Five Years, What A Surprise!

Wednesday is about books, and reading. And writing. Today, a milestone in the life of this Substack newsletter. Thank you for being here!

I’ve been at this here Substack caper for five years now. It is also the home for all of my past writing — the Off The Tracks archive lives here (that’s for premium subscribers). So if you want to sign up to pay, and I say this knowing that times are tough and there are many better places your money could go, you will get access to about 11,000 articles, and you’ll be supporting me to do more of this.

Anyway, that’s the plug for that. And now that I’ve washed myself, I will carry on and we can pretend that barely ever happened. That dirty, cheap plug.

It was four years last year, naturally enough:

It was three the year before that — of course:

I decided way back as a budding blogger for Stuff — now nearly 20 years ago when I started — that the writer should celebrate their own milestones; birthdays. I’d do a celebration-post for every 100th blog, because I was at it every day. So why not. It’s a lot. And you might as well give yourself a wee back-pat now and then.

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, was the initial plan here, and the first two years or so, I stuck at that. Then I folded in the archive of Off The Tracks, and a few reviews here and there. I decided to get back into gig reviewing. I shared more poems. And some short stories. That sort of thing. The podcast episodes are in here. The new pod that sometimes happens with Oscar (Stephen King); some poetry readings, all sorts.

I’ve got regular columns going about movie soundtracks, albums on tape, albums on CD, and a few other occasional ones about drummers or authors, or favourite books, and key records. It’s fair to say that it would be unusual if I went a day without writing here. And if I do, something in me becomes determined to write at least two things the next day…

So I’m both sorry about that, and not sorry at all.

This place is for me as much as it is for you.

That’s my way of saying that I’m so grateful you are here (if and when you are) but I’d probably be here putting this down anyway. Or something like it. I probably always knew that about myself, but it’s become increasingly noticeable, to the point of unavoidable.

In the year since “Sounds Good!” turned four, I’ve added Sunday personal essays, and replaced the Saturday Morning Records with a series about writing influences and aspirations. We’ll see how long that one goes, but if it runs out of steam, I’ll replace it with something else. I’ve also made a deeper commitment to review albums again; so far this year I’ve written more about new albums than I did all up last year. That’s the result of me wrestling with the idea of the record review and its validity, then coming out the other side, deciding that I’ll just write in service and response to the music that I’m curious about; no attempts to cover ‘everything’, as used to be the case. No real worry about whether it means anything. Beyond hoping someone out there gets a new favourite artist or album or a timely reminder that one of their favourites is back once again with the ill behaviour…

I’ve been grateful that a couple of people have offered up guest-posts; sharing their thoughts through this platform. And that offer still stands. Drop me a line if you are keen.

You know I’ll likely hit up your inbox or your app with something else later today, because I won’t consider this “a proper newsletter”. Lol.

But yeah, it’s been five years. Thanks to Emily Writes — who somewhat ghosted us late last year. Literally. That’s an attempted pun. She moved Emily Writes Weekly over to the Ghost network, from Substack. But it was around five years and a week ago that she called me up and said, “I reckon you should do this; you should hit up this Substack vessel and just type all your shit out into the wee glass bottles they offer, and post them out into the giant ocean of the internet.”

I am paraphrasing somewhat.

But yeah, thanks Emily. Dear friend, and wise counsel.

I like it here. Sherman Alexie has liked one or two of my poems and stories and columns. Any time that happens I take a pause in my day and think the guy that wrote the poem Ode to Mixtapes has read something by me! I do. Every time. That’s one of the all-time great poems I think. It should be studied in schools, and printed on walls, and placed on the back of buses all around the world. And then there’s everything else he writes, including many great new poems on his Substack.

I like it when anyone stops by. Subscribes. Or sharers. Or likers. Or follows. Or comment-makers. Or all of it, or some of it, or any of it.

I like being here in the quiet days too. When it’s just me. And the words that I grab and use to fill the space until I run out of puff. For a day. Or an hour. And sometimes that alone can feel like forever.

So, it’s been five years. And like the Starman said, My brain hurts a lot.

But it would hurt a whole lot more if I didn’t have you; if I didn’t have this.

Thanks for having me. Or letting me. Or, um, you know, oh well, whatever, nevermind…