First of all, thank you for all the responses to my survey. I apologize for being a little melodramatic. I’m not going to shut down my blog. If anything, I’m going to redesign and (possibly) expand it. Hopefully over the summer when I have more time.

I also apologize for my recent lack of activity. I’ve been extraordinarily busy with school. Specifically, writing papers about engineered system failures and national public policy. Needless to say, it’s difficult to follow topics like those with what I typically address on my lowly blog.

To make matters even worse, I’ve been struggling with the following question. How do you write about something so inherently personal? Subjectivity is, after all, part of music’s appeal. A song can be technically flawless, but that doesn’t mean everyone (or anyone) will like it. Music that makes some people “want to kill themselves” may, to others, serve as a crutch or an escape.

And while most critics try to remain objective when writing reviews, they do so at the expense of making sense. For example, when was the last time you read an entire write-up on cokemachineglow? I usually just check the rating at the top and maybe read the first paragraph. I find these types of reviews to be helpful only after I’ve listened to the music (and formed my own opinions). Only then do I care about what other people think.

All this may explain the rise of the blog. People aren’t looking for objective and critical analysis, they’re looking for guidance (at least when it comes to music). The best bloggers tend to be the most personal: they describe not only the overall sound or mood of the music (the context), but also their personal reaction to it (the opinion). Most importantly, they provide samples so you can listen and try it out yourself.

The context is the trickiest part. It usually involves potentially dangerous labels and associations. Defining the music’s genre or listing similar artists, while most times overly constrictive and sometimes marginalizing, provides crucial guidance. In fact, a quick check of the previous posts on a blog usually tells the reader all he or she needs to know about the quality of the site.

By now you might be asking yourself, “Where the hell are you going with this?” As it turns out, nowhere in particular. I actually may have gone in a giant circle. I started writing this article with the purpose of conveying the recent difficulties I’ve encountered writing on my blog. To that end, this post may have helped me overcome these difficulties. We won’t know for sure, however, until the semester ends in two weeks…

Until then, enjoy a couple songs that perfectly fit my current mood of apprehension and self-doubt.

[mp3] Ane Brun :: To Let Myself Go
[mp3] Nina Nastasia :: Superstar