Well, I made it through another year of bloggin’. Every week at least one lengthy post goes up, and that’s something to be proud of. A lot of care is still taken over this blog and there are lots of stories to tell and articles still to be reviewed. Normally on such occasions I’ve done a big state-of-the-union address, but I’m a bit weary this morning, so here’s some bullet points:
1. I got a hold of a few contributors this year. I thank them for their efforts and exhort them to contribute more.
2. I am still butchering my submissions process. I get several submissions a day and it appears, unless my career falls apart, that I’ll never have time to catch up. Well, I’ll do the best I can when I can. If you send something to me and I never respond, feel free to curse me as being just like all the rest, which I guess I am! You could also wish me a lottery win so that I can pay as much attention to Make Your Own Taste as I would like.
3. I’m still bitter about people with new musical products that I go out of my way to review, only to have them ignore me when I inform them of my promotional efforts on their behalf. If they read the article/review, they might be surprised and/or touched at the efforts put in. But even if they do, hitting “retweet” or “share” is apparently too much effort, kind of like how some drivers don’t use their signals to indicate a turn. A bit rude. But I’m dropping that complaint now (really). If you folks don’t recognize the symbiosis between the reviewer, even the humble blogger, and the career of the musician, then so be it.
4. Turning things positive again, thank you to all the musicians and other bloggers and all around good folks who have spread the word about the reviews here and with whom I’ve interacted online. It’s good to be a little part of the ambient/prog/eclectic community. Thanks for sending your efforts my way and providing me with all this fine music. No matter how many or few listeners you may end up getting, you are contributing to beautifying the collective unconscious, and that’s very important.
5. Listen to The Gateless Gate, you may well enjoy it.
I ain’t givin’ up and more articles and reviews will be coming your way in the coming year — lots!
A.T.
(The photo is my cat/familiar. I just like it. He cares not for blogs.)
