Music Video Monday: Tanks for The Memories

Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun. Welcome to an all new edition of Music Video Monday, where we share the greatest Music Videos in CCM and the GRAC Fringe. We have a full slate and the mix is on. We begin in the Rap and Hip Hop Genre. Derek Minor has been pretty prolific these days, and I guess practice makes perfect. Empire was Pure Platinum in 2015, and Reflection fell just short at 4.75 Emeralds. From Reflection, this is Until I'm Gone ft BJ the Chicago Kid.
From Rap to Hard Rock. Hard Southern Rock as in Disciple. Personally a dream tour for me would be Disciple-Third Day. Anyway, from the Perfect 5 Rated album Long Live The Rebels, this is the Lyric Video (with some images) of Erase.
Finally we move on to Rock or Electronic-Industrial or Dance-Synthpop. I'm really not sure which one at this point. What I am sure about is that these guys love playing with their kids toys. The video for the title cut of their latest album, Tanks, this is Satellites and Sirens.
That does it for this edition of Music Video Monday. We may be doubling or tripling up in the next few days as we try to clear a backlog of work. Just warning you. Until our next post, I am Awaiting Your Reply. 

The Drive To Five: Oh Buggles it's Eustace

We finish up our look at #PlatVnyl3 with something new. The Video Awards made its debut this year, giving the Platinum Vinyl Awards Big Time Status, with Song, Album, and Video Awards, along with the General Field. As we said in the opening post, video killed the radio star according to the Buggles. We were about to see if that were true.

For the inaugural year the video awards were incorporated into the show by genre, so each genre went in order Song, Video and Album. Both the song and album awards had seven nominees, the video awards, five. Of course not all of the genres were represented. In addition to the General Field Video Awards (Video of The Year, Video by A Male Artist, Video by a Female Artist, Video by a New Artist), seven genres were represented: Alternative, Pop, Dance, Electronic, Rap, Metal and Rock. #PlatVnyl4 would add Adult Contemporary. While we would like to increase the genres to include them all, at the present the number of genre's may fluctuate from year to year.

Sometimes at Night Beat HQ we seem to have more ties than a dad on Father's Day. The inaugural video awards had one as well. Alternative Video of The Year resulted in a tie, and it all revolved around the meaning of Alternative. If you meant Alternative Music, then the award was given to For King and Country for the post-apocalyptic The Proof of Your Love.  However if you were looking for best Alternative Video, well look no further than Benjamin Dunn and The Animal Orchestra and My Name Is Eustace. You couldn't get much more alternative then people dressed as giant rabbits. Strangely for now, the video seems to have been pulled by Youtube. The link leads to dailymotion.

The electronic genres were represented by the Fringe/GRAC section of CCM. The Dance-Synthpop Video of The Year even went international, with Canadian Valerie Anne Poxleitner aka Lights kept everyone on their Toes. The Electronic-Industrial half went for Shock Value, with Industrial Music Missionaries White Collar Sideshow won with Black Heart Hearse.

The judges rewarded shock value in the inaugural award. Heavy Metal Video went to Close Your Eyes and their beyond the grave love story  Carry You. 

For video of the year, however, shock did not rule the day. Disney did. You could say that things are looking up.  Up as in Pixar's up. Satellites and Sirens did a cover video of Poison and Wine by The Civil Wars using a scene from the movie. It got the award, after the judges stopped crying.

That concludes our look back at #PlatVnyl3. We look back to last years award next. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Polar Vortex Polka: The 2014 2nd Quarter - Electronic Folk Children

I decided to have a little fun announcing the pool entries for the Winter. I really hated this past Winter and am really happy that Spring is here. So I have combined strong dislikes. Next to Country and Southern Gospel, it is a toss up, but the Polka has to be the worst form of music known to mankind. I'm Polish so I know of what I speak. I would consign all three to the pit if I ruled the world, and the world would be greatly improved just by that move.

As always, we begin by combining the orphan genres. Those that don't have enough entries to merit a post of their own. Dance-Synthpop had no entries.

Children's Music

• Shout Praises Kids - We Belong To Jesus

Folk/Folk Rock

• David Ian - Valentine's Day
• Charlie Peacock - Lemonade
• Papa San - One Blood

Electronic-Industrial

• Satellites and Sirens - One Noise

That is it for this post. I know some of you are saying. There is no Folk Music here, just Jazz and Reggae. Folk is my catch all genre where I put Jazz, Reggae, a lot of ethnic sounds except for Gospel, plus folk. At least until I get enough entries to create a genre all its own on a consistent basis.

Night Beat Rewind: March 2014

Taking A Break from the announcements of the nominees for the Video Award Category of the Platinum Vinyl Awards. We still have four categories to go, and they will be announced next Tuesday through Friday. I intend to have a regularly scheduled Music Video Monday on Monday. No Fooling.

Right now, it's time for some spring cleaning. The March edition of Rewind is upon us. March has been a very good month for releases. We begin, as always, with those releases, which PVA speaking:

Missed The Mark

• Big Daddy Weave - Love Come to Life: The Redeemed Edition 3.75 Emeralds
• Bread of Stone - The Real Life (Deluxe Edition) 3.75 Emeralds
• Hillsong United - The White Album (Remix Project) 3.75 Emeralds
• Samuel Lane - 252 Sessions, iTunes Deluxe Edition 3.50 Emeralds
• Robin Mark - Liberation Praise 3.75 Emeralds
• Scribbling Idiots - Invitation Only 3.75 Emeralds
• Michael W. Smith - Hymns 3.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - All The Saints: Live from the Centric Worship Retreat, Volume 1 3.75 Emeralds

Most of these just missed the mark. I was a bit more turned off by Samuel Lane, but I was most disappointed by Hillsong United. I gave it a pass for award consideration because it failed as a remix. Actually, I was most disappointed by Smitty. What happened to the big orchestration. This was simplicity pushed to the point of blah.

There is no blah in the next grouping.

Pure Platinum

• Christon Gray - School of Roses 5 Emeralds
• Kari Jobe - Majestic (Live) 5 Emeralds
• Planetshakers - Endless Praise 5 Emeralds
• Rend Collective Experiment - The Art of Celebration 5 Emeralds

I think it is a first to have three Modern Worship releases among the perfect albums. Kari Jobe put together a stellar release around the awesome Forever. Planetshakers Kissed Toward the Throne of God, and Rend. They blend worship, folk, rock, an almost infinite variety of instruments. They continue to amaze.

Finally, we go to the middle group, the

Semi-Precious Metal

• Audrey Assad - O Happy Fault 4.75 Emeralds
• Michael Boggs - More Like A Lion 4.50 Emeralds
• Erica Campbell - Help 4.75 Emeralds
• Capital Kings - Remixed EP 4.75 Emeralds
• Demon Hunter - Extremist 4.75 Emeralds
• Peter Furler Band - Sun and Shield 4.75 Emeralds
• Future of Forestry - Piano and Strings Sessions 4.75 Emeralds
• Jason Gray - Love Will Have The Final Word 4.50 Emeralds
• Jars of Clay - Inlandia: The Remix Collection EP 4.75 Emeralds
• Jesus Culture - Jesus Culture Reconstructed, Volume 1 4 Emeralds
• KB - 100 EP 4.75 Emeralds
• Kings Kaleidoscope - Live In Color 4.75 Emeralds 
• Lights of Day - Lights of Day 4.50 Emeralds
• John Mark McMillan - Borderland 4.50 Emeralds
• Memphis May Fire - Unconditional 4.75 Emeralds
• The Overseer - Rest and Let Go 4.50 Emeralds
• The Royal Royal - The Return of The King 4.75 Emeralds
• Satellites and Sirens - One Noise 4.75 Emeralds
• Shonlock - A Night to Remember 4.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - God's Not Dead: The Motion Picture Soundtrack 4.25 Emeralds
• Various Artists - WoW Worship (Lime) 4.50 Emeralds
• Various Artists - WoW Worship Deluxe (Lime) 4.50 Emeralds

I'm not holding out much hope for Jesus Culture's chances here, but they were slightly better than Hillsong United in the remix department. Kings Kaleidoscope was the big winner on this list. It might have been a 4.50 Emeralds releases, but Felix Culpa is a 20+ Emeralds song. Still I had to take off that the rest of the album wasn't as jumping, so 4.75 it is.

I am going to forgo links for now, and update it when I have time. I will return with a regular Music Video Monday and finish the announcing of the Video Nominees for this years Platinum Vinyl Awards. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply. 

 

 

#PlatVnyl3 - Video of The Year

A category having its debut this year, Video of The Year honors the Music Video, once responsible for launching two cable networks (VH1 and MTV), now it is the red headed stepchild of the industry.

Judging in this category skews heavily to the visual element. The song could be simply average, yet when combined with the video it becomes unforgettable. Of course, both parts could be equally strong. A weak video and a strong song would not be considered, however.

Due to the visual element, the nominees for the video categories were reduced from the usual seven to five.

• Black Heart Hearse, White Collar Sideshow
• Carry You, Close Your Eyes
• Poison and Wine (The Civil Wars Cover), Satellites and Sirens
• The Proof Of Your Love, For King and Country
• Timing is Everything, Lights

Each of the nominated videos is a striking visual image in itself. From the Flashdance inspired Timing is Everything where Lights proves the truism that "something red always draws the eye" to the dystopian nightmare that is "The Proof of Your Love". In retrospect, perhaps Valerie (Lights) should have drenched herself with water (a la Jennifer Beals), because the judges went with the St. James Gang instead of her (For King and Country is Joel and Luke Smallbone, brothers to Rebecca St. James). Also on to the next round was a tale of Life, Love and Death that would impress even Evanescence. Carry You by Close Your Eyes.

When the smoke cleared, however, Walt Disney carried the day. Well, Pixar at least. Satellites and Sirens made an album of cover songs and then created a music video for each of them. They were all good, some silly, and a few notable. Among the latter category was a cover of The Civil Wars Poison and Wine. They used a montage of images from Pixar's UP, and it is a real tear-jerker.

Yes, the judges wept. If you don't while watching, then perhaps you need a hearse for your black heart. Just a few more to go. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Nominations Begin: Electronic/Industrial Video of The Year

Just because something is created on a synthesizer doesn't mean that it's dance music. It usually is but sometimes it is Trance (which just puts you into one), or Ambient (mood music), darkwave and Industrial (hard and loud). This is to honor those pioneers in music.

The nominees for the 3rd Annual Platinum Vinyl Award for Electronic/Industrial Video of The Year are:

Black Heart Hearse by White Collar Sideshow

Find Me by Anchor and Braille

Poison and Wine (Civil Wars Cover) by Satellites and Sirens

Spiral (feat Beth Bullock) by Andy Hunter

Sublime Currency by Abandoned Pools

That concludes the Electronic/Industrial Video Nominations. Hip Hop and Rap is next. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Nominations Begin: Dance/Synthpop Video of The Year

Nominations for the Electronic/Dance category this year were so large, and the field not just in Dance, that it necessitated splitting the category in two. We begin with Dance/Synthpop. Of course we are in the Video Awards at present here on the blog.

The Nominations for Dance/Synthpop Video of the Year are:

He Said by Group 1 Crew

Let it Go by Satellites and Sirens

Time (Spiral Galaxy Mix) by The Washington Projects

Toes by Lights

Zombie by Family Force Five

That concludes part one of the new electronic music genres. Next up is Electronic/Industrial. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Music Video Monday: Bombs Away

Welcome to an all new edition of Music Video Monday. To all my loyal subcribers, readers and followers, thank you. Before I get to the videos I have a personal request. If you don't mind, would you use the share buttons underneath the post to get this before as many eyes as you can. It seems to me that the Blog Amplification Platform that I use +Triberr led by +Dino Dogan has decided that The Night Beat is blog non grata over there. None of the posts have been shared in over a month. On the other hand, I also have another blog, Welcome To The Republic, which is highlighting my fiction writing. That is getting wonderful sharing, and I am grateful for it. This is from the official +Triberr stats, so I hope it's a glitch, but the google stats seem to confirm it. Now, on to our video lineup.

We begin with a lyric video from +Hawk Nelson entitled words, which features Bart Millard of Mercy Me. Hawk is retuning to action after suffering the loss of its Lead Singer Jason Dunn. Welcome Jonathan Steingard. I hope he's as much of nut as Jason.

We continue with another Lyric Video, this time from Satellites and Sirens, one of the best reasons for Craigslist. This is You're Home, dedicated to the memory of Ruth Niedermeyer.
We close things out on a redemption theme, but with an interesting twist. You know the story of Eve and the Apple. It was all about Life Insurance. You've got to see this powerfull video to truly experience it. Bombs Away. Welcome Back to the limelight Rachel Lampa. This will definitely be among the Songs of the Year for 2013.

Sometimes you only get one song that makes you go OMG WOW. This may be it. Until next time Bombs Away, sorry, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Warm Tones: The 2012 4th Quarter - Dance

We continue with the announcement, genre by genre, of those albums which made the cut for the initial pool of the Platinum Vinyl Awards in the 4th Quarter, which is July 1-September 30. The full eligibility year for each PVA is October 1-September 30.

Today we move on to the Dance genre, which includes techno, synthpop, ambient, house, progressive, trance and industrial. Basically everything that revolves around a synthesizer. This was a very good category this quarter, with eleven nominees. Since I hope to narrow the choices in each genre down to seven finalists, you see this means I have work to do. Without further ado, the initial dance pool entrants for the Fourth Quarter are:

• Abandoned Pools - Sublime Currency
• Anchor and Braille - The Quiet Life
• An Epic No Less - Echo of Love
• Capital Kings - I Feel So Alive
• Group 1 Crew - Fearless
• Andy Hunter - Glow
• Mandisa - Get Movin
• Owl City - The Midsummer Station
• Satellites and Sirens - The Covers
• Beckah Shae - Rest
• White Collar Sideshow - The WitcHunt

Like I said, this quarter alone furnished enough entries and more, and there are three other quarters of entries. A lot of work to do on this one. Our next genre, however, is Alternative, and that is the king of the 4th Quarter, with a whopping seventeen possible entries. This genre will cause quite a lot of sour grapes. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: August 2012

Getting back to a somewhat normal schedule after an unexpected Music Video Monday Marathon, thanks to our friends at Satellites and Sirens. If you missed these posts you can catch Part One, Part Two and Part Three by clicking on the appropriate links.

Now it is time to get to the latest edition of Night Beat Rewind, our quick hits column for the previous months releases. August had a lot of releases and a lot made the cut, but a lot didn't. Also, surprising for late in the eligibility, we had one perfect album. One more caveat. A few releases this month were unavailable for preview and so I have not included them. So for right now the verdict on Heath McNease: The Weight of Glory; Derek Minor: PSA Vol 3: Who is Derek Minor?; Phil King (Self Titled); and Showbread: Cancer, are incomplete. Once I can get some samples to here I will check them out, and if they pass muster they will be grafted in.

As always, we begin with those releases which

Missed The Mark

• Jason Castro - Starting Line EP 3.75 Emeralds
• The Chariot - One Wing 3.75 Emeralds
• City of Peace Media - i Stand With Israel 3.75 Emeralds
• Covenant Worship - Standing 3.75 Emeralds
• Eleventyseven - Attack of the Mountain Medley 3.75 Emeralds
• Brian and Jenn Johnson - Undone 3.75 Emeralds
• Shelly Johnson - Power of the Cross 3.75 Emeralds
• Eddie Kirkland - Kings & Queens 3.75 Emeralds
• Letter to the Exiles - Make Amends 3.50 Emeralds
• Chris Lizotte - Power in Weakness 3.75 Emeralds
• Stan Whitmire - Seasons of Life 3.75 Emeralds
• Karyn Williams - Only You 3.75 Emeralds

I always feel compelled to point out that these are all good albums. Even Stan Whitmire (nothing against the album, but it was entirely instrumental piano, and got kind of monotonous after a while). From the misses to the home run. There was one release that was

Pure Platinum

• Project 86 - Wait for the Siren 5 Emeralds 

Of course most albums are somewhat less than perfect, and that is the case this month as well. As is usually the case, the longest list is for something I call

Semi - Precious Metal

• Abandoned Pools - Sublime Currency 4.75 Emeralds
• An Epic No Less - Echo Of Love 4.75 Emeralds
• Chris August - The Upside Of Down  4.50 Emeralds
• Avalon - Number Ones 4.50 Emeralds
• The Classic Crime - Phoenix 4.75 Emeralds
• Jeff Deyo - Moving Mountains 4.75 Emeralds
• Benjamin Dunn & The Animal Orchestra - Fable 4.75 Emeralds
• Israel & New Breed - Jesus at the Center 4.50 Emeralds
• Jordan Lara - City of Hope 4.50 Emeralds
• Luminate - Welcome to Daylight 4.50 Emeralds
• Toby Mac - Eye On It 4.25 Emeralds
• Mandisa - Get Movin 4.50 Emeralds
• Tamela Mann - Best Days 4.25 Emeralds
• VaShawn Mitchell - Created 4 This 4.75 Emeralds
• The Museum - My Only Rescue 4.50 Emeralds
• Owl City - The Midsummer Station 4.50 Emeralds
• Andrew Peterson - Light for the Lost Boy 4.50 Emeralds
• Mac Powell - Mac Powell 4.50 Emeralds
• Satellites and Sirens - The Covers 4.75 Emeralds
• Sixpence None The Richer - Lost in Transition 4.75 Emeralds
• Tenth Avenue North - The Struggle 4.50 Emeralds
• Tourniquet - Antiseptic Bloodbath 4.75 Emeralds
• The Wrecking - So Much For Love 4.50 Emeralds

No real surprises here. Except for Mac Powell. It was billed as a country album and I was very apprehensive considering I hate country. However, do not be disheartened Third Day Fans. He has not strayed far from Third Day.

You may notice the number of links increasing as time goes on. Due to the amount of eligible releases this month I am going to keep adding the Amazon links as the time goes on. I want to get this one out today. So, until tomorrow, when I start an entirely rebooted Flashback Friday, I am Awaiting Your Reply.



MVM Special Edition: Cover Me - Awake and Alive

Welcome to a special edition of Music Video Monday on Tuesday, as I mentioned in my previous post, we are celebrating the recent release of Satellites and Sirens mp3 only (at least for now) release of The Covers by sharing the videos that started it all.

We will begin this edition with Maroon 5. This is Payphone, something you don't see every day.

From mainstream to Christian, we continue with So Much Love by The Rocket Summer.

Taking the Train for our next song. This is Drive By, something you will not do on a train.

Back to Christian Music once more. This is the cover of Skillet's Awake and Alive.

We conclude this special edition of Music Video Monday with Coldplay singing about Paradise.

Once again I wish to remind you to click on the highlighted link and buy any of the songs on The Covers or indeed the entire album, and support The Night Beat at the same time. Until next time, when we will share covers of Katy Perry, Chris Tomlin and others, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Music Video Monday: Cover Me - Eyes Open

Welcome to the 4th Quarter of 2012, at least as far as Platinum Vinyl Award eligibility is considered.

A funny thing happened on the making of the first 4th Quarter post, and that is an abundance of videos from a single artist. Satellites and Sirens to be specific. They have been making a Cover Video every Friday and just recently released an album of those cover songs.

So this is what we're going to do. For the next three days we will be doing a MVM post of these cover videos. We begin with the video that first captured my fancy. The Hunger Games inspired cover of Taylor Swift's Eyes Open.

Next up is an animated video using Pixar's Up. This is a cover of Poison and Wine by The Civil Wars. Get your hankie ready, it's a tearjerker.

We move on to Gavin Degraw's Not Over You.

And next we have a Switchfoot Classic. I Dare You To Move. This song isn't on The Covers, but I wanted to include one more Christian Song, so I put it in. You'll have to wait for covers 2 to get it though.

And we conclude this edition with Shadow Days by John Mayer.
We will be continuing our Music Video Monday posts through Wednesday so we can get through the covers. These are great twists on some songs, and I wanted to share them with you. As an added benefit, since Satellites and Sirens are Christian, not only do they come with a Sythpop Twist, these versions may in some cases be fit for public singing, if you're Karaoke minded. Until tomorrow's edition, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Music Video Monday: Siberian Frequencies

Welcome to the Patriots Day edition of Music Video Monday. If you don't know what Patriots Day is don't worry. Just say its Boston Marathon Day. Actually it's really the day that the American Revolution began, but hardly anyone knows that these days.

This week we begin sharing videos for albums which will be in the 2012 Platinum Vinyl Awards. The awarding of the 2011 Awards is just a few weeks away. Stay tuned for that.

We begin with one of my favorite new artists, Lights. This is her new video Banner, from her new release Siberia.

If you ever wondered what the life of a Techno artist was like, the video for Siberia is done as a day in the life. It looks pretty cool to me.

We move on to another electronic band. Satellites and Sirens. Every Friday they release a new video on their Youtube site. This week they did a cover of Poison and Wine by The Civil Wars, using video from the Pixar film UP. It is beautiful, and is a great Civil Wars Homage.

We'll conclude with another Cover. In honor of the much hyped novel series and movie, The Hunger Games, they did a cover of Taylor Swifts Eyes Open. Enjoy

I hope You enjoyed these videos this week. We move a few genres to Alternative next week. Not every genre is comfortable making Music Videos. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Siberian Summer: 2012 PVA 1st Qtr - Dance

We always come to Dance Music early. Mainly because it ticks off the traditionalists. As is not having a Hymns, Country, Or Southern Gospel Genre. It works for me.

The big winner this quarter in Dance was Satellites and Sirens with Frequency. They are one of the best synth-pop acts today, and they show it here. Anyone who heard their breakout single Anchor from their self-titled debut knows what I am talking about. They earned a near perfect 4.75 Emeralds. Not to be undone by the young ones, veteran Techno master Barry Blaze (aka Code of Ethics) returned to the Studio for the first time in Three Years (2008's long return after a 9 year hiatus with Lost in Egypt). If you've been with C.O.E. from the beginning then you'll love his latest release, because it harks back to the original sound. It is definitely a Beautiful Thing. I gave the album a very good rating of 4.5 Emeralds.

Considering the title of these posts, a happy coincidence is the newest release by the gorgeous Canadian brunette Valerie Anne Poxleitner (aka Lights). Techno isn't exclusive boys club anymore. Lights rocks the synthesizer to a near perfect 4.75 Emeralds.

Shai Linne The Attributes of God also qualifies as a Dance CD in a lot of cases, so I'm listing it here as well. Rounding out the entries in this genre for this quarter are Dance/Krunk/Whatever group Family Force 5 and III which got 4.25 Emeralds and the latest release by pop/dance band Eleventyseven, Sugarfist, which received 4.5 Emeralds for their effort. We shall see how FF5 holds up over the months but I think that the rest of them are safely in to the finals. One thing is sure, Lights and Satellites and Sirens are a near lock to the finals next year. That's why they got the pictures, courtesy of Amazon of course.

The first Quarter Releases Continue. Keep it Locked here. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

2012 Wishlist: Rock

THE FUTURE IS NOW! More specifically Fireflight Now, as in their new album. The album won't drop until March 6, but you know that good things come "For those who wait". The album artwork is out now, so here it is. It will have to hold you until March. That's one off the list.


Satellites and Sirens will be out promoting Frequency in 2012. It only came out a few months ago, so I think they are off the list for this year. Even techno bands need a little time away from the studio.

Skillet is rumored to be planning an album that will be released "late 2012" that is all that is known for now. Will keep you updated.

Heather Williams This Time Around just came out last September, so she should be out touring in support of her 5 Emerald rated album in 2012.

Of course, even though nothing is scheduled so far, I am still wishing to see something from the lovely ladies of Barlowgirl. You can't rest on a best of album for too long.

That finishes the wishlist. The releases begin. I am Awaiting Your Reply.