Andrew Mall 3/8/24 Andrew Mall 3/8/24

Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture reviews God Rock, Inc.

Leah Payne reviewed God Rock, Inc. for the Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture.

Andrew Mall 2/28/24 Andrew Mall 2/28/24

Journal of the Society for American Music Reviews God Rock, Inc.

Adam Perez reviewed God Rock, Inc. for the Journal of the Society for American Music.

Andrew Mall 1/4/24 Andrew Mall 1/4/24

Journal of World Popular Music Reviews God Rock, Inc.

Daniel Thornton reviewed God Rock, Inc. for the Journal of World Popular Music.

Andrew Mall 11/16/23 Andrew Mall 11/16/23

Rock That Doesn’t roll, “Bookstore Guys”

Rock That Doesn’t Roll podcast (2023). Who could a 1990s Christian rock aficionado turn to in order to find the latest and greatest releases? For mainstream music fans, tastemakers included record store clerks of 1990s indie music stores, or retail juggernauts like Tower Records and Wherehouse - the kind of superfans depicted by Jack Black in High Fidelity. But for many evangelical teens of the 1990s, record stores were not the place to find kid-tested, parent-approved music. For that, Christian teens usually had to go to Christian bookstores.

Andrew Mall 11/15/23 Andrew Mall 11/15/23

Author Meets Critics: Andrew Mall’s God rock, Inc.

AAR (2023) “author meets critics” panel on God Rock, Inc. Panelists will consider how Christian music as a niche business shapes religious communities in the United States (and beyond), as well as how its many genres and subgenres - pop, rock, metal, rap, hip hop, praise and worship, etc. - reflect and shape evangelical Christian politics, practice, and theology.

Andrew Mall 10/26/23 Andrew Mall 10/26/23

Religion Journal Reviews God Rock, Inc.

Rosalind I. J. Hackett reviewed God Rock, Inc. for the journal Religion.

Andrew Mall 4/19/23 Andrew Mall 4/19/23

Our Worship Is Turning Praise into Secular Profit

Christianity Today (2023). Author Kelsey Kramer McGinnis quotes from God Rock, Inc. in her article on the the corporate consolidation of worship music.

Andrew Mall 11/7/22 Andrew Mall 11/7/22

MEIEA Journal Reviews God Rock, Inc.

Jason Lee Guthrie reviewed God Rock, Inc. for the Journal of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA).

Andrew Mall 10/18/22 Andrew Mall 10/18/22

How Do You Get to the Dove Awards?

Christianity Today (2022). Author Kelsey Kramer McGinnis quotes from God Rock, Inc. in her article on the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards (the Christian music industry’s answer to the Grammy Awards).

Andrew Mall 10/9/22 Andrew Mall 10/9/22

Is the Future of Christian Music on TikTok?

Christianity Today (2022). Author Rachel Seo quotes from God Rock, Inc. in her article on TikTok and Christian recording artist Montell Fish.

Andrew Mall 5/3/22 Andrew Mall 5/3/22

ARSC Journal Reviews God Rock, Inc.

Robert M. Marovich reviewed God Rock, Inc. for the Association for Recorded Sound Collections Journal (ARSC).

Andrew Mall 4/25/22 Andrew Mall 4/25/22

God Rock, Inc. Shortlisted for Award

God Rock, Inc. has been shortlisted for the 2022 Ralph J. Gleason Award in pop music writing.

Andrew Mall 1/25/22 Andrew Mall 1/25/22

New Award for God Rock, Inc.

Andrew Mall 10/6/21 Andrew Mall 10/6/21

Jesus on the Charts, 1957–1970

Pop songs with religious themes were not uncommon on the (secular) airwaves in the 1950s and 1960s. In this post I consider why that was the case, and provide a list of many such songs, some by very famous artists.

Andrew Mall 10/4/21 Andrew Mall 10/4/21

‘The Jesus Music’ Is a Love Letter to Fans

Christianity Today (2021). Author Kelsey Kramer McGinnis quotes from God Rock, Inc. in her review of the just release feature-length documentary about CCM, The Jesus Music.

Andrew Mall 9/20/21 Andrew Mall 9/20/21

Keith Green Vs. the Music Industry

Keith Green was a Christian artist whose ethics came to contradict the commercial necessities of the Christian music industry. I glossed over this contradiction and its conflict in my earlier primer to Green’s career and discography, but here I go more detail and provide some primary sources that I have found to be very enlightening.

Andrew Mall 9/15/21 Andrew Mall 9/15/21

Oral History Interviews as Primary Sources

While conducting the research for God Rock, Inc., I was fortunate to interview many current and former Christian music industry executives and musicians. I also used the archives at MTSU’s Center for Popular Music, and I was thrilled to find several relevant interview transcripts available through Baylor’s Institute for Oral History. In this post I discuss these components of my research methodology and approach to oral history interviews.

Andrew Mall 9/13/21 Andrew Mall 9/13/21

Larry Norman Primer and Discography (1968–1981)

Larry Norman, the “father of Christian rock,” released several albums in the 1970s after contributing to two records by the Bay-area psych-rock band People! in the late 1960s.

Andrew Mall 8/11/21 Andrew Mall 8/11/21

An Origin Story

When I was growing up, my family attended a Southern Baptist church in New Jersey. I was first introduced to Christian rock in the 1990s but didn’t start researching it until 2009. In this piece — a longer version of the origin story to God Rock, Inc. found in the book’s introduction — I describe discovering and abandoning Christian music during my adolescence, ultimately rediscovering it (with more than a little help from my youngest sister).

Andrew Mall 8/10/21 Andrew Mall 8/10/21

Keith Green Primer and Discography (1965–1982)

Keith Green released several general (secular) market singles as a pre-teen artist in the 1960s, followed by 4 Christian albums between 1977 and 1982.