A Night Beat Classic: The Christian Fringe

The post below was my second post, and it attempts to define Christian Contemporary Music. On this 3rd Birthday Celebration, I think it best to reintroduce myself.

CCM is short for Christian Contemporary Music. It is an all encompassing label that usually includes the Pop, Rock, Alternative, Hip-Hop, Ska, Big Band/Swing, and Country Genres. Not included in the description are Southern Gospel and Modern Worship. The Latter is a bit troublesome, since the sound is similar. While by no means a white only domain, the title also doesn't usually include Urban or Regular Gospel and R&B. 

The Night Beat Blog will review most of the accepted list, Country excepted (sorry, I can't stand it.)  You can also be assured that no Southern Gospel will pass by this reviewer, for the same reason.

The Fringe Defined

In addition to accepted CCM, I will also attempt to give a fair amount of coverage to the Christian Music Fringe, usually consisting of Hard Music (Red, Demon Hunter); Metalcore (My Children My Bride), Industrial (White Collar Sideshow), Techno/Electronica (Joy Electric, And then there were None) and others.  By fringe I don't mean the edge of Christianity, just Christian Music, though in some industry circles this may be seen as the same thing. Tats and loud music tend to spook a bunch of people.

Part of the fringe is the G.R.A.C. (an acronym meaning Generally Regarded As Christian), and usually consists of mainstream artists which have gained traction among the Christian Audience. Think of U2, Paramore and others. Depending on how the band is received, it may be deemed as Crossover. Think Switchfoot here.

Due to the reviewers personal taste, I may, if the occasion arises, dip into Crossover material that is spiritual in nature but is no longer universally recognized as Christian Music, examples of which are Creed, Evanescence, and more recently Jennifer Knapp.  I will deal with these in a later post.

That is enough to get you thinking. I am Awaiting Your Reply.