Music Video Monday:Between the Raindrops

Welcome to the Columbus Day edition of Music Video Monday. We here at The Night Beat are proud to celebrate Columbus Day, not Fall Day (sounds like a personal injury attorney's wet dream) or any such pablum. If you don't want to celebrate a holiday, that's fine. Take it off the schedule and make it a work day. A snowball has a better chance of surviving you know where than a paid day off has of being dropped.

Now, on to the videos. We begin with Lifehouse, one of those GRAC bands we love here at The Night Beat. From their new release Almeria, this is Between The Raindrops (ft. Natasha Bedingfield).
Next up we have The Digital Age, a new band made up of most of the former members of David Crowder Band. Their latest release Evening:Morning is worship with trance electronica. It's quite an experience. This is Believe.
A new to The Night Beat band is next. Green River Ordinance mixes a bit of everything, Rock, AC, Country, Folk, and does it well. This is Heart of Me.
Finally, though we call this Music Video Monday, this next video qualifies Triple M, as in Music Movie Monday. Jonathan Thulin (Pronounced Too-Lean), the Alternative half of the Thulin Brothers. His brother David does Electronic Dance Music. From The White Room, this is the 10 minute Movie experience, Dead Come To Life. 
That does it for this edition of Music Video Monday. Next week we will take a break from Alternative to showcase a few odds and ends from other categories that we missed due to space considerations. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: May 2013

Things are finally getting back to normal. In April's edition of Night Beat Rewind I mentioned that no releases missed the mark. This month seven missed the threshold. On the other hand, four releases were labeled as Pure Platinum, the most in any month since this blog started (Technically there were 5 Perfect Albums in October 2012, but since two of them were Christmas Music, and there wasn't a Platinum Vinyl Award Category for that, they aren't counted). If I don't get a handle on things you are going to think that I hand out Fives like candy. If I didn't hand out an abundance of 4.75's, things would really be out of control.

We like to begin with those albums which we said were

Missing The Mark

• Altars - Something More 3.75 Emeralds
• David Crowder Band - All This For A King: The Essential Collection 3.75 Emeralds
• Tara Jackson - Love Come Down 3.75 Emeralds
• Samuel Lane - The Fire 3.75 Emeralds
• Letter to the Exiles - Still Moving, Still Breathing 3.75 Emeralds
• Robin Mark - Ultimate Collection 3.75 Emeralds
• Vocal Few - Tall Trees EP 3.75 Emeralds

To all my new readers, I like to mention that like the 4.75 rating, the 3.75 rating is sort of a cop out. When I think the album is very good, but not really award worthy, I give it 3.75. I don't start making judgements unless its 3.50 or below. There were, however, releases which really wowed me. These are they which are:

Pure Platinum

• All The Bright Lights - The Wind and The Waves 5 Emeralds
• Percy Bady - Kingdom Inspirations 5 Emeralds
• John Elefante - On My Way To The Sun 5 Emeralds
• Yancy - Roots for the Journey 5 Emeralds

 The perfect list was all over the place. Rock for Elefante, Gospel for Bady, Electronic for ATBL and Yancy did her usual genre switch, this time either Inspirational or Modern Worship. I like to call the albums that fell somewhere in between these two

Semi-Precious Metal

• Allistair - Feed the White Dog Love 4.75 Emeralds 
• Eisley - Currents (Deluxe) 4.75 Emeralds
• David M. Edwards - Heart Full Of Soul - 4.75 Emeralds
• Finding Favour - Finding Favour EP 4.50 Emeralds
• Golden Youth - Quiet Frame; Wild Light 4.75 Emeralds
• Amy Grant - How Mercy Looks From Here (Deluxe Edition) 4.50 Emeralds
• Steve Hare - Heart Like Your Own 4.75 Emeralds
• Javen - Worship In The Now-Live 4.75 Emeralds
• Nathan Jess - Love Stands Forever 4.50 Emeralds
• Hannah Rose - Hannah Rose 4.50 Emeralds
• Shane and Shane - Bring Your Nothing 4.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - To Dad, With Love - 4.75 Emeralds
• Vineyard UK Worship - Come Now Is The Time (The Platinum Collection) 4.50 Emeralds
• Vineyard UK Worship - Piano Classics 4.50 Emeralds
• Whosoever South - Goin' Home 4.75 Emeralds

That concludes the May edition of Night Beat Rewind. It's only June 3. That makes me very happy. What would make me even happier would be for you to click on the links and buy the music from Amazon. You help support the work of The Night Beat at the same time. Except for Allistair and All the Bright Lights. Allistair is on noisetrade for free. ATBL appears to be delayed, but the link will take you to a pre-order. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Platinum Collection: The Best Albums of 2012

Around this time of year things very predictably slow down in the music world. That makes it fairly easy to put out a best of list by late November. You still have to be careful. Last year a number of Best Album lists were out in the CCM world and then Chevelle came out with Hat's off to the bull. Chevelle, like Evanescence, started out in the Christian Market, but, unlike the latter, has managed to stay on good terms with the industry. Still, it missed the Top album lists due to its release date. Not here, but we at The Night Beat work on a flexible deadline.

There don't appear to be any releases on the horizon, so we begin The WENC Night Beat Best Albums of 2012, or what I shall term.

The Platinum Dozen

I thought about doing a quick list, but then thought better of it. 12 Albums makes quite a long post. So we begin with the bottom 6.

12. Thousand Foot Krutch, Metamorphosiz: The End Remixes, Vol. 1 (December 4, 2012)

Yes, it's a remix album, and not a true album. Still, any band who hands the remix hands off to Andy Hunter knows what they're doing. Techno-Rock at its best. Two Hunter remixes. The only thing wrong with this album. Only five cuts and just over twenty minutes. It should be much longer. This EP should make a big run in the 2013 PVA Awards. (Since it came out after September 30, 2012 It will not make the current awards).

11. Poema, Remembering You (September 11, 2012)

I don't know if the title was inadvertent, considering the release date. Either way, these sisters hit it out of the park in their debut full length release. The Puckett girls are my favorite members of that family since Kirby. Gorgeous, both physically and in voice, though, alas, way too young for me. This is pop the way it's supposed to be. Uplifting and devoid of syrup. A top runner for this years Pop award.

10. Abel, Make It Right (September 18, 2012)

Another album that made a late rush into the list. I had never heard of this band until I saw it on AOL Music and gave it a listen. Fire Walk With Me had me hooked, but so much more. I can see that this band could attain Anberlin like success.

9. Anberlin, Vital (October 16, 2012)

From the student to the teacher. Just missing the cutoff date for this years PVA, otherwise it would have been a shoo-in for Alternative Album of the Year. Actually it's just as well that it missed the calendar cut-off. Stephen Christian already has his side project Anchor and Braille in the PVA running, and it wouldn't be fair for him to dominate. Yeah, Right.

8. Demon Hunter, True Defiance

Hard Rock done right. Demon Hunter has been a favorite of mine for a long time, and not just because they have the coolest logo and name in Christian Rock. (Anytime you get accused of being a bunch of satanists (the logo) you know you're probably on the right track, at least if you want mainstream acceptance. True Defiance is probably Demon Hunters heaviest in a while, though they can still do awesome Red like vocals. This album doesn't really let up from beginning to end.

7. David Crowder Band, Give Us Rest

If you're going to go out, go out with a bang. Give us Rest (only a few words of the longest title in Christian Music History [Challenge me at your peril]. When I heard that these guys were breaking up, I thought, sure, just when I get hooked. Two discs, thirty four tracks, almost two hours of the best alt-worship out there. I kind of hoped that they would have stuck around to be the Delirious of this generation, but I guess we shall have to hope for a reunion of Delirious.

That gets us through the bottom 6, so to speak. Best of lists always  stir up feelings, so feel free to comment if you think I've snubbed your favorite. Until we do the next 6, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

A Nutcracker Siberian Crowder Christmas

Yes I know that is quite a mouthful, but this is David Crowder Band we're talking about. They are somewhat nutty, and this video proves it. They animated themselves as nutcrackers and performed Christmas in Sarajevo by Trans Siberian. This is from their O The Joy album.

Hope You enjoyed. As always, I am Awaiting Your reply.

The Frozen Chosen: Rock

Well this is it. The Winter Announcement of the qualifying Platinum Vinyl Award nominees in Rock. This finishes the announcements for the Winter. There were a lot of Rock nominees this time.

• Dave Barnes - Stories to Tell
• Jeremy Camp - I Still Believe: #1's Collection
• Evan Craft - Giants
• David Crowder Band - Give Us Rest (A Requiem Mass in C) [The Happiest of All Keys]
• Fireflight - Now
• Hawk Nelson - The Songs You've Already Heard
• Kiros - Lay Your Weapons Down
• Kutless - Believer
• Cory Lamb - Safe In Your Arms
• Nine Lashes - World We View
• Samestate - The Alignment
• Sent By Ravens - Mean What You Say
• Worth Dying For - Live Riot
• The Wrecking - So Much For Love

That finishes it. David Crowder Band goes out with 5 Emeralds and a place in next years PVA's. It stands on its own and wont be a lifetime achievement award. I will return with another edition of Music Video Monday. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

New Year, New Music

It's January 2012, and the Music Industry is slowly getting back from its Christmas Break. Soon you will get to hear the Official Opinion on all the New Releases. I mean, really, once you hear it from The Night Beat, does anyone else really matter? Things get underway next Tuesday, and there are three releases awaiting us (actually, there are 7 but four are multiple artist compilations. Two are worth mention here.

Give Us Rest (A Requiem Mass in C [The Happiest of All Keys]).  This is the end of the road folks. David Crowder Bands final album. I became a fan very late, with Church Music. This one will not disappoint. It is Two Discs, and a whopping 34 tracks. I can't wait to give my verdict.

Leave it up to the Rend Collective Experiment, Ireland's Modern Worship sensation to pull a fast one on The Night Beat. I was in the midst of compiling my 2012 Wish List and had not yet gotten to Modern Worship. I was about to suggest that RCE come out with a release, and here they are first out of the gate. Thank You.

Happy New Year from The Night Beat.