(from 11/14/17)
It’s Tuesday night, and I decided to write again. I didn’t think I’d be doing this again so soon but ever since the other night, that spark of an idea has turned into a flame. And, with a little bit of research, the recollection of a past idea I never followed through with, and a recognition of one of the most obvious things about me, that flame is growing into a roaring fire. If I sound like I know something I’m not telling, it’s only because I’m incapable of conveying a thousand different thoughts simultaneously… It’s Tuesday night and I’m writing again. Like last time, I had the tv on in the background. HBO this time. I was about to mute it and put some music on, and just then, the first episode of a new Rolling Stone music documentary came on. Jimi Hendrix was playing… Like A Rolling Stone? I’ve never heard this version before. Oh yeah. This is perfect…
After coming to grips with the fact that my plan to get started writing was to, in essence, write a blog, I started doing research on how to make a good blog. Some things were obvious, some things proved insightful. Mind you, I’ve only been at this a couple of days, but what I’ve gathered so far is:
1. It should be about something. (Duh.)
2. That something should be something you’re passionate about, because you’re going to need to be able to write about it for a long time.
3. Whatever topic you choose, you can be sure it’s already been done, so you should have a unique perspective.
4. You have to provide value to the reader. (Super important.)
5. You must relentlessly self-promote and fight for every page view and reader. (Could prove challenging, as I’m not the self promoting type.)
I’ll admit that this seemed like a pretty big hill to climb. I didn’t know what I wanted it to be about or what fresh take I’d have on whichever well-worn path I’d end up choosing, and although I understood how it would provide value to me, I had no idea how I would provide value to the reader. Well, I thought, I’ll just write until the answers come to me.
They came sooner than I expected. On the way home, I decided to write something on Facebook – an experiment of sorts. Can I write something that’s NOT related politics or current events, and have people give a shit about it? I honestly didn’t know, and I still had no idea what to write about. Then a Fleetwood Mac song came on the radio, Dreams. I love that song. Helped me let go of someone I didn’t want to let go of… Then it hit me. It was so obvious. What do I love? What could I talk about forever? What do I know better than anyone else I know? Music. I fucking love music! I’m pretty sure I’d rather be blind than deaf, because I don’t know how I’d live if I could never listen to music again. I had actually been preparing for this for years, and I didn’t even know it: I’ve got a whole playlist full songs with really great lyrics, I even meant to post a few on Facebook along with my interpretations, but never got around to it. So there it is. I can write about music. More specifically, I can write about how music enriches our lives, about the lessons we can learn from song lyrics… and about the epic badassery of gods shredding guitars and MC’s spittin’ rhymes.
…
I’m feeling really inspired since I thought of this, and I’m taking it on with a zeal I haven’t felt in a long time. I’m stoked on the concept, it’s the perfect intersection of my interests and talents. I’m actually really surprised at how quickly this idea has developed in the past 48 hours. Skeptical, even. I keep asking myself. Can this really be it? Is this what you’re going with? Maybe I should be putting more thought into this before moving forward. Things that seem too good to be true usually are… But then, who’s ever truly ready for the next big step in their life? No one, I suspect. So I’m gonna roll with this and see where it takes me. I hope it blossoms into something more, because there’s still so much more I’d like to write about besides music. I’m sure I’ll find a way to blend that in eventually. But for now, this is it.
BCH
The Next Renaissance 