So… about 2018, Part VI: The same as it ever was

In truth, I’m still trying to figure this whole thing out.

I know what I’d like to do with this site, and I possess sufficient self-awareness to determine which of those goals are realistic and which are reliant on some massive sea change occurring in my life where I can just do this whole thing full-time.  But even then, it would still be me just wildly flinging myself blindly in directions that I think approximate my desired landing place.

That said, this site does do what I originally set out for it to accomplish… a simple, clean space where I could present some of the music I was discovering and maybe get in a few words about it.

2018 saw me try a number of new formats for doing so, no different than in past years.  Like trying on new outfits, but always just for the purpose of stepping outside to get the mail and the paper from the front stoop.  The most recent costume change is the Album of the Day format.  I like it.  No, that’s underselling it.  I love it.  It may have saved this site, even.  I was getting a bit burnt out.  Not from the music and not about writing about it, but the way I was writing about it.  I’m going with simple for the near future, and every now and then ambush you with some long-form blog-y post.

Speaking of blogs, a reminder:  I’m not a journalist, though sometimes I write a piece that abides by journalistic standards.  I’m not a reviewer, though I’ve written up some albums that possess the scope and analysis of a proper album review.  What I am is a recommendation engine.  I’m a music bloodhound.  I enjoy pointing people in the direction of cool, new music.  The Album of the Day format highlights that aspect of me better than most other formats I’ve tried out.  It’s simple.  It gives the basic facts of the album, some music to listen to, some links to follow, and a few short sentences about what I like about the album.  Expect more of these.

Based on site traffic stats, it’s obvious you people crave my Round-up features.  They are and always have been my signature calling card.  From the early days on various music forums, providing simple lists of music has been what I do.  I would like to continue doing them frequently, but they take more work than I have time for.  So, they might be a monthly thing, rather than weekly.  If I ever get around to creating a Patreon account and the option of subscribing for an expanded array of recommendation features, a more frequent Round-up would definitely be a part of that subscription package.  So, don’t worry, they aren’t going away.

I enjoyed the Sunday Morning Jazz Album series.  In some ways, it was a throwback to the Safety Net columns I’d write from time to time (you old-school site visitors will remember those).  I think I might bring those back.  They were fun.  Social media responses seemed to indicate you all thought so, too.

The next few weeks will see the roll-out of some more 2018 release recommendations, because, truly no year ever ends.  But as you’ve already seen from yesterday’s post, the 2019 recommendations are already coming in fast.

Sometime this year, likely sooner than later, I will be making the move from Frankfort, KY to Lexington.  The reasons for the move are many, and normal, but I will be interested to see how that changes my writing.  I’ve been in this small town for five years (and in tiny Harrodsburg for two years before that), and I’m anticipating that returning to something like a real city (or a big town, at least) will trigger some writing outbursts.  I expect more of that to manifest in my fiction writing, but there’s some music-related writing that is very fiction oriented that I’ve been wanting to get into my schedule, so I think this move will make 2019 the year it happens.  But we’ll pretty much just have to see.

And that’s where this column in prior years would veer into ideas I have for the coming months ahead… all of the big plans and grand schemes for Bird is the Worm for the year ahead.  But not this year.  I’ve been at this now for just over seven(!) years, and I am done with the predictions and big visions.  2019 will be the Year Of Things Remaining Pretty Much The Same.*

So, instead, I will skip ahead to the end, where I give my sincere thanks for all you stopping by and checking the music out.  I remember when I first began this blog at the tail-end of 2011, and I’d obsessively check the stats and look forward to when I had 100 visitors in a single day.  It was so exciting to see that people had somehow discovered my site and were sticking around and checking things out.  The visitor stats have skyrocketed since those early days, but it thrills me no less that people are stopping by.  I love it when one of you drops a little note in the comments section or sends me an email or shoots the breeze with me on Twitter (@BirdIsTheWorm).  All of this music is very personal to me, and so it makes my day when I learn that a recommendation becomes personal for you, too.

This concludes the year-end wrap-up.  I hope 2018 was everything you could have wished for.

2019 is going to be the best year ever.

Cheers,

Dave

*I will be making a pretty big announcement about the future very soon, so be sure to keep checking back in.