Well, unlike previous years I started this year at least with the intent and vague plan of what I need to change, what needs to go, and what I want my home, my record room, and future to (roughly) look like. With the slow realization over the last few years that stuff I have accumulated I may never get to enjoy or display the way I once planned on. I don’t have a overly huge record collection compared to many I’ve seen online, but there’s certainly more that I will ever get to listen to, at least multiple times in whatever years I might have left. More so, it is the memorabilia items such as shirts I’ll never wear again, books I may not read more than once, and posters I don’t have room to hang. Heck, I’ve also got loads of music on VHS tapes (I used to be into taping those old Muchmusic programs). That’s not to say I won’t be buying anything further, on the contrary there’s plenty of new releases I would like to get – if and when there’s $. Concerts are becoming fewer and further apart, and frankly – less appealing, not just with the rise in ticket prices, but also of bands I really want to see. Many of my favorite bands are into their 70s, so how much longer or more chances might I get to see the few I still want to (that I haven’t), and there’s a number of bands I like, but at this stage I have no desire to see live (due to lack of original members, backing tracks, nothing new to offer). 

As for this site, the above has brought me to wanting to get back t o writing (when time allows) about music and bands I like, and not merely be copying and pasting new release news, or an article on bands I may never listen to again. Heck, I may wanna write about a few non-direct musical topics. There are plenty of great newer and younger bands out there (see Ripple Music for example), but trying to keep up and hoping to own a lot of this newer music is a stretch for me at this point. I am also behind with a numbers of articles – things I plan to review, retro reviews and revisits, even a couple of interviews I need to get posted. Really, I’d like to focus on things I want to write about and not feel obligated (for whatever reason); after all this is a hobby I started years ago because I loved certain aspects of it, and when there’s time it is fun, but there is enough changed over time – with the music, business, and my personal time and things I might rather do.

Having said all that, currently listening to the new Saxon album, as well as going through my Magnum albums. A sad loss with Tony Clarkin of Magnum recently passing, but he left so many great albums to enjoy, and I need to start filling in the gaps in my Magnum collection; problem is very few Magnum albums got released over here, so off to Discogs it is. Hopefully will get to see Uriah Heep & Saxon this year, but shows listed so far are not so close and between work & other commitments, it may be tough getting to one that isn’t closer to home. Anyway, off to chip away at my mess of a collection, and later off to see Toronto’s Coney Hatch.