With God on Their Side?

[Josh]

Here's a stand-up-and-applaud-at-the-end article from the Nasvhille Scene, in which the author asks the same question that many of us have been asking... what's up with the GMA, and why didn't it honor Buddy Miller, Ben Harper, and other musicians of faith who happen to work outside the industry?

[Usadingo]

The impression I've always received from the GMA is that if it's not directly making them money, they won't honor it.

[StaceyG]

In the article he says this:

"There isn't really a Christian NPR or AAA radio format to promote the growth of fringe artists. "

Here's where I have a quandry.  Do you think there should be Christian NPR?  I don't think fans of these artists would care to listen to a Christian NPR, etc.  It's kind of the same as a Christian Punk/Alternative...as soon as it gets labeled, those types of fans are turned off from it.  

 I go back and forth on the things brought up in this article.  I agree that some quality music doesn't get it's  deserved attention, but at the same time...are the fans of the music we're talking about, or the artists for that matter, interested in being in on the GMA/Christian radio scene?  If not, should they be considered for awards they may not be interested in receiving anyway?

 

[MJanke]

what's up with the GMA, and why didn't it honor Buddy Miller, Ben Harper, and other musicians of faith who happen to work outside the industry?

Maybe because they are outside of the industry - by their own choice.

If they're not submitted to be nominated then they can't be recognized, can they? It's not the GMA's fault if they aren't nominated by their record companies. Apparently they didn't think the Doves were worth the time or the effort, so they got what they deserved then. It's not the GMA's responsibility to seek out projects for recognition - the submission process is how it works, just like other awards. I'm sure there are lots of great albums in England that are also worthy of being recognized, but the GMA isn't responsible to fly to England to find those albums either.

Nominate them to get them in the eligible pool, then complain when they don't win. Otherwise that's like Michael Moore complaining he didn't win Best Foreign Language film when he didn't allow it to be submitted in the category. You can't win what you aren't eligible for.

[Escuchame]

[Escuchame]

[BecauseEdwardISEdward]

[Mike]

Janke, you know full well they still won't win, even if their names are submitted for nomination.

Not my point - and I even point that out at the end of my post.

Situations like this bother me. There are problems that need to be fixed, sure, but it's quite lame to whine about situations like this where the person isn't even eligible for the award in question. Fix THAT before you complain.

[murlough23]

Maybe I missed something, but why do we even want these people to win Dove Awards? The Dove Awards are a joke. Yeah, sometimes they'll give one to a deserving artist like, oh I don't know, Jars of Clay, but that has much more to do with, "Hey, they had a mainstream hit a few years ago and outsiders recognize their name, we should be good to them and give them awards in the Rock Album category even though only old fogies like us think they're actually a rock band!" than actual artistic merit, so it's a coincidence when the deserving artist actually gets the award.

I'm sure all of the "fringe" Christian artists we could think of would be happy for the recognition, but all the same, maybe having an audience of rabid CCM fans suddenly descending on them and picking apart their art is not such a good idea. That sort of stuff, in my opinion, is best left where the people who hunger for it can know where to find it (though a little more exposure could help in that case), and everyone else can jsut go on oblivious to its existence. Maybe that's a fatalistic attitude on my part, but I don't see the attitude of the stereotypical CCM consumer changing any time soon. The want safe, catchy, and comfortable. That excludes non-popular genres like folk and country (well, real country, anyway), and songwriting that is challenging, confrontational, extremely personal, etc.

I'm all for artistic integrity within the Christian community being recognized and lauded. I'm all for those artist's albums selling as many copies as they can, so long as the artist is not required to compromise to meet that goal. But sometimes I think that maybe it's better for Over the Rhine (for example) to be off in their little corner where those who are in the know really appreciate them, and they don't have everyone else from the shallow end of the pool slamming them for supporting Kerry or saying "fuck" in a song. Let the people who can actually think criticially about such things before responding to them (even if they ultimately disagree) seek out that stuff and evaluate it fairly. It'll do bands like OtR better in the long run.

NP: "Blind Faith", Dream Theater

[Guest]

Nominate them to get them in the eligible pool, then complain when they don't win. Otherwise that's like Michael Moore complaining he didn't win Best Foreign Language film when he didn't allow it to be submitted in the category. You can't win what you aren't eligible for.

The complaint was that their talent was being recognized. That's not a complaint about eligibility - that's a complaint about the system.

Did Michael Moore ever say anything like that or do you just like slamming the guy?

[Aaron]

Did Michael Moore ever say anything like that or do you just like slamming the guy?

Hello, this is context.  Could you please use it when responding to someone's post?  Janke was using rhetoric.  He did not say it was fact.  It was an example of if Moore complained about that issue.  He could have used anyone but Moore was the easiest figure to use because of all the buzz that surrounded him at the Oscars.    At least have a good counterargument other than the immature response above.