Nov 12 2015
Step Up, Stumble Back: This is what you get for starting a music blog
Okay, ready or not, we need to start posting recommendations again.
Things aren’t where I thought they’d be at this point as far as my site’s appearance and functionality and other fun stuff, but I didn’t anticipate the number of obstacles that would present themselves before I could even get around to a site revamp. So, for now, we’re going with what we’ve got, and over the course of the next two months, you’ll see a series of changes to the site from time to time. The fact is, we need to start putting a dent in your budget with new music recommendations. Immediately.
Huge thanks for the hard work, past and ongoing, from my sister, who slapped a spammer around for awhile, then helped with some hosting issues by doing daily battle with the ponderous, sadistically obtuse Dreamhost customer support, and, now, is patiently fielding my dangerously rudimentary coding questions as I posit changes I want to make, always preceding my emails with a “hey, will this screw my site up if I do it?” Worth noting, she does this kind of thing for a living via her company Ripple Effect Design. Some of you musicians, labels, bloggers and PR people should keep her in mind as you encounter those site issues you’d love to fix/improve/develop if only you had the time… which we rarely do. It’s definitely worth your time to shoot her an email via her site and see if there are things she can help with.
Cheers.
P.S. Keep the Yellow or not? I’ve been waffling all day about that one.
Bill Thompson
November 12, 2015 @ 5:53 pm
Yellow? C’mon man, I live by your words, something like, “you like what you like…”I will take your recommendations in any color. Can’t wait.
davesumner
November 12, 2015 @ 7:11 pm
The yellow sure looked good when I first put it up there. By the end of the day, my resolve had pretty well eroded.
Expect many color changes as I shift between tweaking the little stuff and instituting the big.
Cheers.
Paul Squassoni
November 12, 2015 @ 7:37 pm
Lose the yellow, Dave! Or maybe tone the saturation down to a lighter color. Pale yellow would work quite well and increase legibility. The purple on orange is a little vibrant for my eyes, but then again, modern design in general is proving to be a little vibrant for my eyes! 😉
I agree with Bill above, we’ll read what you write in any color that suits your fancy! Thanks so much for recommending so much great music…
davesumner
November 12, 2015 @ 9:00 pm
Hey, Paul. Thanks for the kind words and the site feedback.
Before it’s all over, I suspect you’ll be reading recommendations to the accompaniment of a series of different colors and shades.
Cheers,
Dave
Paul Squassoni
November 13, 2015 @ 7:06 pm
LOL! the purple, lavender and blue is lovely, cool and soothing and somehow very appropriate for a jazzy site! Variety is nice, too!
davesumner
November 12, 2015 @ 9:24 pm
Okay, that yellow was starting to get to me. After a brief fling with an orange background color, I’ve decided to end the evening with the current shades of blue. It’s still not what I’m looking for, but at least I can go to sleep knowing that I won’t blow out any readers pupils in the meantime.
Cheers.
Greg Cracknell
November 13, 2015 @ 3:03 am
Glad to see the site back Dave and looking forward to your help in using emusic credits on jazz recommendations again. Great site layout by the way. Choice of colour doesn’t worry me, it’s the content that counts!
davesumner
November 13, 2015 @ 7:31 am
Hey there, Greg, cool to hear from you.
Yes, before long, I’ll have you buying more booster packs to keep up. Before long, I’ll be posting some lists of cool under-the-radar stuff I’ve been finding over at the eMusic site.
Cheers,
Dave
Robert Middleton
November 14, 2015 @ 1:07 am
Hey, Dave, screw the colors for now. As you’re starting to realize, a website is something you keep tinkering with forever. But we are hungry for the reviews. Personally I’m looking for the short reviews more than the long ones. With the weekly collection of your short, but pithy reviews I can scan them quickly, decide if that’s the kind of thing I like, listen to the sample, go and listen to samples in iTunes and buy what I like. So, for me, shorter is better. Cheers, Robert
davesumner
November 14, 2015 @ 9:09 am
Heh heh, I think you’ll be happier with today’s post, then.
And, actually, maybe tomorrow’s too, now that I think upon it. Before long, you’ll all be well fed.
Cheers,
Dave
davesumner
November 15, 2015 @ 10:35 pm
You’ll be much happier with Tuesday’s post.
Cheers,
Dave
Roger Amos
November 15, 2015 @ 9:13 am
Echoing the above, and as a coder myself, you’ll know the adage that you never actually finish a program / project / website, you just stop working on it.
Great to see you back in the saddle, Dave … been out of the loop myself for a few weeks, so I’m looking forward to being drowned in new choices once more.
Bring. It. On.
davesumner
November 15, 2015 @ 10:19 am
Hey, Roger. Good to hear from you.
And, yes, we’ll have your ear very occupied through the end of the year, and then beyond.
Cheers,
Dave