroller can make an average album. There, I said it. It's not that Symphonic Symphony is bad. It isn't, not by a long shot. It's just, there's something missing, and that is the electronics. There are certain things that people expect from certain bands, and for Mannheim that means Renaissance Inspired Synth-Rock. The Synthetic Instrumentals have been replaced by a real orchestra, in this case the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra of Prague. Only the Renaissance tunes (Silent Night, Carol of the Birds, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen) survive intact. For the Rock Tunes (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Rock). Sorry, you just can't replace synths, and electronic instruments in general, in a rock tune. With Rock strings and orchestra should accompany the electronics, not replace them. I am giving Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Symphony a mere 4 Emeralds (Christmas music is not eligible for the PVA's, so this is an honest rating. Still, it's a major ouch).
Since the Christmas Music releases started on September 27 (Major Ouch), here are a few more CD's to pass my ears so far. Don't worry, I'll spread out these posts throughout the season. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
There is a cure to HMIHT though (That's Holiday Music Inspired Homicidal Thoughts. If anyone can think of a better acronym, I'm all ears). The cure is simple. Break out the Mannheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. There are some others, but these two are key. They will get you into the proper spirit fast, and they rarely make a music FAIL. 5 Emeralds can get awarded on reputation alone. Usually.
Given enough time even Mannheim Steamroller can make an average album. There, I said it. It's not that Symphonic Symphony is bad. It isn't, not by a long shot. It's just, there's something missing, and that is the electronics. There are certain things that people expect from certain bands, and for Mannheim that means Renaissance Inspired Synth-Rock. The Synthetic Instrumentals have been replaced by a real orchestra, in this case the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra of Prague. Only the Renaissance tunes (Silent Night, Carol of the Birds, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen) survive intact. For the Rock Tunes (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Rock). Sorry, you just can't replace synths, and electronic instruments in general, in a rock tune. With Rock strings and orchestra should accompany the electronics, not replace them. I am giving Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Symphony a mere 4 Emeralds (Christmas music is not eligible for the PVA's, so this is an honest rating. Still, it's a major ouch).
Since the Christmas Music releases started on September 27 (Major Ouch), here are a few more CD's to pass my ears so far. Don't worry, I'll spread out these posts throughout the season. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
- Various Artists - WOW Christmas 2011 4.5 Emeralds
- David Crowder Band - Oh For Joy 4.5 Emeralds
- Kutless - This is Christmas 4.5 Emeralds
- Toby Mac - Christmas in Diverse City 4.75 Emeralds
- Matthew West - The Heart of Christmas 4.75 Emeralds
- Phil Wickham - Songs for Christmas 4 Emeralds
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Heating It Up: Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter Nominees - Gospel
Listen...We Come to Gospel (and its kin R&B). And we also come to categories which will require significant cutdowns (we're talking over 50% of the initial pool will get a "thanks for playing" parting gift). Dispensing with pleasantries, let us get to the business of announcing
2011 Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter Nominees
Gospel Music (including R&B)
- Dorinda Clark Cole - I Survived
- Committed - Committed
- Ricky Dillard and New G - The Best of
- Deitrick Haddon - Anthology
- Le'Andria Johnson - The Awakening
- Forever Jones - Get Ready (Deluxe Edition)
- Donald Lawrence - YRM: Your Righteous Mind
- Jawn Murray Presents - Untapped
- Richard Smallwood - Promises
- 21:03 - Evolved....From Boys to Men
No Perfect albums this time around, but all of these selections could win. First they have to make the cut.
We still have much more to announce so stay here. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Heating It Up: Platinum Vinyl Award 4th Quarter Nominees - Dance
Continuing with our final roll out of the:
2011 Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter Nominees
We move onto the Dance Genre. The Nominations have improved in the second year. Already we have doubled the entries for folk and children's music. This quarter alone we have nine dance nominations, and the final nominee count is only seven. There will be some favorites left behind.
Dance Music
- Miss Angie - Time And Space
- Brittany Hargest - Love all the Way
- Jai - Culture Shock
- Cory Lamb - Break The Cycle
- Manic Drive - Epic
- Press Play - World Anthem
- Rapture Ruckus - Open Your Eyes
- Beckah Shae - Destiny (5)
- Warr Acres - Warr Acres
Remember a (5) indicates a perfect emerald rating. Stay with me as we continue to roll out the final nominees for the Platinum Vinyl Awards. There are additional categories this year and we have only just begun, so stay with me. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Surrender to "The War Inside"
I have been a fan of Switchfoot from the beginning. I first learned of them while working for Sparrow Records at the Inside Out Soul Festival in 2000. Learning To Breathe was yet to come out. The "Surf Band" from San Diego has continually improved from its start with The Legend of Chin. Arguably the best known current CCM/Crossover band (could be a tie with P.O.D.), they are known for their radio friendly hits, such as "I Dare You To Move" "Learning to Breathe" "New Way to be Human", and now "Souvenirs" and "Vice Verses".
Of Course, in my opinion the best part of Switchfoot is the Rock, and Dark Horses is the song that should be the crowd favorite at concerts, and Rise Above It should be right on its heels. Afterlife kicks off things, and it gets it off to a rocking start, and we are in a rocking mode for the first three songs, with the Original and The War Inside. Of the first three songs, the last is my favorite. It has a electronic edge to it.
Things slow down for Restless, which should join I Dare You To Move among top Switchfoot ballads. Souvenirs should also get heavy radio play. I gave Vice Verses a preliminary 5 Emerald Rating, and after repeated listening I have decided not to adjust that. It is one of the last albums in for the 2011 Platinum Vinyl Awards.
This has been a difficult post to write and Blogger is getting temperamental. I will wrap it up here. As Always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Of Course, in my opinion the best part of Switchfoot is the Rock, and Dark Horses is the song that should be the crowd favorite at concerts, and Rise Above It should be right on its heels. Afterlife kicks off things, and it gets it off to a rocking start, and we are in a rocking mode for the first three songs, with the Original and The War Inside. Of the first three songs, the last is my favorite. It has a electronic edge to it.
Things slow down for Restless, which should join I Dare You To Move among top Switchfoot ballads. Souvenirs should also get heavy radio play. I gave Vice Verses a preliminary 5 Emerald Rating, and after repeated listening I have decided not to adjust that. It is one of the last albums in for the 2011 Platinum Vinyl Awards.
This has been a difficult post to write and Blogger is getting temperamental. I will wrap it up here. As Always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Heating It Up: Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter Nominees
We have finally come to the end of the Second Nominating Year for the Platinum Vinyl Awards. Wow. Who would have thought I would have been able to make this work once much less as a regular occurrence. In the course of the second year a few changes have come about which may make the blogging of the second year slightly more challenging. One of those things is that I am now part of a group called Triberr, which agrees to tweet each others posts. Inherit in that agreement is an agreement not to overload the system with posts, and therein lies the rub. Last Year's awards were held as a series of blog posts spaced 15 minutes apart. There were 16 posts in all over a space of 4 hours. I tried to replicate an awards ceremony. So, to my Tribe mates in Blog Boldly, any suggestions. How should I handle this. I really don't want to spread it out over multiple weeks. It's not like you have to answer right now. The Awards wont be handed out until next year. The First was in April. Now to the nominees.
The Inspirational Music Genre had to be created this year in order to find a place for Jackie Evancho, then I had to find some more entries to justify the category. I still can't bear to call it Adult Contemporary or Contemporary Gospel. Such is the case.
That starts the final group of genre-based nominees. Once we get through this the fun part starts. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
The 2011 Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter Nominees
Children's Music
- Denver and The Mile High Orchestra - Groovy (5)
- Veggie Tales (feat Moriah Peters) - Songs for a Princess
- Worship Together Kids - From The Inside Out
Traditional Folk/Folk Rock
- All Sons and Daughters - Brokenness Aside
- Dominic Balli - American Dreams
- Burlap to Cashmere - Burlap to Cashmere
- Andrew Peterson - Above These City Lights (Live)
Inspirational
- Matt Hammitt - Every Falling Tear
- Geoff Moore - Saying Grace
- Fernando Ortega B - Come Down O Love Divine
- Matt Papa - This Changes Everything
- Selah - Hope for the Broken World
The Inspirational Music Genre had to be created this year in order to find a place for Jackie Evancho, then I had to find some more entries to justify the category. I still can't bear to call it Adult Contemporary or Contemporary Gospel. Such is the case.
That starts the final group of genre-based nominees. Once we get through this the fun part starts. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Night Beat Rewind: September 2011
Well, it's finally here. The final edition of Night Beat Rewind within the Year of Eligibility for the Second Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards. With the releases beginning October 1, 2011 we are gearing up for the Third Awards. Amazing how time flies.
As always, we split the entries into PVA Eligible and non eligible entries for easy references. Always willing to shake things up a little. I am going to separate out the "Locks" for PVA entry. By that I mean a PERFECT 5 EMERALD RATING. Any Perfect 5 is a lock to be included among the final seven nominees for each category. First, the near misses, or not so near misses.
That concludes the nominating entries for the 2nd Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards. Now comes the hard part. Whittling down the entries to a respectable 7 in each genre. Till Next time. I am Awaiting Your Reply.
As always, we split the entries into PVA Eligible and non eligible entries for easy references. Always willing to shake things up a little. I am going to separate out the "Locks" for PVA entry. By that I mean a PERFECT 5 EMERALD RATING. Any Perfect 5 is a lock to be included among the final seven nominees for each category. First, the near misses, or not so near misses.
September 2011: Missing The Mark
- Jeanette Thulin Claesson - I Will Wait 3.75 Emeralds
- Rachael Lampa - All We Need 3.75 Emeralds
- 7eventh Time Down - Alive in You 3.75 Emeralds
- Submission Red - Vision Tour 3.75 Emeralds
- Jonathan Thulin - The Anatomy of a Heartflow 3.75 Emeralds
- Bryan and Katie Torwalt - Here on Earth 3.75 Emeralds
- Darlene Zschech - You are Love 3.75 Emeralds
Now remember, 4 Emeralds is the low bar for the Awards, so this is just under award worthy. If I think you should avoid a band like the plague, well, I would "award" them under 3 Emeralds. In each of the above cases there was just "something", that I thought was missing. Not so in the next grouping.
The Purest Platinum (5 Emeralds)
These are the perfect ones. These are the entries, in each genre, that I feel that represent that genre most purely. This time there are three.
- Switchfoot - Vice Verses
- Various Artists - Music Inspired by The Story
- Heather Williams - This Time Around (D)
Imperfect Platinum
These are the 4-5 Emeralds. They make the initial mix, and we shall see how they fare in the finals.
- Jessa Anderson - Not Myself Anymore 4.25 Emeralds (D)
- Daniel Bashta - The Sounds of Daniel Bashta 4.5 Emeralds
- Benjah - The Break-Up 4.25 Emeralds (D)
- Big Daddy Weave - The Ultimate Collection 4.5 Emeralds
- DA T.R.U.T.H. - The Whole Truth 4.75 Emeralds
- The Devil Wears Prada - Dead Throne 4.75 Emeralds
- Jamie Grace - One Song at a Time 4.5 Emeralds (D)
- Jason Gray - A Way to see in The Dark 4 Emeralds
- Gungor - Ghosts upon the Earth 4.5 Emeralds
- Matt Hammitt - Every Falling Tear 4.25 Emeralds
- Brittany Hargest - Love all The Way 4 Emeralds (D)
- Haste The Day - Haste the Day vs. Haste The Day (Live) 4.5 Emeralds
- Le'Andria Johnson - The Awakening 4.5 Emeralds
- For King and Country - For King and Country EP 4.25 Emeralds (D)
- Kiros - Outlaws and Prodigals EP 4.25 Emeralds
- Cory Lamb - Break The Cycle 4 Emeralds (D)
- Lecrae - Rehab: Deluxe Edition 4.75 Emeralds
- Leeland - The Great Awakening 4.5 Emeralds
- Matt Maher - The Love in Between 4.25 Emeralds
- Manic Drive - Epic 4 Emeralds
- Maylene & The Sons of Disaster - IV 4.5 Emeralds
- Jon McLaughlin - Forever 4 Emeralds
Jawn Murray Presents - Untapped 4.25 Emeralds- Needtobreathe - The Reckoning 4.25 Emeralds
- Nothing Til Blood - When Lambs Become Lions 4.25 Emeralds (D)
- Oh Sleeper - Children of Fire 4.25 Emeralds
- Ginny Owens - Get In I'm Driving 4.75 Emeralds
- Andrew Peterson - Above the City Lights (Live) 4.5 Emeralds
- Press Play - World Anthem 4.5 Emeralds
- Rapture Ruckus - Open Your Eyes 4.75 Emeralds
- Jeremy Riddle - Furious 4.5 Emeralds
- Rush of Fools - We Once Were 4.25 Emeralds
- 21:03 - Evolved....From Boys to Men 4.25 Emeralds
- Various Artists - Now Hear This 7.0 4.5 Emeralds
- Various Artists - Wow Christmas 2011 4.5 Emeralds
- Various Artists - Wow Hits 2012 4.75 Emeralds
- Vineyard Worship UK - My Soul Yearns 4 Emeralds
- We Came As Romans - Understanding What We've Grown to Be 4.5 Emeralds
Friday, October 14, 2011
The Second Coming of Amy Lee
"A Sudden Vanishing Away", that is one possible definition of the word EVANESCENCE. A possible synonym is Rapture. And for a moment, the fans of the band by that name may have thought is what happened to the band. Well all except for those in the "official" CCM circles. They kicked Amy out of the Kingdom a long time ago.
A few days ago Christian Music Zine posted a question on their twitter account as to what Album you were looking forward to. Since I heard of it, this was it.
Evanescence came to everyone's attention through the movie Daredevil (2003). Now as a movie, well, it pretty well stunk up the joint, now the soundtrack was pretty good. Evanescence contributed two songs to the movie. Bring Me To Life and My Immortal had me hooked on the new band, and I eagerly awaited the debut album, and put in an pre-order at Christian Book Distributors. In full disclosure, this is the only time I have ever made a pre-order.
Release day arrived and my order didn't. I checked. The album was on back order for weeks and then finally the product was dropped from the website. Wondering what was up, I decided to do some research. As part of their promotion for the album, Amy and band did an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Among the shocking things they said in the interview was that "They weren't a Christian Band". I know, can you believe it. It's not like it was never heard before. I believe DC Talk, Audio Adrenaline, Creed, U2, Skillet, Paramore, Evolett and just about every band not in the modern worship genre has said that they are not a Christian Band at least once. It's all about the restrictiveness and boneheadedness of the CCM Industry at large. I think they also said damn. Once. Such filth could not be tolerated. And the purge from Christian Outlets began. I bought my copy of Fallen from the local Target.
A funny thing happened on the way to the Tar and Feathering. Fallen went platinum, and then double platinum. As is usually the case, Christian Protests usually are a great source of cash for those getting protested. Everybody wants to know what the kerfuffle is about. Fallen is now listed at Septuple-Platinum (7x) in the United States and 17x Platinum in the World. Amy laughed all the way to the bank. Good for her. Their success prompted me to name one of my Platinum Vinyl Awards the Fallen Award.
Fallen was followed up by Anywhere but Home (2004), the bands first live album, and then The Open Door (2006). Neither album was as good, but it is hard to attain those heights on a regular basis. Soon after the Open Door, like their name implies, they vanished. I can hear the industry laughing, "I knew they wouldn't last."
"Hello, Hello, Remember Me. I'm everything you can't control...." So says Amy on What You Want, the opening song on Evanescence, their self titled release. The break has done them good. This is an awesome album. Amy's vocals have never been more haunting or spine chilling. The band has responded to their rush of copycats by upping their game. The use of strings on this album has exploded.
Did I ever tell you I am a sucker for strings. This is no exception. The layers are just gorgeous. As is Amy herself. Some shallow individuals on youtube were commenting that they think she's fat. Well, they're blind. Just watch the video. She's fit as a fiddle. There isn't a bad song on this album, and not a bad word in sight. Note to the mainstream. You can put out awesome music without a parental advisory.
October 1 Started the nominations for the Thrid Platinum Vinyl Awards and we already have our first shoo-in for Best Rock Album. I am giving Evanescence a perfect 5 Emerald Rating. I am not just a fan. This has the potential to go as far as Fallen, though that may be quite a stretch. I have Fallen as #1 on my list of the top CCM Albums of all time, and with songs like What You Want, Lost in Paradise, Sick, Oceans, and Swimming Home, I think this is a fair lock for number two. That's my vote and I'm sticking with it. Agree? Disagree? Comment Below. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
A few days ago Christian Music Zine posted a question on their twitter account as to what Album you were looking forward to. Since I heard of it, this was it.
Evanescence came to everyone's attention through the movie Daredevil (2003). Now as a movie, well, it pretty well stunk up the joint, now the soundtrack was pretty good. Evanescence contributed two songs to the movie. Bring Me To Life and My Immortal had me hooked on the new band, and I eagerly awaited the debut album, and put in an pre-order at Christian Book Distributors. In full disclosure, this is the only time I have ever made a pre-order.
Release day arrived and my order didn't. I checked. The album was on back order for weeks and then finally the product was dropped from the website. Wondering what was up, I decided to do some research. As part of their promotion for the album, Amy and band did an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Among the shocking things they said in the interview was that "They weren't a Christian Band". I know, can you believe it. It's not like it was never heard before. I believe DC Talk, Audio Adrenaline, Creed, U2, Skillet, Paramore, Evolett and just about every band not in the modern worship genre has said that they are not a Christian Band at least once. It's all about the restrictiveness and boneheadedness of the CCM Industry at large. I think they also said damn. Once. Such filth could not be tolerated. And the purge from Christian Outlets began. I bought my copy of Fallen from the local Target.
A funny thing happened on the way to the Tar and Feathering. Fallen went platinum, and then double platinum. As is usually the case, Christian Protests usually are a great source of cash for those getting protested. Everybody wants to know what the kerfuffle is about. Fallen is now listed at Septuple-Platinum (7x) in the United States and 17x Platinum in the World. Amy laughed all the way to the bank. Good for her. Their success prompted me to name one of my Platinum Vinyl Awards the Fallen Award.
Fallen was followed up by Anywhere but Home (2004), the bands first live album, and then The Open Door (2006). Neither album was as good, but it is hard to attain those heights on a regular basis. Soon after the Open Door, like their name implies, they vanished. I can hear the industry laughing, "I knew they wouldn't last."
"Hello, Hello, Remember Me. I'm everything you can't control...." So says Amy on What You Want, the opening song on Evanescence, their self titled release. The break has done them good. This is an awesome album. Amy's vocals have never been more haunting or spine chilling. The band has responded to their rush of copycats by upping their game. The use of strings on this album has exploded.
Did I ever tell you I am a sucker for strings. This is no exception. The layers are just gorgeous. As is Amy herself. Some shallow individuals on youtube were commenting that they think she's fat. Well, they're blind. Just watch the video. She's fit as a fiddle. There isn't a bad song on this album, and not a bad word in sight. Note to the mainstream. You can put out awesome music without a parental advisory.
October 1 Started the nominations for the Thrid Platinum Vinyl Awards and we already have our first shoo-in for Best Rock Album. I am giving Evanescence a perfect 5 Emerald Rating. I am not just a fan. This has the potential to go as far as Fallen, though that may be quite a stretch. I have Fallen as #1 on my list of the top CCM Albums of all time, and with songs like What You Want, Lost in Paradise, Sick, Oceans, and Swimming Home, I think this is a fair lock for number two. That's my vote and I'm sticking with it. Agree? Disagree? Comment Below. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
In Development
Just a quick note to tell you all that I am doing a guest post today at the blog of my good friend Melissa at the Undeveloped Story. My post is about the process involved in writing an Alternative History Novel. I gave you a brief look at part of my process on my site, though in partnership with Melissa, as part of her Interview with a Character blog fest. If you didn't catch it, check out my interviews with John Lee Anderson and Lioness by clicking on the links. For the purpose of my guest post, John Lee Anderson is the Alt-Hi story.
I've got a lot more music on tap, so don't despair. In the meantime, enjoy.
I've got a lot more music on tap, so don't despair. In the meantime, enjoy.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Y2J: 10/05/11
We at The Night Beat are a little more somber today. Last Night I was about to check one of my email accounts when I noticed a news story announcing the death of Steve Jobs. Now without revealing too much let me say that while I am younger than Steve Jobs, I am not that much younger than him to not be affected. He Was 56. That's too young for anyone to die.
Back just before the turn of the millennium (that's 1999 for most people), everybody with a Windows based computer was fretting about this thing called Y2K. Seems that Bill Gates never anticipated past the year 1999, so the computer clock would roll back to 0000. They issued fixes an nothing happened anyway, so we will never know what might have happened. Anyway, back at Cupertino, Jobs announced that the clocks in Macintosh Computers were set all the way, I think, until some ridiculous time in the future like 2245 or something.
I say that because, to the Apple Faithful, yesterday will be a day we remember always, sort of like people remember where they were when they heard JFK was shot. Our hearts are a little saddened, but we know that Apple is in good hands. From all appearances, handpicked CEO Tim Cook will always be asking that important question: WWSD (What Would Steve Do?). I would say things are going to stay on an even and maybe still upward course.
Apple has been a big part of this bloggers life. Back when I was in college I started out on computers on a DEC/VAX mainframe. Using Basic line commands you typed forever and when you issued the print command, it printed.....One Paragraph. Then during my junior year things changed and we got a new computer room. Actually it was two rooms. In one room there were some large PC Computers running DOS. All I needed to know was that it revolved around the same line commands that the mainframe used. In the other room were these tiny things with one hard floppy slot and maybe a 6 inch screen. They were Macintosh SE's. Anybody who was an early convert to Macintosh remembers constantly swapping floppies between software and saving, and doing it happily, because, even though that took time, the revolutionary concept of WYSIWYG computing and GUI's made computing intuitive. And I credit the Mac and Jobs for, while not exactly paying for my college education, at least giving me a good amount of walking around money, because, Using Macwrite, I set myself up typing other students term papers. If I had to use DOS or the old mainframe, I think I would still be typing that first term paper.
I said all that to say this. Steve Jobs will be missed by many, and my ancient iBook seemed to take little longer than usual last night to reboot (perhaps it was mourning?). I have realized that the iBook (coming to the end of its useful life) would need to be replaced, and because of no other reason than money, I had briefly considered purchasing a windows machine. I have repented. You get what you pay for, and I would rather have a computer that "Just Works".
One final note. To the "Church" of J***A**** called Westboro Baptist Church. You gave up on Jesus a long time ago. If Steve Jobs went to hell, I have a feeling a lot of you will find out personally one of these days. If you were truly convinced that Apple and Jobs were evil, you should have used an Android Phone. I now apologize both to my readers and those of the Donkey Community. You are wonderful beasts of burden and I should not have compared you to the WBC.
I shall return soon with more music posts. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Back just before the turn of the millennium (that's 1999 for most people), everybody with a Windows based computer was fretting about this thing called Y2K. Seems that Bill Gates never anticipated past the year 1999, so the computer clock would roll back to 0000. They issued fixes an nothing happened anyway, so we will never know what might have happened. Anyway, back at Cupertino, Jobs announced that the clocks in Macintosh Computers were set all the way, I think, until some ridiculous time in the future like 2245 or something.
I say that because, to the Apple Faithful, yesterday will be a day we remember always, sort of like people remember where they were when they heard JFK was shot. Our hearts are a little saddened, but we know that Apple is in good hands. From all appearances, handpicked CEO Tim Cook will always be asking that important question: WWSD (What Would Steve Do?). I would say things are going to stay on an even and maybe still upward course.
Apple has been a big part of this bloggers life. Back when I was in college I started out on computers on a DEC/VAX mainframe. Using Basic line commands you typed forever and when you issued the print command, it printed.....One Paragraph. Then during my junior year things changed and we got a new computer room. Actually it was two rooms. In one room there were some large PC Computers running DOS. All I needed to know was that it revolved around the same line commands that the mainframe used. In the other room were these tiny things with one hard floppy slot and maybe a 6 inch screen. They were Macintosh SE's. Anybody who was an early convert to Macintosh remembers constantly swapping floppies between software and saving, and doing it happily, because, even though that took time, the revolutionary concept of WYSIWYG computing and GUI's made computing intuitive. And I credit the Mac and Jobs for, while not exactly paying for my college education, at least giving me a good amount of walking around money, because, Using Macwrite, I set myself up typing other students term papers. If I had to use DOS or the old mainframe, I think I would still be typing that first term paper.
I said all that to say this. Steve Jobs will be missed by many, and my ancient iBook seemed to take little longer than usual last night to reboot (perhaps it was mourning?). I have realized that the iBook (coming to the end of its useful life) would need to be replaced, and because of no other reason than money, I had briefly considered purchasing a windows machine. I have repented. You get what you pay for, and I would rather have a computer that "Just Works".
One final note. To the "Church" of J***A**** called Westboro Baptist Church. You gave up on Jesus a long time ago. If Steve Jobs went to hell, I have a feeling a lot of you will find out personally one of these days. If you were truly convinced that Apple and Jobs were evil, you should have used an Android Phone. I now apologize both to my readers and those of the Donkey Community. You are wonderful beasts of burden and I should not have compared you to the WBC.
I shall return soon with more music posts. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
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