One year old today --- Happy Birthday to us!
I'd just like to pause here for a moment to mark the first anniversary of the second inception of the Playlist of Life. The first incarnation failed, for many reasons, and was deleted and forgotten about, until 365 days ago today, when I decided to give it another shot. Since then, in a relatively short time, we've had over forty thousand views, which over the course of just one year averages out to appoximately three thousand views a month, or just over eight hundred a week. That means that over a hundred people (or the one person a hundred times!) are viewing my little journal
every day, and if you extrapolate that further, and I'm going to, you find that almost five people are looking at this journal every single hour. Now, I know that's not how it works, and you of course have to factor in sleep time, people who check in and see nothing of interest, and people who may view the journal a few times a day, but even so, that's pretty damn impressive for a journal that has not been in existence for all that long.
This of course does not, nor is it meant to, take from the years of hard work put in by many others who maintain journals here on Music Banter, who have been at it a lot longer than I. By their standards, I'm just a blow-in, yet I do have to admit to a sneaking gratification in having, it would appear, broken a viewing record here. I guess that has to mean that my journal is popular; I certainly hope so, as I'd hate for forty thousand people to have been constantly disappointed over the year (or one person forty thousand times!), and have always done my best to make this as interesting, varied and updated a journal as I can possibly manage.
Over the course of the last year we've reviewed almost four hundred separate albums, run specials on Iron Maiden, A-Ha, Phil Lynott, Bruce Dickinson, Debbie Harry, Ric Ocasek and Steve Earle, paid tribute to the late Gary Moore and devoted a whole week to the music of the seventies, with another given over entirely to Irish music. We've laughed at the Eurovision, cried on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, delved into the scary world of boybands and the history of the NWOBHM. We've spun the wheel, investigated the Secret Life of the Album Cover, travelled into the Tunnel of Love and searched far and wide for the best unsigned musicians we can find. We've had Head Starts and Happy Endings, been Gobsmacked and ventured into the Last Chance Saloon. We've tried to give you the “Culture Bug” and have officiated at Marriages made both in Heaven and Hell. AND we've reviewed a Pixie Lott album! And a whole lot more besides.
So we hope you've enjoyed the ride so far, and as ever if there's something you would like to hear or see, or if there's a section or part of the journal you're not that happy with --- or are --- drop in a comment and let us know. As I always say, if we don't know what you like then we have to keep taking educated guesses. Going by the general viewcount, we would think that our guesses so far have been mostly on the money, but if they're way off, you need to let us know.
Thanks for sticking with us. We have a lot more planned for the coming second year of the journal, and hope you'll enjoy these as much as you seem to be enjoying what we've provided you with so far.
In the words of the great Randy Bachman: you ain't seen nothin' yet!