INTRODUCING THE BAND...

Over the Christmas break and first week of the New Year I took the time to investigate a number of the blogs and other such websites written by people I know. Whether they were about poetry, films, beer, art, or potential sleepers in the 2012 NFL draft, it was great to read people’s considered thoughts on what they are passionate about, and see how they chose to articulate those thoughts… regardless of the fact that most of them probably have no expectation of any great readership.

And, of course, this reminded me how much I used to love writing about music, and how few opportunities I’ve had do that in the last few years. No websites, no magazines, no nuthin'. Ideally I’d like to be writing bits and pieces for an established site, but what connections I had to that world have dried up, and I certainly don’t have the time or energy to do start my own full site. So, as a step in the right direction, I thought I could join the ranks of the self-important and go the blog route.

Here’s the plan…

To start out, every Thursday morning New Zealand-time (because a writer is nothing without a deadline), I’m going to put up a piece on a classic album. Not just the Pet Sounds and Exile on Main Streets of this world mind you, but also the important works of more obscure acts that some might not be familiar with, and the great/interesting albums by bigger acts I think are worthy of more critical analysis than they generally receive. The idea is not so much to review the albums but to do a sort of critique of what they are and where they sit in the world… According to me. No particular formula, and no sacred cows.

Hopefully I can jump across a lot of genres in doing this. And hopefully it will be interesting and engaging for people who have a similar love of music to me. If not, at least it will be fun to do.

As things progress, I'd like to branch out into wider discussions, more editorial-style pieces, and reviews of new releases. I might even get a fancy logo and such.


Oh, and the title? I haven't googled it, but I'm going to guess this will be one of a million blogs and sites playing on the same turn of phrase, but what can you do? It's a good song, and it captures something of the sentiment behind this endeavour.

Tune in next week for the first edition: "Four Sides to the Story".


     -Michael