2021 was a strange year for DC, so I'm gonna switch over to first person to tell you all about it, as well as my plans for the site in 2022.
In January I abandoned the "album of the week" model and just started writing about releases I loved as I heard them, which was a very gratifying shift in approach. I kept premiering singles, curating playlists, and even conducted a handful of artist interviews, all of which were super fun. This carried through the summer months, and was probably my most productive stretch of music writing. It was a dream.
But then September rolled around, and everything changed once again. You see, I was able to spend so much time writing about music from March 2020 - August 2021 because my teaching job moved to a virtual format, which afforded me some free time to write in the mornings and evenings. But three-ish months ago we went back into our old brick building and DC production stopped. I mean STOPPED. I mentioned this in a September post, but teaching middle school is a job which requires a huge amount of mental, physical, and emotional energy, and sadly, I've now got little energy to spare for this passion project. If you've been following along, you may have noticed that DC content has all but dried up in recent weeks.
And though I miss how things were before (referring ONLY to the time I had to write) I refuse to allow this to be a "woe is me" moment. I am determined to keep pushing DC forward, but I also must adapt once again in order to preserve some semblance of a balanced life. So as of this moment, here is my tentative plan for DC in 2022:
I plan to pivot BACK to weekly posts, but they will not be Monday morning AOTW profiles as they were in 2020. Instead, each Friday (beginning in January) I plan to publish "Recommended Listening" roundup lists, highlighting albums I am excited to hear that day and across the weekend. Think of these sort of like NPR Music's "New Music Friday" or Pitchfork's "Out This Week" posts - just another place to look for some weekly music suggestions. Admittedly, I am not in love with this idea as it feels rather unoriginal, but ultimately, I believe that it is a move that will save me a bit of my sanity in the long run. Though my writing has slowed recently, my music consumption has not, so this new posting format should still allow me to share what I love, without a ton of extra effort. I'll do the research, and you can listen in. We'll see how it goes I guess. It's not forever, but hopefully sustainable for a while.
As for interviews, playlists, premieres, and live reviews, I mean, I'd love to do them all, but each of these pitches require a good deal of time - something of which I have very little. I could go back to emailing artists standardized interview questions and publish what they send back, but that feels like it sacrifices a relational element. Live reviews are sweet because they often come with free tickets, but do I really want to stay out late on weeknights anymore? Yeesh. I'm so old. All of this is to say that I'm not sure what DC features will look like in 2022. It really depends on a lot. Hopefully this Friday "Recommended Listening" routine will broken up by the occasional playlist, interview, or concert recap.
But despite these changes-by-necessity-not-by-choice, know that I truly am so happy to have anyone reading, so thanks if you've made it this far! And actually, I've got a small token of gratitude if you're interested in receiving it. I printed off a ton of these DC stickers last summer (see the photo at the bottom of this post), and they literally haven't left the box. It turns out that when you're a blogger who doesn't ship anything, you don't have the opportunity to give away branded stuff. So I would love to send folks these stickers. I'll even mail them to you wherever you live. Domestically, international, whatever! Just fill out the Google Form linked right above the photo, and at the end of the month, I'll mail out sticker packets and maybe even some personal notes too. Stick em on your water bottle, your laptop, tagged street signs, your scuffed-up gear case, or your car's bumper (or bike frame if that's your thing).
Thanks a bunch for following along, once again, even as DC continues to evolve. There is so much music to look forward to in 2022 (my "releases" spreadsheet is filling up already), so be sure to come back again and often starting in January.
Warmly,
Nathan
Click here for the Google Form. Peep those stickers!
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