Recently in Snark Alert Category

I posted a note yesterday about a new website that's just launched, CMDish, which in its intro email likened itself to a Christian TMZ.

As regular readers of this blog expected, I couldn't let that go without comment.

Understandably, the folks at CMDish weren't exactly thrilled with my post, to say the least, and responded on their site today. (Which, if you think about it, is exactly the kind of page view whoring we all have to do to make a buck. I write a post, they refute it, I have to respond. Oh the irony of it all. And just for the record, I've made zero dollars since May, so if you think I'm doing this to get rich, guess again.)

See, in the Christian music industry everyone likes to smile and prop each other up, which is why the founder of the site was surprised by my post. Everyone else in the industry thinks the site is a wonderful idea.

Well, at the risk of being too snarky, duh.

Christian music may have sunk to a new low with the launch of a new TMZ-ish website, CMDish.com.

Admittedly, it's really no different than any other Christian music website sharing stories about Christian music artists. Most, like this one, run press releases and news updates.

So maybe it's just the promo email, that describes the site as a "mild mannered version of TMZ.com, but dedicated exclusively to the happenings of artists in the Christian community."

The Christian music industry has long been guilty of coat tailing on mainstream trends with a Christian version of, well, everything. But do we need a Christian TMZ?

For years I've struggled with covering Christian music for the variety of publications I write for, because there is a very fine line between sharing news and spreading gossip. And while I know that stories like what the Jonas Brothers ate for breakfast or who Miley Cyrus is dating might drive page views, it creeps me out.

That's why you find a lot of posts on this blog questioning Christian music and challenging fans to think outside the box. And sure, there are some brainless posts, too.

Which is why I have a hard time criticizing CMDish.com. It's basically the same thing I do, in theory: find stories people will read. And sometimes, I have to cover stories that sometime just make me feel icky.

The difference, I hope, is that if at any time I was compared to TM, and was proud of it, I'd know it was time to find another line of work.

UPDATE: CMDish responds to this post; oh, the irony

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The Save The GMA fundraiser took place on Monday night, and it looks like the event might have gone a long way towards helping to keep the Gospel Music Association on its feet.

According to the press release, the event - which drew 350 people at $1,000 a ticket plus more than 10,000 online viewers - raised more than $350,000.

Billed at the "Concert of the Decade" the Save The GMA fundraiser featured performances from Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Casting Crowns, MercyMe, Kirk Franklin, Point of Grace, Jason Crabb, Martha Munizzi, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Natalie Grant, Bernie Herms and the Booth Brothers. Brown Bannister, five-time Dove Award-winning Producer of the Year, produced the concert.

This just in: "Best-selling newsboys recently inked a deal with American Athletics, a licensed Converse distributor, to launch its own line of Converse Chuck Taylor All Star shoes. The joint venture commemorates the first time the shoes have been branded with a Christian music artist's logo."

This is a good thing?

Maybe it's because I'm sick, but the news that Newsboys are going to have a line of sneakers is almost as icky as those stupid Scripture sneakers that have Bible verses on them.

OK, OK, I get it. Chuck Taylors with band logos are a "cultural icon" as the press release says. Newsboys are joining Black Sabbath, The Doors, Grateful Dead, The Who, and Ozzy Osbourne, all of which have their own licensed Chuck Taylors.

Whoopdeedo. Just more commercialization of Christian music.

Then again, I'm sick, so maybe my judgement is off on this one.

You tell me: should a band that has traditionally been one of the Christian music's most spiritually grounded, evangelistically focused bands be licensing their logo on shoes? Is the industry hurting that much for money? Or is some big honor that I don't really understand because I a) don't wear Converse sneakers and b) am under the influence of cough medicine?

The only place to get the new Newsboys Chuck Taylors is on the Newsboys website. (As I write this, the site must be having trouble.)

RELATED POSTS:
The commerce of the church: where do we draw the line?
Newboys kick off full length tour with new vocalist Michael Tait
Michael Tait announced as new lead vocalist for Newsboys
Christian Music Poll: Should The Newsboys Change Their Name?

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It opened in downtown Nashville as a nightclub for teens, and now Club Rocketown is hosting a show with satanic mainstream bands on the bill.

Rocketown was founded in 1994 by Michael W. Smith in Franklin, TN and in 2002, found a new home in downtown Nashville. The venue is part nightclub, part coffeehouse, and part activities center, complete with an indoor skate park. Christian bands play music, teens can dance under the disco ball, and there are even weekly Bible studies in the coffeehouse, rounding out the club's mission: to share "Christ's love with youth through creative programs and mentoring relationships that are culturally relevant and eternally significant."

But some fans of the club are questioning why Rocketown is hosting a night of hardcore satanic metal on October 27th, with a line up that includes The Black Dahlia Murder, Toxic Holocaust, Skeltonwitch, and Trap Them.