The Other Guys

If what I say on this blog interests you (or if it doesn't, but the topic does), there are a few other resources that you might want to check out.  One of my inspirations for starting this blog was a podcast called the Anvil and the Hammer (they're also on iTunes).  The Anvil and the Hammer is run by a couple of Southern guys who care a lot about bringing more Christian rock to wider audiences.  The podcast is mostly formatted around bringing bands onto the show for an interview about the band and their music.  Punctuating the episodes are songs by the band.  It's a great place to hear about new bands, hear what they sound like, hear what the band members are like, learn about their songs, to discover what the bands are trying to do, and to figure out what kind of music you like.  Even the bands that I haven't liked as much (musically) have still had some excellent things to say.  The interviewers know a lot about rock history and about instruments, so they know what they're talking about.  Episodes generally run about an hour.

The second resource that I'd like to send your way is a website called hopecore.com.  I actually heard about them while listening to the Anvil and the Hammer, but I've since checked them out on my own.  This website is a (free) online magazine about Christian music.  They have short articles interviewing Christian musicians and have some really interesting things to say (for example, they have an interview with Brian Welch, Korn's former guitarist).  They also have a radio station that streams through their website that plays Christian music, mostly rock, that is a little less run-of-the-mill.

For those of you with a taste for music that hits a bit harder, you might want to investigate The Full Armor of God Broadcast.  This is a podcast that deals with primarily metal and hardcore music.  It's fairly heavy stuff and I haven't really listened to it just because I don't enjoy that kind of music as much, but it's of pretty good quality.  The host is the self-titled Kuba the Demonslayer.  They mostly play music, although they do have guests on to take about different things, primarily music.

I hope that you check out and enjoy at least one of these.  I recommend them to you strongly.

P.S.  I have also found some pretty good music on Pandora, using one Christian band (Project 86), as well as using iTunes' Genius recommendations.  Even though they aren't specific to the purpose, they're worth playing around with.