And The Nominees Are: Folk/Folk Rock

The cutdown begins on the nominees for the Platinum Vinyl Awards in most of the Major Categories, but some categories never had many qualified entries. I'm going to get those out of the way first.

The Nominees for the First Platinum Vinyl Awards for the Category of Best Folk or Folk Rock Album

• Raising up the Dead by Caedmon's Call
• When The River Met The Sea by Carolina Story 
• Letting Go by Jennifer Knapp
• Counting Stars by Andrew Peterson 
• In Feast or Fallow by Sandra McCracken 

There is much still to be revealed as the 2010 Platinum Vinyl Awards begin.

Waiting for the Verizatt iPhone

This week Verizon Wireless formally announced what is probably Apple Computer's worst kept secret, that the next carrier for the iPhone would be Verizon. Predictably, the media coverage of the event has fallen on the usual talking points. First up were the Apple Haters. The report usually went Apple Choosing Verizon for the iPhone is a good move, but it is too little too late, and soon google and Android will rule the world aah ha ha (Evil Genius laugh added by me). Next up were either the Apple Lovers or, conversely, the AT&T Haters. The report went sort of like this A Stroke of Genius by Steve Jobs. Every smart phone sold in the world will be a Verizon iPhone by February 11 and by the end of the month of February AT&T will be a distant memory as it disappears from the world as quickly as the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz.

The Winter Melodies: Platinum Vinyl Awards 1rst Quarter- Hard Rock, Alternative and Hip Hop

We wrap up the first quarter of the Second Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards with a mega post encompassing the Hard Rock, Hip Hop/Rap, and Alternative genres.  We begin with Alternative.

• Who Can Know It by Showbread
• de-plumed by The Choir
• The Art of Letting Go by AJ Cheek

We now move to the Hard Rock Genre. This is a genre of convenience. While it could be said Rock is Rock, it seems best to ferret out the harder stuff to keep the numbers manageable.

• Follow by Shake The Nation
• O Disambiguation by Underoath
• Dynasty by As They Sleep
• 15.Live by Project 86

We conclude our first quarter contender list with Hip Hop and Rap

• My Time by Byron "Mr. Talkbox" Chambers
• Captured by Flame
• Level 3:16 (Self Titled) (D)

(D) Debut release

The First Quarter nominations are now concluded, the Second Begins Now. 

The Winter Melodies: Platinum Vinyl Awards 1rst Quarter- Modern Worship

The first quarter nominations for the Second Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards continue with the Modern Worship genre, which also produced a fair amount of entries. The contenders are:

• Yahweh by Hillsong Chapel
• And If Our God Is For Us by Chris Tomlin
• Introducing the City Harmonic by The City Harmonic
• Saving Power by Generation Unleashed
• Come Away by Jesus Culture

Three Genre's remain, Alternative, Hard Rock and Hip Hop/Rap. The first of the New Years releases come out next week, and the race for the Second Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards will begin in earnest.

The Winter Melodies: Platinum Vinyl Awards 1rst Quarter- Rock

Despite the onslaught of Christmas Music this Quarter, the Rock Genre had quite a few entries, though most were in October and November.  Without further ado, the nominees for Rock for the Second Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards

• Move by Third Day
• Stars, Guitars and Megaphone Dreams by Yancy
• Revolution of Mind by John Elefante and Mastodon
• American Dream by Rocky Loves Emily (D) 
• Remember to Live by Flyleaf
• Friendly EP by Queen's Club
• The Transition EP by Philmont

(D): Indicates either a Debut Release, a Major Label Debut or in rare cases, when they gained significant public attention.  Qualify for Best New Artist Award.

I can already hear the Critics whining "Where's Jars of Clay?" No, I didn't forget them. See my earlier post on Pop, Folk, and Techno.  The Shelter is not a Rock album.  Most of the tracks are undeniably Folk or Folk Rock. Sorry to all those looking for a Jars vs Third Day Showdown. Not going to happen here.

Still to come, entries for Hard Rock, Modern Worship, Alternative and Hip Hop.  All here on The Night Beat, your exclusive home of the Platinum Vinyl Awards

The Best of the Rest: Platinum Vinyl Award 4th Quarter 2009

In keeping with my decision to readjust the Platinum Vinyl Awards from a strict calendar year release to one from October 1-September 30, wedged between the Grammy and Dove Award schedules, I have reached back to October 2009 for nominees.  Since the final quarter of every year is pretty lean, crowded primarily with Christmas Music releases, I have decided to cram all the nominees into a single post, though still separated by Genre.

First up this time: Gospel and R&B

• The Experience by Vanessa Bell Armstrong
• Aaron Sledge by Aaron Sledge
• Declare Your Name by The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir 

The Nominees in Hard Rock

• Tsar Bomba by Bride
• Memento Mori by Flyleaf
• The Pillars of Humanity (Re-Release) by The Crucified

The Nominees in Rock

• It is Well by Kutless
• Live by Jeremy Camp 
• Left Coast Punk EP by MxPx 
• Monster Monster by The Almost 

The Nominees in Pop

• Fireflies and Songs by Sara Groves 

The Nominees in Dance/Electronica/Techno

• Favorites at Play by Joy Electric
• Beautiful History by Plumb

The Nominees in Alternative

• Birds and Cages by Deas Vail
• Monster Monster by The Almost 
• Heaven and Earth by Phil Wickham
• Rocks into Rivers by Seabird 

The Nominees in Modern Worship

• Be by Unhindered
• History Makers by Delirious

This quarter provided no worthy entries for Rap/Hip Hop, but the calendar provided plenty of entries as the year went on. Stay tuned to The Night Beat for the cutdown to the final nominees, and then the winners of the First Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards.

The Winter Melodies: Platinum Vinyl Awards 1st Quarter- Pop/Folk Rock/Techno

A New Year has begun.  The final list of the First Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards will be released in the coming weeks and months.  Soon the nominations will be trimmed and the real business of the first annual Platinum Vinyl Awards can begin.  Time stops for no one, however, not even for something as momentous as the Inaugural PVA's.  So, we must commence with the nominations from the final quarter of 2010, which now are the First Quarter Releases for the Second Annual PVA's, which will occur sometime in 2012. We begin this time with the Pop Genre.

• The Story of Your Life by Matthew West
• When I'm With You by JJ Heller 

We'll do double duty this post by including the Folk/Folk Rock Genre

• The Shelter by Jars of Clay
• Flags by Brooke Fraser
• When I'm With You by JJ Heller

We'll do triple duty with Dance/Electronica/Techno

• Collide by Andy Hunter 

Still to come, the first selections for Rock, Hard Rock, Modern Worship, Alternative, and Hip Hop. Only Gospel will not be featured in the initial quarter.  Things will pick up soon for them.