Fresh and Distant

I'll try and be brief. I thought I'd come a long way with my current work in progress. Twenty thousand words in, I thought I was making pretty decent headway. Except I stopped a while back. Which, especially now, becomes a problem. Not even just a little problem, but a big, work-halting problem. 

It's not just a traditional case of writer's block. It's more of a reflective disappointment on my work since I'm no longer particularly close to it. Common advice dolled out is something like, "After you finish your first draft, put it away for a month or so and work on something else." This allows a fresh, distant perspective on the writing. Then you can cut, edit, and rewrite to your heart's content. 
 

There's another facet of that, come to find out. Just so happens that if, for some reason, you take a lengthy break from writing said project (as you would were it a complete first draft), you will experience that same "fresh" and "distant" perspective on your writing. Which is okay if you want to edit and rewrite it. 
 

Not if you want to finish it.

The Inevitable

It was inevitable that something like this would come. And, hey, here it is. I'm going to lay some things out about the blog (hopefully in a clear, concise manner), and by the end of this post you, my dear readers, will have a better grip of where I want to go and what I want to do with it. This is immensely important to me; this blog, what I have to say, and my readers as a whole. So, here goes.

A while back I started to try to blog on every odd day, which (besides a few month-change bumps) meant I was blogging every other day. It seemed easier than it turned out to be. You see these incredible people posting every single day and still having time to write books and stories (like Chuck Wendig, for example) and you figure, "Hey! I can totally manage to do, what, half of that? Seems easy enough." Turns out, it's a ton of work. Almost too much, in fact. I often find myself slacking on my writing, because, hey. I wrote a blog post. I'm good.

These are huge lies. Blogging is extremely tough. Now if blogging was all I was doing, blogging every other day might not be so difficult. But if blogging was all I was doing, well, I wouldn't exactly have many exciting things to blog about in the first place. And I don't want that to happen. Not for me. Not for you. Just, not really for anybody.

Valkyrja Album Review

Faroese metal band Tyr has long since claimed its seat among Viking metal legends, particularly as the Viking or folk metal band to listen to if that isn't what you're into. Well, the legend is still alive and kicking; Tyr released today their new album Valkyrja with Metal Blade Records today. The cover looks like this: 

Final Verdict: 5/5

Standout Tracks: The Lay Of Our Love, Valkyrja, Cemetery Gates
 

Being Tyr's seventh album release, Valkyrja does not disappoint. The recent signing  to Metal Blade Records changed little to nothing about Tyr's signature style and energy; a pleasant surprise to all. The band has provided on this album thirteen tracks which are sure to please, utilizing many different styles to achieve their desired theme and sound. 

The Circus At The End Of The World Album Review

Abney Park has long been known as the "essential Steampunk band." Starting with their Lost Horizons album, their music has been themed (both musically and lyrically) after the fascinating Steampunk genre and (more specifically) their fictional, post-apocalyptic Steampunk world in which they portray themselves as airship pirates. From deep, philosophical songs to just plain bouncy and fun, Abney Park covers a wide variety of flavors with their quirky, vintage sound. 

Not very long ago (September 14th according to iTunes), Abney Park released their newest album: The Circus At The End Of The World. Here's the album art: 

Final Verdict: 5/5

Standout Tracks: The Anthropophagists' Club, Dominion Of Dust, Katyusha

 

Abney Park carries on with their oh so familiar (yet oh so sweet) sound with this new release. Quirky yet fun, this album will easily find it's place among any Abney Park or Steampunk fan's music library, and probably more than that. Abney Park maintains the vintage "oldness" of past albums, but wraps it in a layer of circus-themed bounciness. 

This Is My Jam

With the current array of social media options there are, it can be difficult accept a new one. Oftentimes, however, new social media outlets become grandiose, huge, massively entertaining parts of lives. (Like, I d'know, Twitter...) If you would lend your ear for a few moments, I would like to present a new contender that has quickly found a place in my life. 

This Is My Jam.

Let's talk a little bit about it, so you have a feel before you go clicking links. This Is My Jam is a music sharing site that allows users to share their current "jam;" you know, that song that's stuck in your head and you've been humming for the past few hours. A jam stays active for up to seven days (or until you change it). During that time, people can listen to, like, and "rejam" your jam. At the end of that seven days, if you haven't set a new one already, your jam expires and you will be prompted to select a new jam. 

Once a jam expires or is changed, it is listed at the bottom of your profile (or jam) page with the rest of your past jams. From there people will be able to view every jam you've previously posted, including the source link to the music. (This Is My Jam uses source websites like YouTube and Hype Machine for their music.) That way if, say, you really like one of your friend's jams, you can listen to it even after they change it.