#PlatVnyl6 The Nominations Begin: Pop Video of The Year

We continue our announcements of the Video of The Year Nominees for #PlatVnyl6. Pop Video of The Year is next, and then we move on to the Electronic Music nominees. The nominees are: Exhale by +Plumb (official) ; Forget You In LA by Poema; Greater Is He by +BLANCA CALLAHAN ; In The New World by +AnnieMosesBandVEVO ; and The Well by +JJHellermusic .

Here are the nominated videos in a single playlist.

Dance-Synthpop is next. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Shemita Songs: The 2015 Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Qtr - Pop

We have finally finished with the 4th Quarter Rollout. I know, the quarter ended September 30, and it's almost December. We had our sweepstakes running, the end of one year and beginning of the next, and a whole boatload of entries. So considering, I think we did make pretty good time.

The big winner for the Final Quarter was Pop Music, which is a big surprise. We just assume it to be Modern Worship every quarter because it usually is. Not that there aren't any Pop Artists in Christian Contemporary Music. There are plenty, but they are dwarfed by the sheer number of Hillsong Wannabees. Let's get to our final listing.

Pop Music

• All Things New - The Good News
• Annie Moses Band - American Rhapsody
• Building 429 - Unashamed
• Jonny Diaz - Everything Is Changing EP
• Colton Dixon - Storm EP
• Darrell Evans - Fearless
• JJ Heller - Sound of a Living Heart
• Crystal Lewis - Crystal Lewis
• Cindy Morgan - Bows & Arrows
• Nichole Nordeman - The The Unmaking
• Poema - Pretty Speeches EP
• Jeremy Rosado - Heartbeat
• Holly Starr - Everything I Need EP
• Ryan Stevenson - Fresh Start
• John Waller - Crazy Faith
• Josh Wilson - That Was Then, This Is Now

This was a big quarter for Pop. We had two Perfect albums in Annie Moses Band and JJ Heller, and some very solid entries from the others, including a Comeback to Remember from Nichole Nordeman. We are finished. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: July 2015

We are in the final stretch. Two months to go until the entry pool for #PlatVnyl6 is officially closed. It's a total coincidence that the PVA pool closes at the same time as most city swimming pools. We have a full complement this month. We begin with the songs released during the month, or as we call it

The Singles Scene

• EMYE - Jesus Pieces 3.75 Emeralds
• Pastor John Littlejohn - Dear Hater 3.50 Emeralds
• Stryper - Yahweh 5 Emeralds

The first two songs on the list happen to be rap, but that isn't why they got such a low rating. They just really arent't up to par. Just like our first bunch of albums, which are deemed to be.

Missing The Mark

• For All Eternity - Metanoia 3.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Top 10 Praise Songs (Green) 3.75 Emeralds
• We Came As Romans - We Came As Romans 3.75 Emeralds

Three releases which missed the mark are pretty low, but good. The next group is a bit troubling, however.

Pure Platinum Perfection

• Anberlin - Cities: Live In New York 5 Emeralds
• Bethel Music - Without Words: Synesthesia 5 Emeralds
• Flame - Forward 5 Emeralds
• Thousand Foot Krutch - 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection 5 Emeralds
• Kevin Max - Broken Temples (Deluxe Edition) 5 Emeralds
• Uche Agu - The Glory Experience (Live In Houston) 5 Emeralds

Six entries here is a bit troubling, yet with the entries spread among 4 or more genres, all may not be lost yet. As always, our last grouping is our largest, what we call

Semi-Precious Metal

• Kristene DiMarco - Mighty 4.50 Emeralds
• Jon Foreman - The Wonderlands: Shadows 4.75 Emeralds
• Israel and New Breed - Covered: Alive In Asia 4.75 Emeralds
• Tim Hughes - Pocketful of Faith 4.75 Emeralds
• Laura Kaczor - Restore Me 4.50 Emeralds
• Memphis May Fire - Unconditional (Deluxe) 4.75 Emeralds
• The Neverclaim - The Joy  4.75 Emeralds
• Owl City - Mobile Orchestra 4.50 Emeralds
• Poema - Pretty Speeches EP 4.75 Emeralds
• Saint Esprit - Saint Esprit 4.75 Emeralds
• Karen Clark - Sheard - Destined To Win 4.75 Emeralds
• Shinebright - Only You 4.50 Emeralds
• Switchfoot - 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection 4.50 Emeralds
• Amber Nelon Thompson - Just Sing 4.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - SOAR (Spirit Empowered Worship) 4.75 Emeralds
• Josh Wilson - That Was Then, This Is Now 4.75 Emeralds

That does it. I was a little surprised that Switchfoot didn't rate higher, because you should be able to mail in a perfect 5 with a best of album, but the selection didn't do it for me. I am forgoing links once again. I have to go way back and do them. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Songs of The Mourning Dove

The 2012 +Dove Awards nominations will be announced on August 22. 2013. The Last time we had any contact with the Gospel Music Association was in April 2012, when they conferred awards for releases made between November 1, 2010 and October 31, 2011. That's fifteen months ago, folks. During that span of time we have seen the collapse of the "Christian Section" of the Grammy Awards to a two category joke. With the Dove's Offline, things would be really dark if it were not for the rise of independent award shows like our own Platinum Vinyl Awards, now in its fourth year of eligibility, and The +We Love Christian Music Awards of New Release Tuesday.

With three years under our belt, the Platinum Vinyl Awards are the undisputed king at the moment (how's that for self image). So, we're going to hand out some free advice to the good folks at the GMA's. Having these albums among the nominees this year will help people forget about your absence. 

The following albums won an award at the 3rd PVA's.

• A Little Heart Like You, Martha's Trouble
• Awakened, As I Lay Dying
• Burnt Offerings, Rekonciled
• Dead and Alive, +The Devil Wears Prada 
• The Fourth Wall, The Vespers
• God, Love and Romance, Fred Hammond
• Make It Right, Abel
• Overcome, +Lara Landon 
• The Quiet Life, Anchor and Braille
• Remembering You, Poema
• Rest, +Beckah Shae 
• World We View, Nine Lashes

Also, it wouldn't help if the following "perfect albums" were included.

• Current, +Sarah Macintosh
• Feel The Power, +Blessed By A Broken Heart 
• Give Us Rest, David Crowder Band
• True Defiance, Demon Hunter
• Wait For The Siren, Project 86

That concludes part one, my Dove Nominee suggestions from the 3rd Platinum Vinyl Awards, handed out back in May. In my next post I will, without showing too many cards, pass on a few nominations from the upcoming 4th pool. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Christmas Eve with The Night Beat

The Christmas Season is officially here, and in honor of that, I think it proper to spend a few posts sharing some wonderful Christmas Videos. Of course what would Christmas be without Mannheim and TSO, but we shall wait for those in due course.

We will begin with a home video version of Jingle Bells by two lovely ladies from New Mexico by the name of Poema.


Next up we shall rock out with the Almost and The Little Drummer Boy
Time to get a little animated. Animation that is. Here is the Sleigh Ride Video from the slightly demented Relient K
Forget What I said about Relient K. I think someone spiked Tenth Avenue North's eggnog. This is a Totally Demented version of Deck the Halls
I think that is enough for one post. We shall continue with the Night Beat Christmas Video Show throughout the week as I find them. A Merry Christmas To All and A Blessed 2012 from The Night Beat.

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.

Jingle Bells: Night Beat Style

The Night Beat Christmas Parade continues with more Lovely Ladies with Lovely Voices. The girls of Poema bring us their home videos with Jingle Bells.

There are more videos to come throughout the season. Keep it locked here to The Night Beat.

Warm Tones: The 2012 4th Quarter - Pop

We come to Pop Music as we continue with the announcement of the 4th Quarter 2012 Releases which made the initial pool of entrants for the 2012 Platinum Vinyl Awards. A handful (that's five for those of you in Rio Linda) of entrants made the pool. As few as one or as many as three of these will make the finals.

• Chris August - The Upside Of Down
• Avalon - Number Ones
• Marlene Brehm - Reach The Sky
• Annie Moses Band - Pilgrims and Prodigals
• Poema - Remembering You

Poema's full length debut got a perfect 5 Emeralds from The Night Beat, so they are in to the finals. They may be joined by Annie Moses Band and newcomer Marlene Brehm, which fell just short of perfection at 4.75 Emeralds. They have a great shot. Chris August had a much better release this time than No Far Away, but in a crowded field, I don't think he will make the final list. Next up is Hip Hop and Rap. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Music Video Monday: Excellent

This is it, the final post of Music Video Monday for the 4th Quarter 2012 PVA Releases. Next week we can go on to the 1st Quarter of 2013 if any exist yet. Last week was a metal week, this week is more pop oriented (well, except for the last).

We begin with two lovely ladies with equally lovely voices. Poema made a big splash at the first Platinum Vinyl Awards in 2010, taking Best Pop Album. Now they're back with a full length album. This is Wonder. from Remembering You, which appropriately, considering the title, was released on 9/11.

Beckah Shae is known more as a Dance artist than a Worship leader, though she has deftly managed to combine the two. Trance Worship is the best term I can use to describe Rest. This is Your Presence

Finally we have a bit of Propaganda for you. No, not that kind of propaganda. Propaganda (real name: Jason Petty) is a rapper usually teamed with Odd Thomas. He recently released Excellent. This is the title cut.

That is it for this edition of Music Video Monday. Next monday the 1rst Quarter of 2013 begins. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Pure Platinum Perfection

So I like alliteration. Anyway, since the entries for the 3rd Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards are now over, I can safely put out the first of my best of lists.

The Gold Standard at The Night Beat (Or perhaps it is the Platinum Standard) is the Perfect 5 Emerald Rating. Getting those guarantees the entrant into the final round of the Platinum Vinyl Award Voting. It will be among the entrants which will get an award.

For those new to the WENC Night Beat, the eligibility year is October 1 - September 30. This year there were fifteen Pure Platinum releases. During that time fifteen albums that passed my ears got me to say "wow". Now, since I try to evaluate each genre independently, I have a different bar for each. These fifteen never knew there was a bar, they were so far above it.

One other thing to bring my new readers up to speed before I get to the list. While The WENC Night Beat is committed to bringing you the best in Christian Music, the definition of Christian here is quite loose. If they ever were embraced by the Christian Community, unless they renounced everything and walked away, no one is a KOOK here (that's my acronym for Kicked Out Of (the) Kingdom). Right now the only one who is "Not Christian" who once was is Katy Perry. Now on to the list.

Pure Platinum Perfection

2011 Entries

• Chevelle - Hats Off To The Bull
• Evanescence - Evanescence
• William McDowell - Arise
• Thousand Foot Krutch - Welcome To The Masquerade (Fan Edition)
• Wolves at the Gate - We are the Ones

Chevelle has probably slipped off the Christian Radar and Amy Lee and Company (Evanescence) are one of those K.O.O.K. bands. However, I have it on good authority that Evanescence is solid for performing for the first billion years in heaven (on the other hand SG music is slated for the last 22 seconds of eternity).

2012 Entries

• Abel - Make it Right
• Blessed by a Broken Heart - Feel the Power
• David Crowder Band - Give Us Rest (A Requiem Mass in C) [The Happiest of all Keys]
• Demon Hunter - True Defiance
• Israel & New Breed - Decade
• Lara Landon - Overcome
• Sarah Macintosh - Current
• Petra - Best of the 80's
• Poema - Remembering You
• Project 86 - Wait for the Siren

There you have it, the perfect albums for the 3rd Platinum Vinyl Awards eligibility year. The albums were scattered around the CCM world, with 5 from Rock, 4 from Metal, 2 from Gospel, 2 from Alternative, and one each from Pop and Adult Contemporary. I want to get this out, so I'll update this with my Amazon affiliate link later. Let me know what you think. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

2012 Wishlist: Pop

This has been traditionally the largest genre in Christian Music. The PVA's have been no different. It is my hope that, just as I created the Hard Rock genre to make the Rock category more wieldy, the Inspirational category eventually is able to siphon off quite a few from Pop.



Image courtesy Amazon

 When I made the decision to move to a staggered year of eligibility for the PVA's back in 2010 I kept going back in late 2009 and back. I had to stop somewhere. I stopped October 1, 2009. As a result I left out an artist who would have been the hands down winner. No offense to Poema, the Inaugural winners, but really. If the Lovely green eyed Christian Torch Singer Lara Landon had been eligible for the year, there would have been no contest as to the winner. My big wish would be for more music by Lara.

That wish is closer to reality this year. She Launched a kickstarter campaign for her worship release Overcome. The funding was successful and backers can download the album now. I hope it will be available for download and purchase for all sometime this year.

Newsboys will be "quiet" this year. Not really, but, unless their is another Deluxe CD in the works like their was for Born Again, they will be on the road touring their new album, which only came out this past November.

Of the 2010 eligible entries, only Audrey Assad is currently in the new release chain, with her Sophomore release Heart coming out on Valentines Day. Of course it's still early in the year, and my wish list would include Poema, Reilly and Addison Road. I will keep you posted as the year progresses. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

A Night Beat Christmas, Part One

The Christmas Season is officially here, and in honor of that, I think it proper to spend a few posts sharing some wonderful Christmas Videos. Of course what would Christmas be without Mannheim and TSO, but we shall wait for those in due course.

We will begin with a home video version of Jingle Bells by two lovely ladies from New Mexico by the name of Poema.


Next up we shall rock out with the Almost and The Little Drummer Boy
Time to get a little animated. Animation that is. Here is the Sleigh Ride Video from the slightly demented Relient K
Forget What I said about Relient K. I think someone spiked Tenth Avenue North's eggnog. This is a Totally Demented version of Deck the Halls
I think that is enough for one post. We shall continue with the Night Beat Christmas Video Show throughout the week as I find them. A Merry Christmas To All and A Blessed 2012 from The Night Beat.

The Night Beat Presents: 2010 Songs of The Year

The 2010 Platinum Vinyl Awards are over, and sacrifices had to be made to make sure we beat the Doves to the line. One of the sacrifices was the Song of the Year category, which was genre based. Still, I felt that there should be some recognition to the artists. This post is my solution. The Song of the Year Category will officially be added to the Platinum Vinyl Awards for 2011.

Without further ado, the 2010 Songs of the Year, as determined by The Night Beat:

• Folk/Folk Rock Song: The Apple, Carolina Story, When the River Meets the Sea
• Dance Song: Live it Up, Group 1 Crew, Outta Space Love
• Gospel Song: All the Way, Forever Jones, Get Ready
• Alternative Song: Between Bare Trees, The Choir, Burning Like The Midnight Sun
• Modern Worship Song: Movements, Rend Collective Experiment, Organic Family Hymnal
• Pop Song: 2AM, Poema, Sing it Now
• Hip Hop/Rap Song: The Invasion (Hero) feat. Jai, Trip Lee, Between Two Worlds
• Hard Rock Song: Voices in the Night, Silverline, Voices in the Night
• Rock Song: Desperate, Fireflight, For Those Who Wait
• CROSS/over Song: Broken Pieces feat. Lacey from Flyleaf, Apocalyptica, 7th Symphony

Well That unofficially officially ends the 2010 Platinum Vinyl Awards. I officially ended it on April 21 with the Artist of the Year Award, but I kept going back and forth on recognition for best song. This list finishes that up, and we'll try to have song categories for each genre next year. Now we really do return to our regularly scheduled posts.