A 52 Week Autobiography Through Music – Week 52 – Final Thoughts
Before I say anything else I would like to thank any and all who have followed this video series – or if nothing else have watched even one or two videos. Knowing that these were being seen was key to giving me the energy and desire to keep up with weekly posts.
This series of videos started out simply as an autobiography through music meant for a relatively small and targeted audience and while the audience remained small the effect that making these videos had on me was unprecedented and joyously so.
As a result of taking the time to listen to and talk about my musical influences I have experienced a true renaissance in my appreciation of music.
In this video I refer to the 100 plus new albums I listened to this year. In addition to all this listening I also kept an ongoing iTunes playlist, organized by month wherein I have included, each month, between 15 and 25 songs that caught my ear. This is an idea I got through the newsletter of Austin Kleon who posted this link to the blog of Frank Chimero – a designer in Brooklyn. This is not necessarily new music but is music that was new to me this year.
Here then are links to my sort of “best of” iTunes and Spotify playlists (the same list, two platforms) containing 18 tracks culled from the 12 monthly playlists of 2018.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/best-of-2018/pl.u-GPaPRsDdxdV
I don’t know why but sometimes the Spotify playlists are not coming up in these posts. If you have Spotify and want to look me up you can find me at this link: https://open.spotify.com/user/122269178?si=c5ir7YNXS_CEBfsZUVMyVw
I’m totally down with the professionalism that you brought to this amazing project. I’m very proud to have such a committed individual that I call my son. I want your listeners to know that none of the talent you have was passed down by me. I have none. I do however love music and that’s what it’s all about. Thanks for a great 52 week ride.
Well thanks for the great compliment and endorsement! I am glad you enjoyed the videos. It is really due to you and mom playing music around the house ALL THE TIME that I became so interested in music so even if it wasn’t the musical talent that came from you it sure was the enthusiasm for music so thank you!
Such a diversity in your musical interests! Fantastic to follow your wide-ranging eclectic tastes and discover the sounds, people and musics that inspired you along all those years.
You created very well crafted presentations with cool videos, musical snapshots and concise writings. Very nicely edited to pass your messages. Congrats for this 52 week-long effort! And thanks for opening our eyes to that lively universe…
Thank you Dim for following and for your encouragement during the process. I of course feel I could have done so much more but time prevented me from going deeper, especially in the written portions of the blog posts. Often I found myself posting the blog on a Sunday afternoon, just meeting my deadline and scrambling a bit to find something to say that would add to the video content. Unless inspiration hit at that moment I just typed the first thing that came to my mind, added some links to the artists websites and hit “post”.
I am mostly happy with the results but there are of course things I would do different if I had to do it again – which I will not do!
Instead of talking about music this year my plan is to take time to listen even more. I will occasionally post my new findings here but not in video form. Stay tuned!
Message: It was a fun project to watch. I have a lot of personal connection with this series, and it was fun to be reminded of shared experiences and educational to see a different viewpoint, a different perspective, and to have seen the changes through the years. I am already pretty overwhelmed by your library of cds that I caretake, so this gives me a basis with which to compare your blog notes and recommendations with your collection and to give listenings to those favorites. Well done!
I am very happy to give back to you at least some of what you gave to me during my formative years as a listener. Your influence touches everything I listen to even up to the present. Between you and Patricia you introduced me not only to specific artists but more importantly to genres that challenged my ears and sensibilities and opened me up to accepting a very wide range of musical points of view and aesthetics.
Thank you!
watching these has had a similar effect on us, especially in revisiting our own vinyl music collection. and ralph’s brother’s and nephew’s christmas presents this year came from your posts, so your influence is expanding!
Well I am certainly glad to hear that this was not in vain! I have been really enjoying owning vinyl again and relating to the physical objects with all the packaging as opposed to only using streaming services. I have personally started to again purchase more music be it in physical or digital form than i did before. It helps to put value on music that can be felt rather than just having the $9.99 per month automatic iTunes or Spotify Subscription that is easily forgotten.
Here is my go to service for seeking out vinyl, in particular the older records that were lost in the great vinyl loss débâcle. https://www.discogs.com
Cher Darren,
Un grand merci pour la volonté, l’énergie et la réflexion que tu as généreusement dévouées à ce projet.
Au-delà de la multitude d’artistes que tu as présentés d’une manière experte et passionnée, c’est le musicien le plus important à nos yeux que ton dévouement nous a permis de découvrir et connaître un peu plus : toi-même.
Les 52 facettes de ton histoire et de ta personne que tu nous a permis d’entrapercevoir confirment la perception que j’avais de toi : un mélange de sobriété, de complexité et de sagesse, savamment distille au poids d’une expérience intense et d’une perception fine de la vie.
Nul doute que ces 52 facettes bénéficieront encore longtemps ceux qui te sont proches.
Merci pour ton témoignage.
Et merci pour Jorge Drexler.
L.