A Good Encylopedia of Christian Music and a Great Classic Christian Music Site

My (Scott Talbert's)

Review of Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music 

by Mark Allan Powell

I looked a long time for a complete catalog of Christian Music. I have been a fan of the music since my early teens. It was good to find such a large volume. Honestly I had never heard of the work. I have found other works not comprehensive enough. I think CCM music grew too fast for those involved to write a good work in the earlier years. This volume has some overwhelming positives and a few negatives.

First and foremost, its huge. It has a ton of artist entries. If a person sung or had anything to do with Christian music, you can find it in this book. I am a pretty varied fan of the genre and I found obscure bands and individuals for every taste.

I did find the intro to this book very funny. “Hey I took a years paid sabbatical to listen to music.”

He does give each entry a fairly good history,discography and basic biographical workup. That can be a huge task for some bands in the genre, who change members with every tour or don't exactly publish much information about themselves. His spade and information gathering is to be congratulated.

A few negatives persist. He is very opinionated about certain theological issues in the music. The one I bumped into, was his dislike of songs that mention military themes and victory. He also goes a long way in breaking down lyrics and discussing certain bands to the point of sheer board om. I found some entries more lyrical criticism than just a discussion of a band place in the world of CCM. The more minor the band was the more these discussions could be a waste of time. The last issue I have with the book is one that the writer can not control. With a 2002 publishing date this thing is dated. So much has happened in CCM since 2002. I hope somebody takes this franchise, shortens the editorials a little and makes it even more comprehensive.

Last and minor note. My CD got cracked either by me or on delivery. I did notice that it may be tough to run it on a modern machine. I would like to have tried it.

Lately I have been listening to a internet station at www.ChristianClassicRock.net They play classic Christian Rock from the 70s, 80s and 90s. This was the Christian hard rock that I grew up. Listening to the station is like a walk down memory lane for me. Thankfully growing up in Houston, we had good Christian rock radio, mainly on Saturday nights and some very good concerts like Petra, Resurrection Band, Steve Taylor and others. They play quite a lot of straight metal that’s pretty loud too. Take a listen, Christian rock has a 40 plus year heritage and this station seems to play them all. Also the station has places where you can listen to their other stations with power praise, hard rock, and Christian rock. As you switch to these other streams on the net you will get a website that has more about that stream. You can download their app to your android or i-phone. You can get the station on the Tune In app. You also have a choice of using almost any media player or just getting the mp3 stream to listen to. They really have a good site. This all belongs to a mother site called www.ChristianRock.net They are a non profit based in Springfield, Mo.

A Good Study of the the Growth of Pop Radio -- Amazon review

This is a review of Ben Fong-Torres book The Hits Just Keep on Coming I wrote and published on Amazon. If you are a history of radio fan like me you may find this is worth picking up. I am honest about what works and does not work in this book. 

I want to really like this book. I am a huge radio fan. I write a blog http://offaithandradio.blogspot.com/ on radio and faith issues. I have a job where I can listen to radio of my choosing for 8 hours or more a day. I have read several radio and TV history books. This review is part of trying to publish in this area. I am a fan. As much as I am a fan of radio, I wanted to be a fan of this book.

There are lots of reasons this book is a good reference book on a little written about topic. Fong-Torres gives his personal connection to top 40 radio. Like Fong-Torres, if you like radio you have played DJ with a hairbrush. I have. He then goes on to trace the early rise of DJ s. Pr-recorded music took awhile to get to radio. Records meant firing the orchestras many station used. Eventually DJ s playing popular records grew into what we call the Top 40 format.

Fong-Torres then takes you through the early days of Rock and and Roll. Alan Freed gets good mention. How a Top 40 was developed from record sales gets mentioned. The writer includes Top 40 charts from from 1947-1997. Ben Fong-Torres goes on to exhaustively list everyone of notoriety in this format. I was surprised how many I knew. Fong-Torres later takes up the subject of the transition to Fm from Am. You can barely hear music on Am anymore. HD radio could change that. He even touches on MTV. The book is too old to cover what I believes is the demise of Rock videos and the rise of the internet.

Fong-Torres even includes a cd of DJ samples. He has many of the masters on this CD with the magic of the “patter.” A DJ a good song and great audience could be an awesome thing to hear. Sadly, today we rarely hear more than song title announcement.

Still my big question. Why can't I love this book? It's a great study of a time and age of radio that still speaks to us today. It suffers from two problems. I feel Fong-Torres does not define Top 40 radio. Maybe you know it, when you hear it. He should have given it a try. Second this book is boring. By page 240 plus he has run out great stories. He does a lot of endless telling of where guys were and call sign. “He went from KILT in Houston to KXX in Nevada.” Wake me up when the listings stop. Maybe he could have discussed the rise of the format over and against its demise, but 1997 may have been early for this. As a reference this book gets an A, as interesting book it gets a C Plus.

Its Fall, Get a Real Radio and Have Fun

I know this blog is about internet radio listening. I hope you have tried to listen to a station that has informed you, built your faith or just had good music. But in my bones I feel fall coming on. Its time to drag out a real radio. Yes a radio that picks up real broadcast and have some fun tuning in some stations that may be pretty distant. To be honest, this is best done late at night with a sensitive receiver like a car radio. Cars are really great places for radios when done right. Manufactures tend to make car radios pretty sensitive. Last night in Houston, Texas I picked up a news station in Atlanta, Georgia. I have only heard the station on standard radio from Texas once in my life.

The internet can play a role in this. If you really want some radio fun you go out to a car on top of a hill and start tuning through the dial. You will be surprised how many stations you will get from how far. As you hear call signs (example wwl, koa, kprc or wbbm) and dial locations (610am or 89.3fm) you can use the internet to get all kinds of info on the station. If you like a station you can all ways listen to it on the net when the atmosphere does not allow you to.

If the car on a hill does not work for you try a transistor radio with a bar antenna. You will know it has one because when you move around it will seem to change channels even though you have not moved the tuner. The bar antenna is very directional. I have pulled stations in Chicago, St Louis and Tennessee with an old Sony walkman that had a cassette and fairly good digital tuner in it.

Now for those who want to go deep in this. This is where I temp you to buy a short wave radio and have at it. Ok, I am an old Radio Shack guy. This type of radio is not dead yet. Many good religious broadcasters still use shortwave to get there message out to the world and parts of the world where shortwave is still the radio of choice over long distances and very little local radio. My only advice is to start off cheap. Small shortwave radios can give you a taste of what is on. Once again the internet is a radio's best friend. You can use this to buy a good radio or identify what you are are listening to. Also some good books and magazines are available on the subject. Spoiler alert. If what you are listening to is any good, usually you can get it on the net clearer and easier to hear or where you can dictate the time you listen to it. If you have strong urge to consider shortwave listening, drop me an email at scotttalbert1963@outlook.com

Also I have found that scanning also gets a little better with the coming of fall. This is a radio that tunes police, fire, and other things. I have been listening to a near by school districts bus drivers chatter. They think they are alone. Once again the net is a great short cut on scanning. You can Google or use Tune In to listen to public servants around the country.

 Last of all, why care. As you know I come to the hobby of listening to broadcast as a Christian. Christians broadcasters tend to use all the media above, save scanning, (You can pray over what you hear on a scanner) to get their messages out. By playing with a radio you might hear an uplifting song or preacher or idea that God uses to change your life, that would be a great fall blessing. Yours in Jesus.

Ramadan Radio Update and our Prayer Burden

This time of the year is very holy to our Muslim friends. They are celebrating Ramadan. As a Christian I am praying they will come to know the freedom and the purity only  Christ can give them. When I see my Muslim friends in traditional dress I am prompted to pray for them. I urge you to do the same. While watching CNN, I saw a long form commercial for QFradio FM 91.7 add. This is a local radio station in the country of Qatar. They have an excellent streaming site at http://qfradio.com/player They play very contemporary Muslim oriented music. This should be a call to all Christians to pray for our Muslim friends to have visions of Christ and form relationships with caring Christians in foreign lands and right here at home. John 14:6 tells us that Jesus says “I am the road, also the truth, also the life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my father as well... “ (The Message) The complete spiritual journey for our Muslim friends will start and finish with Christ as their Lord. In this special month let us pray for our Muslim friends, make Muslim friends and pray that many Muslims come to know Jesus as the way to God.

Great Christian Radio in Houston, Texas

I think I have pointed out that I live in Houston, Texas, USA. This is a rich, deep religious part of the world. As a Christian media fan and user I benefit from a fine selection of local stations. We have a mix of network and originally programmed stations. If you live in a market lacking one of this kind of choices please use one of ours.

I like to do local band scans. Sometimes I just log the amount of radio stations I can get in one place. Its amazing whats available on just your car radio (best) or any radio. You can discover more choices every time you push the tuner button or wheel.

In big markets you can focus on a type of station. With the help of the net you can gain information about power and location. (Huge when listening to terrestrial stations) With the internet, you can also listen to stations that might be in your area, but are too weak to really hear well. I have done these for Austin Texas and Houston. Each time I discover new things about my local stations.

A practical thing about the list is the ability to use the text to link to those broadcasters and listen to some God honoring radio, though this new medium of computers.

For organizational reason I simply went across the FM band then the AM band. In most cases the “listen” button on the site will take you to audio of the station. If that was a problem, I gave you an alternative. When wanting to listen to one station in a place a website and a listen button usually solves most issues.

88.1 FM and AM 980 station is owned by Radio Aleluya.

There web site is found at http://radioaleluya.org/ The station plays Spanish Christian music and ministry. The website is not very mature yet. I found a site to stream audio http://streema.com/radios/Radio_Aleluya_KRTX This one may be a mystery for awhile. With 100,000 the max, the station's 700 watt ERP makes it very low power. The AM 980 signal is better on most days. They are also an HD3 some where on the FM dail. (103.3 KAMA, I believe)

American Family Radio on 88.3 is out of Conroe, Texas but comes in all over Houston. They are found at http://www.afa.net/Radio/ on the net. This signal is a clone of what is on the local channel if the channel is a full network station, which 88.3 is. This channel is mainly conservative Christian commentary on politics and other issues.

89.3fm, 96.9 fm (way west of town) KSBJ, now thirty years old. The station plays great contemporary Christian music. This is a nationally recognized station that is a favorite of many foreign listeners. The station is found at http://www.ksbj.org/ if you have trouble launching the

listening pop up, they have a link straight to their mp3 file. Lots of power, locally with a 100,000 Watt ERP.

NGEN 89.3hd2. You will need a HD radio to listen to this on radio. This station plays very youth oriented music for kids and the Christian rockers among us. The stations net address is

http://www.ngenradio.com/ This station has a large internet following and was rolled out to play on many media players. Like many stations “there is an app for that.”

KJIC 90.5fm from Santa Fe, Tx can mainly be heard South of Houston, Its letters stand for K Jesus is coming http://kjic.org/ The website is good to listen to along with a link to worship and praise. A 36,000 Watt ERP means this station is really a rimshot to Houston. This station was the town's Southern Gospel channel, but it has widened its music a little.

KKHT The Word at 100.7, This is a Salem broadcasting Network station with brokered Christian ministries. http://www.kkht.com/. You will find many mainsrteam ministries at this stations. Located East of Houston the station is weak on Houston's west side, despite its 100,000 watt ERP.

KMJQ hd2 praise houston, you will need a HD radio to get this one

http://praisehouston.com/ This is African American worship music. It was a station at 92.1 FM, but it was moved to 102.1 FM's hd2 slot. You can use the “listen” button to get to station audio. It will take awhile to load.

KHJK, 103.7fm was an old Jack format station that was bought by Air one. This is the Hot AC Christian station of the KLOVE national family of stations. They are a rimshot to Houston out of La Port, Texas. The station's network clone can be found at http://www.air1.com/

This is a national network that plays up tempo Christian music.

KHCB is Houston's oldest Christian broadcaster at 105.7, She has a great signal all over town.

They are found at http://www.khcb.org/ On their site you can get the station's various quality levels of internet signal. (Rare today.) This non political religious broadcaster plays mainly church music and features many preachers around town and the nation. They are well respected in the town. They have a great signal all over Houston.

KWWJ 1360am keep walking with Jesus, This is a 25 year old African American station.

They are found at http://www.kwwj.org/ The studio is found in Baytown, Texas.

They play Gospel music and some local preachers. With 5000 watt daytime, 1000 night time you can listen good during the day and not as much at night. This is where the web helps low power Am's.

Radio Amistad, Hispanic Religious Radio, sister to KHCB, 1400am, League City, Texas

The stations web page is found http://www.radioamistad.net/

You will need http://www.radioamistad.net/index.php option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=6 to listen live to various quality streams. 1000 watts daytime, 1000 watts night time means this station is really local to South Houston. This station was set up by KHCB and is broadcast into several Hispanic areas.

KSHJ 1430am EWTN Gaudelupe Radio network, Catholic Radio, This organizations owns stations based in various parts of the US.

The networks net address is http://grnonline.com/

Use http://tunein.com/radio/KSHJ-1430-s32115/ to get the local feed.

Part of EWTN global radio network. 5000 watts day time, 1000 watts night time.

If I have missed your favorite Houston Christian outlet contact me at scotttalbert1963@gmail.com

Radio, Disasters and Prayer

Hello, its been a long time since I have been able to post on this blog. My work schedule has me very busy and tired. I have hoped to use this blog to discuss radio and faith. I have made internet a huge part of this because it allows a huge amount of radio for basically no cost. In the last months our hearts have been moved to pray for folks in Boston, Moore and West. Internet radio can be a blessing because it can get you close to the action and prayerful quickly.

When I heard about the bombing at the marathon my heart just sank. I found WBZ a 24 news station out of Boston on www.vtuner.com The day after the bombing the station went with “wall to wall” with coverage. This term means they went 24 hour in their coverage of the problems that ensued. Quickly we began to hear of whole communities on lock down. We also heard up to the minute reports of the capture of the suspects. With that data a person could be praying for the suspects, the victims, the community members and the police.

I have visited the tiny town of West, in central Texas. Its a great place to stop and get food. It is situated north of Waco, Texas. It does not have a real radio station. This year a plant that produces fertilizer blew up and destroyed many homes with the blast of a bomb. KWTX out of nearby Waco, Texas swung into action. They also went wall to wall for several days. They tried to coordinate

needs and offerings to this tiny community. The community was overwhelmed with rescue workers and gifts right after the blast. This station can be found on www.iheartradio.com Radio is a great tool in disasters of this kind. Praying was something a person far from the disaster could do. The stories alone made a person of prayer seek God for this small town many times.

Later we all heard of the massive tornadoes that struck Moore, OK. This huge town lost two schools and many homes were simply cleaned off their foundations. Once again the streets became clogged with folks who wanted to help and other folks who had lost everything. KYOK 1000am was on the ground in a heartbeat. You can also find them on www.iheartradio.com They also became a huge part of getting donors to the needs. They also did a good job of redirecting overflow giving to other effected communities nearby. The praying was easy. Needs, problems and complaints came out on the radio.

The bible tells us to be constant in prayer. This does not mean driving down the street with our eyes shut and hands raised. This does mean that we are in a place where we can speak to God as we hear needs around us. This may be at work, with friends or even listening to the radio. Also in all the above cases we were told how to give and who to give to in each situation.

What is the take away dear readers? When you hear about a big disaster in a far away place, you can prayerfully listen in though this gift of radio. Using local radio gets us close to the needs. When you hear the stories let your heart approach the throne of grace in intercession.

Some closing ideas. This was not available several years ago. If a big disaster happened you had to wait for blurbs on the national news. With internet radio you can have the same radio a local care provider is using. Yes the information is interesting, but add prayer to that and you can be doing your part in the recovery. Also to be constant in prayer you need to constantly maintain your relationship with the Lord. This may require a daily time with the Lord. As you do this you will be surprised how easy it is to fall into prayer as you hear needs.

Just a few technical notes.

Internet radio providers are getting plentiful. If you are new to this hobby. Try www.iheartradio.com. Www.vtunter.com, or Google Tune in Radio. I just found www.sky.fm with 40 plus free stations. Google internet radio and have fun. You can also just go to radio station' website and hit the “listen” button. Also internet radio has escaped from your computer speakers. Good free radio is available on Roku players and smart tvs. A roku is a box that streams audio and video to your tv. Smart tvs are beginning to come out that have apps for radio or music services. If you have the net, both are just a simple upgrade away. Your cell phone can also get many internet radio stations. Watch the data or be near a router when you do this. This is the new radio listening. No longer are we attached to radios with bad reception or no reception. Just Google and listen. I do not endorse any of the above websites for consideration. Oh did I mention Christian Radio. Preaching and all kinds of music are available to the listener who is willing to search. Try Googling Hip Hop Christian music.

Gospel Music from India

This week I found a small set of internet radio stations called the verve network. You can find this network at http://radioverve.com/ When you go to this website you will be presented with a set of a dozen or so stations you can listen to. They offer everything from Rock, electronic to many local flavors of music. The information I could find about this site said it was on hiatus. The information also claimed the site was set up with open software and only featured unsigned musicians from India. I found the station with vutner.com and the gospel station has everything from hard rock, gospel to praise music. Most is in English and some sounds downright like Southern Gospel. Lots of it features a vocal lead and what is probably an electronic organ. Some of the music sounds very Indian and is in one of their many languages.

This station raises a great question for a Christian internet music fan. How much Christian music is being produced in India? Especially if this is a sample of the unsigned artist, I was impressed by the variety and quality of the music. I used this discovery as a chance to pray for Indian Christians and their music. I would also like to know the status of Christian music in India. This has caused me to want to research the whole issue of Christian music in the worlds largest English speaking democracy. I know that some parts of the country are comfortable with this expression and some parts of the country do not like the Christian faith.

If you read this and have something to contribute I will be happy to write some more on this topic. I have found other Indian outlets but this is the most interesting so far. The best information I found on the station seemed to be at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RadioVeRVe