Saturday, August 12, 2006

On Blogging, Blogs, & Other Miscellany


This is another picture that doesn't have anything to do with this post, but we should all be as happy in the blogosphere. This is going to be another incredibly long and boring post with reflections and no music, so those who just want the music can skip further down.......

On blogs: 'Miss F' left a thought-provoking comment under my 2nd post that made me want to comment on my philosophy of blogging and blogs (remember, I did say 'long and boring post'). She was responding to something I had written on my 2nd post about how it was odd that people didn't comment on older posts of blogs. I wasn't talking about my blog at that point since I had just started, but I was referring to my visits to other people's blogs.

As a non-blogger, I knew I looked at blogs a little differently than other people seemed to, but after having this blog for a while, I became more acutely aware of how blogs worked. By that, I mean that I tend to look at blogs horizontally rather than vertically. I'm glad I made that so much clearer.

What I mean by that is when I visit a blog I tend to think of all the posts as being equal. Like a group of items laid out horizontally in a line on a table. The first post to me is exactly like the most recent post. But based on the way people commented at other blogs, I suspected that they tended to look at them vertically like a stack of items in a pile on a table. They tended to be most interested in the one or two items at the top and had a harder time digging out the ones at the bottom. I only suspected this was true based on the comments of the readers and the bloggers, but I didn't actually give it much thought at the time.

Since I've been blogging though, it's one of the interesting things you notice. The items at the top tend to get the most interest. As a blogger, I can tell by downloads and comments. When I was a non-blogger, I only suspected it based on the fact that people stopped commenting on older posts at other people's blogs. And when they did comment, bloggers seemed to take no notice even on ones made just a few posts back. Back then I had no idea how the whole comment thing worked from the blogger's perspective (I barely understand it now). I didn't know if they were notified of new comments or how it worked at all.

So it confirmed my suspicion of the whole horizontal vs. vertical thing. The whole vertical thing may be more sensible though. Looking at blogs horizontally tends to take a lot longer. What I usually do when I visit someone's blog for the first time is I download the top page (or possibly the whole blog) in an mht format and then read the whole thing later offline. I like to read their whole blog, see what they have to say, and pull out any links I'm interested in (which for most blogs I like may be a pretty high percentage) and then put them in a giant queue of things to be downloaded.

That queue was especially gigantic when I was using the free option of Rapidshare. That's been for the past year or so of visiting music blogs. Only recently did I break down and get a premium account and I've been catching up on the downloading ever since, but I still seem to have barely put a dent in it. I'm not complaining though. That would seem patently ungracious. It's like complaining that you have too much good food to eat. It reminds me of what 'Miss F' said in her comment about music as commodities and objects.

The temptation when you're downloading so much good music is to look at it in a wholesale way and become frustrated when you can't get something that you want. Or when a good blog goes down and you start kicking yourself for not downloading the archives. But as soon as that feeling starts, I always remind myself that with so many good things being shared and with so many good people sharing their love of music, it seems rather petty and somewhat ungrateful to lament over what you don't have. Or to lose sight of music as art and entertainment rather than an object to be acquired. My listening queue tends to be rather large and even if I stopped downloading right now and listened to music most of the day, every day, it would probably take me one or two years to get through it all. So, for me, it becomes very tempting to forget that it brings joy and pleasure and is a solace for the soul; you start to go, 'Okay, I got that one out of the way, what's next?' Though it's easy to snap out of it when you're listening to some great piece of music that brightens your spirits.

I suppose that's also meant as a partial explanation of why I don't post that much music. I don't know how other bloggers do it. As you may have noticed by now, I'm a big fan of other people's blogs. Almost all the links you see on the link list (except for the new ones) are ones that I've been following for quite a while and have enjoyed very much. I used to be able to keep current (relatively speaking) with most of them though I would tend to go through cycles of which groups I focused on. But since I've been blogging, I never seem to keep current on most everything web-related. So that's meant as a blanket apology to all those great bloggers that I haven't said hello to, thanked for or listened to their great music, or failed to acknowledge in some way.

Since I've been blogging, I have even greater admiration for what they do. How some bloggers put out three or four new items a day or make comments on other people's sites after listening to their latest offering is beyond me. I suppose that's why I like to make comments on older posts of blogs since I tend to make them after I've listened to the music and have something specific to say. I still am pretty remiss about leaving even a brief hi or thanks for the music on most people's blogs. But since I started the blog, I see it from the other side. Without any feedback, the blogger has no idea how the music is being received (other than the number of downloads). It's a funny thing though. You somehow have this odd thought in the back of your head that the blogger knows how great you think his or her blog is. That somehow they just psychically know how much you enjoy their blog. But it wasn't until I started a blog that I realized that unless you leave a comment, they have no idea that you're thinking that. It just seems obvious to me that I always liked their blog, but I realized that I never left them a comment.

I noticed that from a lot of other bloggers who stopped by. Like Planet Xtabay or Sounds of Champaign. When I went to leave a comment on their blogs thanking them for something nice they said here, I realized that I hadn't left a comment before even though I had enjoyed their blogs for a long time. I try to make more of an effort to comment now, but I still don't do it nearly enough. So for any reader of this blog who hasn't left a comment here, I bear no ill will and, believe me, I know exactly how you feel.

On comments: Which reminds me. I probably should've made it clearer before, but after that fiasco with my comment moderation, I put in the 'recent comments list' so I can always tell when a new comment appears. I always check the dates of the comments in the list to see if anything recent has been posted. So you can even leave a comment buried in a post somewhere in the middle of the blog and I will always see it. I tend to think of comments like E-mail. If someone took the trouble to leave one, I will always respond to it. The funny thing is though that it took me a while to realize that there wasn't much reason for the person to come back to that entry and read the response! They've already downloaded the music, left their comment, and unless they're asking a question or having a problem, they probably won't be checking back on that particular entry again. But still, I always like to respond anyway.

On the philosophy of this blog: I suppose that was one of the things I imagined when I started this blog. I wanted to create that sense of interactivity. People of like minds sharing their love of music. And with many of the recent posts and comments, it's been very gratifying. People like Mickey who's shared his enthusiasm, Ronan who's shared his love of the movie, 'Theatre of Blood', Lacey & Crazed, Dominic who took the trouble to leave information about the film, 'Une Journee Bien Remplie', Miss F(redda) who's shared her insight, and all the other people and great bloggers who came by. This kind of interactivity was exactly what I was hoping for when I started the blog, so it's been very satisfying.

That's the way I thought of this blog. As basically an extension of what I did when I shared music that I loved or that I thought they would love with my friends. I think most bloggers think that way. They basically want to share what they love with other like-minded people.

I think that's probably also why I think I would feel less comfortable if this were a really high-traffic blog. That might be different from a lot of bloggers, I'm not sure. If I knew tens of thousands of people were dropping by, it might feel less like a group of people enjoying great music and more like a giant marketplace where people came to get stuff off the shelves. But I knew going in that based on the type of music I was sharing and the type of blog I wanted to make that that wasn't going to be a problem.

I know I could get much higher traffic if I designed the blog in a different way. If I put in less text and more covers with every album, if I made the blog less random and focused on one genre of music (or a more popular genre of music), if I put out much more music on a regular basis, if I got reciprocal linking from all the blogs in my linked list, and if I left my address at various high-trafficked blogs, forums, and websites, I think I could probably multiply my traffic by a factor of anywhere from maybe three to ten times what it was a little while ago. (I was actually going to say three to ten times what it is now, but it actually seems to have gone up exponentially lately, so three to ten times that would be abnormally high.) But I'm pretty happy with the steady flow of people as it is now.

Some people may wonder, looking at the blog, that it almost seems designed to drive people away. Posts with abnormally long passages of text (like this one) and long-winded explanations of compilations, some music that's almost buried in the blog, other music that doesn't seem to fit the other genres, individual tracks mixed in with albums, and some of the choices of music (I'm not sure how many people are clamoring for alternative stage music, TV characters singing, soundtracks of modern versions of Candide, or 76 different versions of 'House of the Rising Sun', for instance). But I knew when I started this blog that that was the kind of blog I wanted to make.

I knew for myself that if I confined the blog to one style of music that I would get bored eventually. I wanted the freedom to put up any kind of music I liked (though there's still so much music I haven't gotten around to putting up). I knew this would automatically cut down on repeat visitors though. I knew people would cherry-pick the one or two items they were interested in and then leave. That's why I named the blog 'You Don't Have To Visit This Blog'. I thought I should warn people that it wasn't the kind of blog where you were going to get a lot of the same great material over and over again. I didn't want people coming here if I had named it say, 'Great Music Blog', and then be disappointed because there was hardly anything here they wanted. It was only after the blog had been up for a while did I realize the name could be misconstrued. Someone could take it as being hostile, for instance. Like defiantly telling you, 'You Don't Have To Visit This Blog' because the music's free and don't complain if you don't like it! Nobody's mentioned it, but I bet some people think that's what it means. But it's really just a warning.

On linking: I'm also always stunned when other bloggers spontaneously link to me. I'm very grateful and gratified, but I guess I'm always amazed that they stop by, let alone link to me (though maybe it's because I've linked to them). I know they've probably seen my link on some other blog, but it still amazes me for some reason. I've gotten very behind in thanking them on their blogs and I hope to do it very soon. In the meantime, I can thank them here: A big thanks to Cake & Polka Parade, Digital Eargasm, Loungetracks, Meester Music, Penthouse Safari, Rangeraver (though I think I did thank him on his site, I can't remember), and The Tuna Melt.
Those are the recent ones that I know of and obviously these and the other great blogs who've linked to me are why my traffic's been going up a lot lately.

I've seen a lot of people leave comments on other blogs announcing their own blogs and leaving their addresses, and as a reader I'm always grateful when they do it because it alerts me to a blog I might want to check out. But it's odd; when it comes to my own blog, I always feel uncomfortable doing that. I always feel like I'm using somebody else's blog to promote mine. I think I've only left my address once in a comment, at Lazar's Lounge, but that was when I thought he might want a specific CD I had. Otherwise, I don't like to do it. I figure if they found my comment interesting, they can look up my blogger profile and get to my blog that way.

Also, I don't like telling people that I've linked to them, I guess because I don't want them to feel like they have to link to me out of a sense of obligation. I'd prefer they link to me if they've visited my blog and liked it enough to want to put me on their link list. I suppose that's why I tend to be so stunned when people actually do it even though I've never mentioned it to them, and why I'm so gratified by it because I know they did it because they wanted to and not just because I linked to them (though actually, come to think of it, maybe that IS why a lot of these guys did it......oh, well). So, you know if you see a link in my link list, it's because I really like their blog (or haven't had time to explore it yet, but know it's got great music on it), and not just to get a lot of links up there.

And there are so many blogs I've either forgotten to put up there or haven't been able to check out properly. I keep forgetting to put Loronix up there for instance, but I still haven't thoroughly checked out his blog yet. I know it's got great music though. There are all the other great bossa blogs, rock & pop, soul & R&B, and individual mp3 blogs I haven't had time to explore yet.

On compilations: Yes, I know. Anybody's who's gotten this far is asleep by now. Well, if you put your head on the computer screen, maybe the rest of this will leak in through osmosis.

Just a few things I wanted to mention. I should've mentioned it before, but all the home-made compilations were designed to fit on a 74-minute CD, if you haven't already noticed. I suppose that's why I stopped listing the total time on the posts. I made all of them to time out to a little over or under 74 minutes. I used to listen to all of them on my CD player (though now I listen to most of them on the computer) and I still burn them onto CD's. Though technically, I could make them up to any length, I guess.

They're also designed to be listened to as a whole. Almost none of them are just collections of songs. The order and selection are an important part of it (though I guess it's up to you to judge how important).

And I've said it many times before, but they were made entirely for my own listening pleasure. That's why some of the selections may seem unexpected. Sometimes the choice of some songs by some artists was made because I used other songs on other compilations and didn't want to use them again. So if you were wondering why some obvious choice was left out, that may be the reason.

Also, some may wonder why I don't confine myself to one genre on some compilations. Why did I mix crime jazz and bossa on the same lounge compilation? Why did I jump from a song from the 1950's to a song from the 1980's? Why did I put 'Satisfaction' and '96 Tears' on the same comp as songs from ABBA? Things like that. Nobody's actually said anything, but some may wonder. Well, while on some compilations, I stuck to more-or-less strict guidelines, on others I can sometimes get bored if I hear too much of the same music on the same comp. I think it's great when other people do it on commercial comps or on other blogs. In those cases, I don't know what's coming next, so it always keeps me interested. But when I've made it up myself, I always know what's coming, so I can get a little bored with it if I know it's all the same type of music.

Also, I have to be somewhat inspired to make a compilation. Like the 'Tico To Tico' lounge compilation was a real aberration. I wouldn't normally make up something like that because I usually get inspired to make up compilations if I don't think they're available someplace else. If I felt like hearing a great lounge compilation, there are so many great commercial ones available or I would just head on over to A Taste of Vinyl, Lazar's Lounge, Rangeraver, Planet Xtabay, Rato, or PixelMutt's to hear some great comps.

I usually need an interesting hook or angle to make me want to create a comp or to help me narrow down the number of choices. It'd be hard for me to pick a topic like lounge or pop, for instance, and narrow down the number of songs available. But it's funny; sometimes the focus is so narrow that I can't come up with a full CD's worth. Sometimes it's only a handful. Like I may put up those collection of chimney and fireplace songs someday, but if you exclude the Christmas ones, it becomes a pretty narrow field.

On requests: Feel free to make any requests for things. I probably won't have them, but I welcome them because sometimes I have a hard time deciding what to put up.

And finally, (yes, I can hear you cheering that this post is almost over!), I think there were a lot of other things I wanted to mention, but even I'm getting bored with reading my own writing. So enjoy the rest of the blog if your retinas aren't already burned out from this post!



Comments:
Wonderful to hear comments - real thoughts from bloggers. Peeps don't realise until you've tried it (and often than not given up and then again returned having learnt lots from the first try) what a strange world it is..

I will not lie when I say I only came across your blog a few weeks ago via some link on some random blog - I forget which...

But seeing my old deceased (my choice) blog in your list of "Not forgotten" really made me think that I ought to give it another go..

My reasons for stopping were frustration with R$ and the ceaseless quest some (not all) bloggers strive to reach that stupid free month(s) thru downloads..fine if your extremely popular and can pay all year round with downloads, but when your pretty unknown (which is cool aswell..I prefer less traffic which means less expectations and pressure) its more difficult..

Also, the comments! I started originally not asking for any but left them open..and it was real nice when you got them 'out of the blue' so to speak...then after a while when you get a download of 100+ on a file and still no comments..you do think, leech-ahoy! WTF?

Anyway, the second wind of my blog, I've just done away with both pressures...no R$ uploading and not having to worry about those problems (deletions, downloads and points etc), and no comments...switch 'em off and you don't have to expect anything...

My old blog actually got more comments on the old posts as new peeps discovered the older downloads and thanked for those...its odd as when you recieve the comment you cannot tell what they relate to..so you'd accept it and then search in vain for where it applied to...

I'd also say you cannot possibly comment on all the blogs you visit - there is so many these days. I like you had a set list I'd religiously visit every day...then the list grew...and grew..and I find myself unable to find time sometimes to even visit the 'must-visit' sites that were (like Chocoreve). Geez I am one of the few who didn't even have time to visit ChrisGoesRock until it was too late..always thinking there would be plenty of time, and so many downloads at the site..no worries!! Wrong! Trolls put an end to that...

Compilations I tend to steer clear APART from Ratorecords and the qqf ones as they always had some nice obscure treats on...There are some blogs who just seem to stick whats on a typical radio broadcast and wrap it up as a comp...er..not quite!!! Also I always (quite bigheaded I know!) think I can do better comps..but prob only I'd end up liking them..its quite an art to get it right!!

Anyway winding up, I think you make some excellent views on blogging which are often not made anywhere so congratulations..

Needless to say I will check out your older posts...the gems I've found on older long-forgotten posts on various blogs...

Oh and BTW - U are Linked! (if that's OK!)

Rgds

TT
 
You bring up some really great points from a blog writer's point of view. I'd like to address some of them if I may.

First of all, your long post let me see the sites you link to and, by Yiminy, I'm there! (I run Way Out Junk.) Thanks bunches! I need to check more of those out, as well as updating mine.

I like seeing people post on an older topic. That shows me that people are discovering my blog all the time. I have Blogger set where comments also get emailed to me. The bad thing is it doesn't tell you which post is being commented on, which can be a bit confusing at times!

I started with the premium version of Rapidshare because most of the other music blogs I liked were using it. I enjoyed seeing how many times my files were being downloaded. But when Mondo Daddykin started getting most of his files removed, I changed to Badongo. I like it better (and my readers seem to as well), but I miss not having the file counts. That means I have to depend even more on comments to see what people are listening to.

I also need to remind myself that having my own blog doesn't make me exempt from leaving comments on other people's, and not just to thank them for linking to me. ;-D

I worried starting out how I was going to make people aware of my blog. I went ahead and did my thing, and my files got downloaded a few times. Then I helped Mondo Daddykin with a better version of an album he shared. He left a wonderful recommendation for my blog on his page. Then I started noticing my file numbers going up. Shortly after that I added a site counter, and THAT was certainly an eye opener!

Anyway, thanks again for the link. And as for the title of your site, I imagine it as if being said by Flower the skunk in "Bambi", in a sort of shy, embarrassed way: "You don't HAVE to visit this blog...if you don't want to!"

But I'm kind of odd that way....
 
FYI - per MicroSoft Word your post has 3,463 words... and I read them all!

Great views on blogging!

I have one thing that's been bothering me, not about your blog, but some others that whine about how much time it takes to shop, rip, etc. music, how much money they spend and then ask for PayPal donations. I don't get it! Either you run a blog for the love & fun of it or you start a business and sell your stuff.

I stumbled upon blogs early this year and was blown away! I’d heard of them but never saw any. So... I started one (so graciously linked on your blog) of my own. “Why did you start one?’, I heard someone in the back row ask. There’s music and other forms that have been recorded that just don’t get heard or people don’t know even know exist. My “mission statement” is “My intention is to draw attention to recordings that might otherwise not be heard.” Simple as that. The time and moneys I spend should be of no interest (or at least, concern) to bloggers visiting my blog and downloading music.

I do this because a) I want to b) I can c) it’s fun d) I just might be sharing something new to someone out there.

OK… rant is over!

Thanks for your blog and your attitude about blogging.

FYI – this comment had 232 words, not including this sentence; very useless info but I do this because a) I want to b) I can c) it’s fun!!
 
Holy Master Thesis, Batman! I'm calling Guiness book of records as I do believe this could very well be the worlds record for longest comments and post on a music blog.

I have to aggree with all commenters here. I don't really put this stuff up for ego. I put up two sites A Taste of Vinyl for the dreaded comp MiX and then Licorice Pizza for full OOP albums. Two very distinctly different blogs. Like bongolong it is done for the fun of it.

My wife said I needed a hobby and she may have regreted that one now. Bottom line is it costs me money but so what. I am having fun doing what I enjoy. The rest is all just by product of that.

The comment thing: You have to enable comment moderation to take advantage of the ability to know where a comment is posted. YOu can toggle betwee post site and date I think. A fellow asked me a question regarding genre last week and commented on the first post. Without that feature I never would have found it.

I link what I like as long as I could send my mum there without embarrasement!

Looks like I am going on and on now too! LOL.

Key thing is if its not fun don't do it.

Thanks RR for the open communique, appreciate it.

Timbo, over and out!
 
Hi
A great commentary on a bloggers world ....excellent
I gave up my music sharity blog after several months because of the lack of comments about the actual music and the many criticising the actual blog itself or me ......
I, like you just did it for fun and to share my passion for my particular genre of music .
I had maybe 2000 visitors per day and 1000 DL's per album but having zero feedback in the latter stages made me lose interest

Whatever ....Your blog is inspiring to all Thank you
 
soundsational - I was one of those who downloaded and didn't leave comments... I have now changed my ways!

My biggest problem was that I didn't want to leave a comment without listening to the music. I would download a bunch of albums and then forget where I got them.

I'm now being a good blogger and leaving a comment even if it's "Tasty music, thanks!"

I try to find a much complete info about what I post including release dates. One very kind blogger left a comment with 2 dates I couldn't find. I thought that was very cool!

So for all you who have read this far (good for you!!) please take note and leave a comment now and then and maybe we won't lose great blogs like "soundsational".

See ya in blogville!!
 
I really like your blog and your posts, and I do appreciate the kind words you wrote for me and my comments. I once told you I had made a number of lounge compilations. I finally found some of them... Here are two links to one of them, in two parts due to RS upload restrictions. I have to specify that I do not want to start a blog within a blog, I just want to share my love of lounge music with you and your readers. I used to post links on Cosmo's blog, but for some reason the owner slammed the door at my face, and now I'm even denied to place comments on his blog (talk about freedom of speech!!!!). Anyway, enough of whining, here are the links. Tell me if you're interested, I've got some extra stuff in store, especially Supreme lounge Volume 1 for Onzichtbaredj, whose blog is also top-notch!!!!

Keep up the goody-goody-good work ;-)

http://rapidshare.de/files/28275906/The_Easy_Lounge_-_Vol.1_Part1.rar

http://rapidshare.de/files/29638802/The_Easy_Lounge_-_Vol.1_Part_2.rar
 
Hi everybody!!

I never expected such an amazing response (actually, I didn't envision any sort of response, really), so I was quite blown away. I'd wanted to mention a few things in this post that I hadn't mentioned before and other things I was thinking. Partly this was also because I really hadn't seen these things mentioned on other blogs (probably because people don't want to waste the space talking about it....hey, maybe that's what I should've called the blog...'Wasted Space: with some music every once in a while'.).

Hi to Telstar_Ted!!

I've enjoyed your blog (old & new) and your presence on other blogs and in forums (though it did seem you got some bad treatment at Deja Vu) very much, so I was delighted and surprised to see you here!

Surprised I suppose in part because I know that the kind of music I've been sharing so far isn't generally going to get on the radar of most of the rock/pop blogs, so it's always a pleasant surprise.

I put that separate section of 'Not forgotten' blogs up (even though some of the links now lead nowhere) because I really enjoyed those blogs and wanted to commemorate them. I'm so glad you decided to come back and give it another try!! (now if only Soundsational will do the same!) I totally understand the frustration. I've only been at this a couple of months and there have been times when I felt the same way as bloggers who have chucked it all.

As for Rapidshare, I know what you mean. For myself, I knew when I started this blog that there was no way on Earth that I would ever get 10,000 points to get a free month, so I've never worried about it or chased it. That's part of the reason I offer a Megaupload option. It's really hard for me to tell how popular files are because of it, and like Tony, when I didn't have a Premium account, it made it especially helpful to get comments to get some idea of what was worthwhile putting up.

I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I made everybody use Rapidshare, just so I could see what the total number of downloads would be, but I'd rather give people some other option other than waiting 80 minutes. (I even used to have a third link to Sendspace on the first several posts, but the links went dead too quickly, so I deleted them all!)

As for comments, I don't mind few comments on things that have been downloaded a lot, but sometimes zero comments is a little disappointing. I don't share the music to get comments (or even to have 1000's of people download, actually), but I like the give-and-take and I like the feedback to get a sense of what people think. It's especially bad on home-made compilations that get a fair amount of downloads, but zero comments. I like getting comments, not necessarily to get a pat on the back, but just because I can't be objective about the comps. After listening to them for so long and getting used to them, I think of them as one way, but I can't always tell if my opinion about them is accurate or matches anybody else's. You like to get somebody else's thoughts and input on them. But I totally understand the lack of comments since I've enjoyed other people's material and never commented myself.

Same goes for me on commenting, not visiting blogs as much, and ChrisGoesRock. I felt exactly the same way and then it was too late!
It looked like he was going to try and hang on for a while, but I guess that was it.

As far as comps go, I do try and stay away from tracks that appear in a lot of other places, but sometimes it's hard to avoid. I guess that's why I put out foreign language stuff because if those weren't in a different language, those comps would probably be a little boring (at least as far as the selections go).

It's interesting how the older posts got more comments than your newer posts. That reminds me; I have to apologize that I was behind the curve when your first blog ended. I think it was a week or two before I realized, and was very sad to see it go. I was also behind when it came back and it took me a week or two before I put the link back in the active section, but I was really happy to see it back!!

And finally, I hope you find something in the older posts that interests you (but somehow I doubt it). And thanks for linking to me (and it's perfectly OK with me!) and thanks for the Godfather reference in the link too!!

===========================

Hi Tony!!

So glad to see you here! I just discovered your blog not too long ago and I was way behind on updating my links too, so it took me a while to put yours on, but it's such a great blog, I had to add it.

Badongo seems pretty good too. I think their download rate may be a little slower than Rapidshare, but their upper limit before they make you wait seems higher so it seems like a good trade-off. And you mentioned Rapidshare's file counts; it was always my intention to eventually cancel my Premium account once I got caught up in my downloading (though God knows when that will be), but the file counts is something I will definitely miss if I get rid of it.

And your interpretation of how to say the name of the blog is exactly right! (Though sometimes the way my brain works, if I had to imagine myself as a character from 'Bambi' it would have to be as Bambi's mother after she gets shot by the hunter.)

And for anybody else reading this comment, go to 'Way Out Junk'....you won't be sorry!!

==============================

Hi Bongolong!

So glad to see you here too! After the comments I've left at your blog about which links have gone dead, I thought you might be sick of me by now. :))

Thanks for reading all 3,463 words. You may be the only one who's ever done that!

I don't mind it too much when people put a PayPal link up since it's a request and not a requirement, but I understand how you feel about the whining part. Like you and I think, most bloggers, we do it for the love of sharing. The temptation to complain about the effort or cost involved is understandable though, but it's not like anybody's forcing us to do it, so I understand the way you feel. Though I didn't realize people complained about the money so much. I've never really noticed bloggers doing that, but maybe they do it on forums. Unless you're hosting the files on a server that you're paying for, I'm not sure of the actual cost involved. Like the costs for me (buying CD's, paying for a Premium account, etc.), they're all things I would be paying for anyway regardless of whether I had a blog or not, so I'm not sure what they're referring to, but I can understand the frustration that leads up to people complaining about blogging.

Though, for instance, I've mentioned the effort it takes to put stuff up on this blog, but in those cases I wasn't complaining so much as explaining why it takes me so long to do it.

And thanks so much for your kind words about the blog and my attitude. I don't say that because I have to but because a) I want to b) I can, and c) it’s fun!!

============================

Hi Timbo (Licorice Pizza)!

Call Guinness back because this response to everybody's comments breaks all previous records!

And tell your wife that we're all glad she told you to get a hobby because we all benefit from it!!

And hopefully your mum wouldn't be embarassed by anything she sees here (though that picture of Shelley Fabares in a frilly bikini or Andy Griffith in shorts might make her think twice!).

========================

Hi Polkijuy!

Thanks so much for your nice words! It is true that having a blog is a little like having your own magazine/radio/TV station. I never thought of it that way before. And thanks for the kind words about the compilations. That comes straight from the.......'Crazy Blog Nut' :))

=============================

Hi Soundsational!!

I'm so glad to see you stopping by! I didn't know what happened to your blog and I was wondering. I didn't know if it was that or if it had been under attack, but judging by people's comments in other places, I think we were all sad to see it go.

I can't imagine people criticizing you for the blog. It pains me to think that, as someone who didn't comment on your blog (that I can remember), that I might've, in some small way, contributed to you being disenfranchised from blogging.

It's weird. I've seen some extremely popular blogs with almost no comments and small blogs that are just starting out that had more comments in their first 3 posts than I had in the entire first month I was up. I understand it in a way though.

The popular blogs that put out a lot of material sometimes put out so much that people don't have time to comment on it. And the smaller blogs, I think, have networked by announcing on forums and other places, so that when they start, they already have a lot of people visiting.

But it really does sadden me when you (and other bloggers) say that you lost interest because of the lack of feedback. I didn't think I would feel that way when I first started because I didn't really expect to maintain the blog that frequently, but I've felt that way too from time to time.

It's discouraging sometimes to see people downloading and then get zero feedback. Especially when it happens for several (really, most) posts. I think it was that way for about the first month and a half I was up. And I figure it'll be that way again. Luckily, I haven't gotten to that point of being tired, but it's easier now to see how you could get there than it was when I first started.

I can only imagine what it's like for people who put out dozens of items a week! They must be exhausted!

But just know that you will be missed, Soundsational. Your blog was fantastic and your shares were equally great. But it's not even so much about missing what you were sharing, but I'll miss a great person sharing their passion. Even though it may seem that the field is so crowded now, I'll still miss it. It's always a shame to see a great blog (and blogger) disappear.

Please feel free to stop by anytime and say hi!!

==============================

Hi again Bongolong!

I feel exactly the way you do about listening to the music first before leaving a comment. And, I forget to go back to the blog after I've listened to the music too. And sometimes I forget where I got a file from even though I save them according to their respective blogs & sites. I keep all my files in separate folders broken down by blog, but even then I still forget sometimes!

And ditto what Bongolong said about Soundsational!

============================

Hi Mickey!

Great to see you're back from your trip. Please feel free to post any links to great music you want (and that goes for other people too). And remember, I asked about those lounge compilations in the first place, so you don't have to worry about a 'blog within a blog'!

I'm having a brain freeze right now, so is the Cosmo you mention, XYZ Cosmonaut? When you say, 'Cosmo's blog', it sounds so familiar, but I can't place it. I can't imagine him banning you. Well, you're always welcome here (unless you start viciously attacking me, in which case you're still welcome here, but I would be very disappointed).

P.S. And it's very sad, but Onzichtbaredj's blog is gone now too. He took it down while you were away. He didn't give any explanation, but left a goodbye post.
 
I'm going to hold off until the last commenter posts before calling the guiness folks.

As a matter of fact, instead, I think I will just have to toast your wordy blog with a Guinesse... stout! Cheers!

BTW, Mum loves your blog she is just to shy to say so ;)
 
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
 
Hi right back nomwl1 !!!

I agree with alot of the above posts...I now blog just for me and not for the public...

Once ya switch to that frame of mind then its actually alot more fun...like you're the only visitor ...

Keep up the good blog and ..

SURELY?? Other bloggers can put their 10cents/pence worth here aswell so we crash the blogger servers via comments !!

;)


Oh and as for Deja Vu? pff...

Life's too short..mate

Besides I don't have more time to visit yet another close-knit forum ..and I'm quite happy with Jiltzs new Groovy place...

TT
 
What? Me? Start attacking one of my favorite bloggers? NEVER! Not on this Earth! Never in my life!!! Only when pigs fly!! Or the day George Bush is caught red-handed showing feelings of an almost human nature (copyright Roger Waters). Links to lounge comps will follow soon, but you know, RS is running at a snail pace...

Keep up the good work, your posts are fantastic (what? I have already written that? Oh, you know, I'm not getting any younger... gray matter problems...)

And, yes, I was talking about XYXCosmoBlog, but never mind, it's not THAT important...
 
We can all wait for:

1) Licorice Pizza while he gets drunk
2) Licorice Pizza's mum to say hi!
3) Telstar Ted's new comments to crash blogger
4) Pigs to fly
5) Mickey's great lounge compilations to finish uploading
6) For me to keep up the good work and for George Bush to get caught red-handed showing........no, hold on, I don't think I can wait that long for those last two things!

P.S. Strange behavior from Deja Vu & XYZ, but Jiltz's new Groovy is well.....groovy!
 
I have a question for you that run blogs...

I rip everything @ 320 (if you're gonna do it, do it right), so many times my files are larger than 100 megs... so...

What is the best FREE upload/download site?

RapidShare is a pain and can only upload up to 100 megs...

I kinda like SendSpace, but as I was showing one of my blogs to my guys in IT at work, one said, after clicking a download link, "Where are you sending me to? What's all this porno?" Now I'm gonna need to re-upload those somewhere else.

I just tried badongo but it seems to be hit & miss (twice I’ve gotten “Cannot find server” in the middle of an upload). Also if you upload anything over 100 megs it splits it into two music zips and an index (or something) file and then you need to download some the badongo software to unzip all this stuff!

How about FileForge, QuickSharing or Savefile?

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated!!

Toodles!
 
Rapid Share has changed the max to 300m.

Hear you on the porn at some sites.

Check out http://www.upload.sc/

Seems to run quick and no popups or ads. Limit is 100m files and the links are deleted after 30 days though!

I know RS has gotten beat up lately but I have not had a problem!
 
upload.sc is very good and reliable and its a service I started using following rato records blog's use of it

Also extremely highly recommended is

www.uploading.com which sometimes avg downloads as fast as RS - but still quite fast when not

Finally one I haven;t tried for a while but used to was

www.rapidupload.com


I like these three as they are little used (once popularity starts they'll become megaupload's no doubt) and they rock...basically

More Comments !! More Comments !!

TT
 
Wow! Thanks for the reccomendations!

I checked www.uploading.com and the first thing I saw was a link to "Watch me get naked" so that ones a no go.

I have noticed RS has gone thru some changes and 300 megs is WAY plenty for my needs.

upload.sc looks good 'cept for the size limit. Does it have any limits about downloading like non-Premium RS (wait 70 mintues to dl or swim after eating)?

It seems that all of them have plus & minus's.

Thanks again kids!

Hey... a couple more comments and we'll surpass the word cout of "War and Peace"!! ...what have you started?!?!?

Toodles!
 
"I checked www.uploading.com and the first thing I saw was a link to "Watch me get naked" so that ones a no go."

Listen...get real to the tools you(we) are using....

You think RS isn't used for the biggest porn uploads?

Besides 'that' link you saw was just that...a link..

Good uploaders need advertisers...thats the game folks..

illegal uploading (YES thats you and me bloggers..FACT!) ain't for prudes so...lets just get real here..

Its a fantastic uploader with no hassle UNLIKE RS...

But its your choice..and ya did ask !!!


BTW - Guinness BOR are on standby but claim they 'need more proof'

?
 
Also among the other links at uploading.com were "Poor Credit Loans" and "Low Cost Health Insurance" ..so there you go..


I ask ya...Porn Schmorn!

(Das another post!)
 
Upload.sc seems pretty good. D/L rates at over 1 Mb/sec. Only problem I see is when you exceed their limit, they make you wait quite a while, but it doesn't seem that different than Rapidshare free option.

I forgot SendSpace had porn, but it seems that most of them have a lot of ads either way. It's real problem though is that it deletes the files after 1 or 2 weeks of inactivity.

Badongo's pretty good; you can download around 300 Mb before they make you wait an hour. The batch file they make you d/l to merge files over 100 Mb is not so good, but if you have software that can merge files, you don't even need the batch file.

I tend to stay away from some of the others for uploading (though they seem good) just because they're not established enough, so they could disappear tomorrow or do a 'system upgrade' and delete all your files (which I've seen happen at 2 or 3 different services).

I guess Rapidshare & Megaupload are at least the devils I know.
 
Final comment is 'not established enough' can mean...a good service yet to be buggered when it gets popular

I'm sure megaload used to be like this..

But uploading.com gets my vote for now..!!

RS - yep better the devil for sure...I subscribe as a premium to be able to download fast..But now refuse to tie myself to the uploads again..

But at the end of the day? Their service is second to none .. rock solid reliable and fast up or down..

That's how they snare us methinks!!

Think we've done the uploading subject to death!

New subj anyone ??? LOL!

Heres a question?

Why do peeps still use the work verification thingy? I ran my comments once without and never got spam..so what gives...

Ah well!
 
Nomwl1,

I have been lurking the blogs for almost a year. I started mine in Jan 2006 and scouted through the blogs to learn design etc. When I found the music share sites, I was amazed at all the music that had passed me by.

Your comments should be given to any beginning blogger who is expecting fame and attention rather than hard work and fun.

I have used your blog attitude and eccentric comp tastes to create my own comp blog niche - linearstyles.blogspot.com. Thanks for the inspiration.

rs

p.s. telstar_ted is way too cool. :)
 
Naahh! Ted's a twat! Official and I should know..Also rs your sites disappeared..?

Anyway

Just back to uploads again (cringe!)..

BTW I think I'm back to R$ having been bit on the bum so to speak with uploading.com whereupon after just three of those downloads I received a "all downloads slots assigned to your country are in use" - thats country!

Whatever a pain R$ are/were/is, they are just too reliable...

So eat my words etc...back to R$ I go

Cheers nomwl1!
 
Aaaah, Telstar_Ted, as a French I don't understand half of what you write, but what I grasp makes me laugh.

OK, after a loooooot of problems with my Internet connection (it seems that Gremlins have taken control of my computer), here's another lounge comp, to whom it may concern (a whopping 2 downloads each so far for my previous posts, if the download counter was a needle, I couldn't use it as a fan, for sure!!!!)

http://rapidshare.de/files/30230775/The_Easy_Lounge_-_Vol.2_Part1.rar

http://rapidshare.de/files/30231909/The_Easy_Lounge_-_Vol.2_Part2.rar

Keep up the good work, blah-blah (there's joy in repetition, as the purple dwarf once said).

See ya.

More comps to come.

Who's the best blogger around? Look yourself in the mirror and you'll have the answer.
 
Hi Ted!

Yeah, I think if some of the other services stay good, they can give Rapidshare a run for their money. If it weren't for their deletion policy and a few other small quirks, they'd be unbeatable.

I wonder though if the recent defections from RS are the reason they've been giving away free points to new customers, increasing their upload limit, etc. They did stuff like that periodically before, but they haven't done it in a long time. They've been making more restrictions until recently, so I like to think maybe they're losing business and taking notice. Just wishful thinking though probably.

On word verification, on some blogs that don't have it, they seem fine. On others, I keep seeing spam all the time. It's weird. I'd prefer not having it myself, but it seems to work. (Though I wonder what the percentage is on getting it right the first time? I think I'm only able to type it in correctly maybe 30 or 40 percent on the first try!)

=================

Hi RS!

From one year-long lurker to another, welcome!! I was also amazed at all the music that had passed me by (and still am).

Thanks for your nice words about my comments and the blog (I'm continually amazed when people feel that way!).

The name 'linearstyles' sounds familiar, like I've seen it before, but like Telstar Ted said, the address doesn't seem to work. I couldn't find it on a blog search either. If you come back, let us know if the address is working; I'd love to check it out.

And thanks for saying that about 'inspiration'. That's really nice to hear! (I get the feeling that for most people who visit, I only inspire them to go to a better blog.)

====================

And Ted, welcome back to Rapidshare. Now you can suffer with the rest of us!

P.S. Thanks for the nice comment at Groovy Fab on the Ronnie Wood CD. Man, you were fast! And RS is right, "telstar_ted is way too cool. :)"

======================

Hi Mickey!

Sorry to hear about your computer.

Don't take the low number of downloads personally. Remember whose blog you're on. If you had left that comment anywhere else, it probably would have 50 downloads by now. :)) Seriously though, I don't think people like to read the comments on this blog. And the comment section has a tendency to cut off long lines (like Rapidshare links), so I get the feeling people don't want to go through the bother of opening a larger comment window. They'd rather click on a link instead of cutting and pasting, I think.

Well, I was planning on putting them in a separate post anyway, if you don't mind, so that should raise the numbers a little.

And when I looked in the mirror, I saw most of the people on my link list standing behind me. Does that count?

Looking forward to more comps!

======================

P.S. Now I'm getting curious as to how many comments blogger will allow. I'd love to see it explode!

====================
 
Good morning nomwl1 (it's 9:15 am here in France).

And yet another comment (well not really a comment, actually)

In fact, I don't really care about the number of downloads. These posts were initially intended as a modest present, just to say 'thanks' for the stuff you share. So, after all, 2 downloads is the double of what I expected in the first place!!

See you, and be careful of the people in the mirror (they do not count, btw)!!
 
Should've written 'Beware' instead of 'Be careful'. Ah sometimes it's difficult for a poor Froggie!!
 
hello Youdonthave2, I am happy that my c0mment inspired you to make this post.


1. first off, pls keep the "posts with abnormally long passages of text (like this one) and long-winded explanations" coming, I really like them.... I really love pers0nal Blogs with comments, rantings and ravings and what not because it makes me feel that i am downloading from a cyberfriend I know, and that he is giving me a gift and I am accepting it. yes, i don't feel great getting something from blogs with too many music that look like im shopping in a department store...for FREE! (for a lot of people it doesnt really matter AT ALL how they get the music, and they appreciate it no matter what. that IS great.)



2. as for music aggregator blogs, they’re truly wonderful, and what I do is just search for the original uploader. Sometimes I succeed in tracking them. I feel a bit sad that Musicado bem doesn’t allow comments anymore, but I can still thank them thr0ugh emails.



3. I really don’t like to imagine these music bloggers as some random masked creature in front of his pc in some far-flung corner of the globe burning CD’s for my delectation and pleasure, who could croak next month for all I know…and care. After all, I won’t BE ENJOYING the music if it weren’t for them. So I am always driven by GRATEFULNESS, there is too much good cheer and high spirits in me…for these people.s0metimes I feel strange leaving too many comments on everyone’s blogs (maybe others will go, "who is this MISS F, i see her inane comments and smileys in everybody's blogs), but what else am I to do? ^^




4. I also feel sad when I don’t see any way TO THANK them, such as when a blogger shuts off his comments section and doesn’t leave an email address.it occurred to me this morning when I went over to LS BEE BLOGSPOT and there’s no way for me to reach him. But as telstar ted explained above, at least he doesn’t have to EXPECT any comments anymore. (sigh) (although come to think of it,his knowing that one soul in the Philippines was truly engrossed and delighted with one of his shares may not make much of a difference… ) anyway TELSTAR TED thanks, im so thrilled to see the sugracubes post.,.. sublime.






5. And thanks also for linking to me, I am so amused to read how you described my blog “doses of art & literature from a specific viewpoint”. ^^ well, how else could I view things except from , SPECIFICALLY, mine? ^^ so, I really encourage you to be more personal in your blog. For me, choosing between objectivity and subjectivity shouldn’t exist, no matter how subjective and PERSONAL you get, you will still relate with others. This is different from the narcissism so prevalent in so many blogs nowadays (no, I don’t look down on them, I respect them, I understand that in such a fragmented, disoriented society so many people are driven to see the approval, admiration and envy of others as substitute for self-love or fulfillment), where the person’s “personal ravings” don’t sound authentic, like it’s not coming from a lived experience.



6. Technology has made communication so much faster- we join forums, we have emails, we can download so many music- but are we any happier? We have so many acquaintances but not many friends. Do others really know “US” or just the image we wanna project?


The more personal you get and the more honest you are about your feelings, the more impossible it will be for others to judge you. So let me reiterate once more, I love your blog for being “personal”. But I hope you don’t get too popular, or others would start attacking you…



Making my comments longer and longer,
Fredda from the PhiliPPines ^^*
 
nomwl1,

Cut & Paste this link
http://linearstyle.blogspot.com/
It is a new site where I took your blog comments to heart and created a niche compilation blog.

It is kind of a "mp3 singles" site. Sequenced in a short burst from stuff in my collection and from those collections shared by others.

I also like Miss F's comment. There is no need to apologize for being personal, it's all we got.

Thanks,

rs
 
quote
"4. I also feel sad when I don’t see any way TO THANK them, such as when a blogger shuts off his comments section and doesn’t leave an email address.it occurred to me this morning when I went over to LS BEE BLOGSPOT and there’s no way for me to reach him. But as telstar ted explained above, at least he doesn’t have to EXPECT any comments anymore. (sigh) (although come to think of it,his knowing that one soul in the Philippines was truly engrossed and delighted with one of his shares may not make much of a difference… ) anyway TELSTAR TED thanks, im so thrilled to see the sugracubes post.,.. sublime."


Its just 1 comment like that..

That I gladly trade in 500 download 'points' for..

Thats what makes a blog worthwhile..

Real massive thanks for that..miss f...and glad someone like that Sugarcubes post as MUCH as I did...

(sigh..indeed!)

BUT..still prefer comments off...despite my last statement!...thats a rare comment..

Just my view though...

miss_f - Interesting blog indeed although the Laffin Len poem to blowjobs...er...distracted me...

somewhat..

(cough!)

And RS...loading your Linear Style blog and will check out!

Mickey!

Got one of your lounge downloads also (so make that whatever plus 1)

Finally Nom..

Nice comments !
 
Hey Nomwl1, I see you are still going for the all time most comments in a blog award by a music poster. Should I call GBofR now or do you want to seal it as the all time being comment king of the universe?

All this commenting and poor Lounge Tracks sits as empty as my coffee cup at 4pm!
 
Oh my god!!! What has happened to LoungeTracks, Soundsational and Voltage Controlled Technicolor???? Tell me this is not true!!! AAAAARRRRGHHHHH! All good blogs are going down one after the other.

I'll start mine in a few days, I'll call it Stereo Sunshine. There will be no music posts, since I don't want to get into trouble with the RIAA or the french SACEM. There will be no comments, either, since I don't care a fuck about anybody's opinion. And, most important, THERE WILL BE NO POSTS WHATSOEVER because I do not want to hurt anyone. Just blank pages. Or a photograph of my goldfish. If I ever buy one, that is.

AW SHUCKS. :-((
 
Hi!

I wanted to respond to all the great comments since my last response, but people said such interesting stuff, it'll take me a while to figure out what to say! (Hey, wait, this is a comment......no, I meant a better, more interesting comment.)
 
Thankyou for your kind words.People appreciate you & others taking the time to share music & also your thoughts.Glad I could share something also as I don't blog.
 
Okay, I figured out something to say.......

Hi again Mickey!

I knew you were kind enough to upload the lounge compilations in response to my request about them and not to have them downloaded by a lot of people, so I knew you only expected 1 download (me) :)) But I really get the feeling that if you had done that on another blog, you would've gotten more downloads. I don't think people read the comments much on this blog (except for the people who write them). Of course, that could be a good thing too. Well, I wanted to make them into a separate post anyway (with your permission) so that other people could enjoy them and spread your generous gift to other people. I'll be interested to see how many people download them then (maybe as many as 4 or 5, I'll bet!).

======================================

Hi Fredda!

1. I'm really glad you like my abnormally long passages of text (get ready for this one!). You may be in a majority of one on that. Though I haven't gotten any complaints so far (although Timbo did think I was writing a master's thesis :))).

I also like blogs that have a personal feel to them. Come to think of it, I also like blogs that have very little text. I think I just may like blogs.

Seriously though, I think that sometimes that personal feel may come across in something as simple as the choice of template or the selection of albums even if they don't write much. It seems to represent the blogger in some way and it's still interesting to me. But I also like it when there's a more explicit personal feel to it.

I never realized I was writing too much until Les (X Offender) made that comment on the very first post. I wrote explanations of things and footnotes early on because I imagined that people would listen to the music and then go back and read what I had written (the footnotes make more sense that way). That's what I do with other people's blogs.

But then I realized that people were reading the whole thing up front and were getting exhausted. And after a while, I sensed people weren't even reading a lot of the stuff. And I was getting tired of it myself. So, I tapered off a bit. That's what I like about the blog format though. I can write as much or as little as I want.

I liked the way Lee Hartsfeld at Music You (Possibly) Won't Hear... writes his blog, so when I started mine, I imagined something along those lines. I knew what I wanted to do was a little different from most music blogs and potentially a lot more boring, but it gives me the freedom to do anything I want. I think that's what burns out some bloggers. I've noticed that that's what they say when they shut down their blogs. They're burnt out by putting out music all the time, or they run out of stuff to post, or they're discouraged by the lack of response, or they want some time to enjoy other people's blogs. I really wanted to avoid some of those pitfalls when I started, so I guess that's why the blog is the way that it is. I didn't want to feel constricted by format or genre or by what a music blog is supposed to be or look like and then feel tired about it later.

I'm really trying to please myself more than other people as far as the blog goes, if I can help it, but I know it probably makes the blog less attractive, but perhaps more personal.

I think that's why I ended up not posting anything for a while. I didn't want to feel like I had to post something, if I really wanted to do other things online. I figure that's better than getting burned out later and shutting the blog down. There is that sense though that if I didn't post anything, people would start to wander away, so it's hard not to succumb to that compulsion to post something to keep your audience. But I try to resist it.

Yeah, I think if I wrote less conversationally and just put out album after album, I would get burnt out pretty quickly. Other people seem to do it, but I don't think I could.

2. Didn't think I'd ever finish with number 1 did you?

I like aggregator blogs too (though sometimes it seems like one-stop shopping for deleters). They usually have a nice variety.

3. Ditto about the gratefulness. (My responses are getting shorter. It's like a giant haiku.) And I like seeing your responses on other people's blogs (and on mine too!). I think it not only shows gratitude, but participation. (Or at the very least, a willingness to stop and smell the roses.) I have a tendency to download dozens of files from people's blogs which, ironically, makes it harder to thank them or leave comments about all of them. When I just download one, I'm more likely to leave a comment. So I like the fact that you leave comments on a lot of blogs because it shows you've avoided that 'gimme gimme' attitude of taking a lot and not responding in any way. I don't think I quite have that 'gimme gimme' attitude, but I still don't thank them that much on their blogs. That was one of the other reasons I started this blog, so I could thank them all here (but since most of them will never see this blog, I guess they'll never know).

I also like your comments on blogs because it feels like you're doing something different with the blogging experience. In a way, it ties all the blog together like one giant blog (actually, I suppose that would be the blogosphere). Hmmm.....I can see the headlines now. 'Giant blog attacks Tokyo!'

4. I can understand why bloggers turn off their comments though. On some, trolling can be a big problem. As far as what you said about Ted, I agree with you 100 percent (see below for further fulsome praise).

5. Yeah, I liked that description too (and I was never tempted to say 'non-specific' viewpoint).

And it does seem like a fine line between narcissism and personal expression. I'm not really sure which side of that line I'm on. I've never really noticed a lot of narcissism on other people's blogs (but maybe I was too wrapped up in myself to tell). That subtle distinction seems dependent on whether you believe the 'rantings' are genuine and I guess I'm gullible enough to take them at face value. But I know what you mean. Sometimes it seems like a lack of authenticity.

And I suppose that's another trap of blogging. To take yourself too seriously, have pretensions about what you're doing as a blogger, or think of yourself as master of all you survey on the blog. That may be when the rantings start. But most music blogs I see seem to be great places of personal expression. I've never really noticed much in the way of 'personal raving', but I think it's just because I'm oblivious to the distinction. (Actually, I'm oblivious to most things.)

6. I think technology has made it easier to project anonymous images of who we are (although that was still a problem before all of this technology).

And you probably don't have to worry about this blog becoming too popular. I don't see that happening any time soon (unless the population suddenly has an overwhelming desire to hear foreign language versions of 'Fiddler on the Roof'). I appreciate you saying that though! (Wait, I just realized how strange that sounds.....a blogger thanking someone for saying they hope their blog doesn't become too popular.)


And feel free to make your comments longer and longer! Not only do I enjoy reading them, but I wouldn't mind seeing Blogger.com explode. You're always welcome here!

====================================

Hi RS!

Thanks for giving us the address again. I realize what the problem was. The first address had an 's' at the end. I checked out your blog and it's great! Wonderful eclectic mixes. I've only listened to the first one so far, but I really enjoyed it! Everybody should go check it out.

And thanks for what you said about being personal. Actually, until Miss Fredda left those comments, I didn't even realize I was being personal on this post (or that I was apologizing for it). I think that's one of the many things I'm oblivious to. I don't notice those things until other people point them out. I always think things are one way until I get feedback and realize that everybody else sees it differently.

====================================

Hi Ted!

Well, prepare to trade in another 500 download points because I agree completely with Fredda. I love the music that you share and I was kicking myself when I missed out on the wonderful stuff you were sharing (and always share) towards the end of your first blog. By the time I tried the links, a lot of them had been deleted by other people. Then when I tried some of the last ones, you had deleted them. So, I missed out on a lot of great stuff, but I didn't mind that nearly as much as I was just saddened that you had decided to shut down.

It wasn't about the music or downloading the music so much as I just liked your blog. I liked the layout, the selections of albums, and the attitude and writing. It was like that with Hans' blogs. I didn't actually end up downloading that much from him, but I just liked the way he wrote his blogs. Very interesting and entertaining, like yours. I think I have to like any blog that is named, 'L.S. Bumblebee'! And I was really glad you decided to come back.

Hmmm.....maybe that was too much fulsome praise? I don't think so, but I'd better stop before you get diabetes!

And I can understand you leaving your comments off. It can be especially bad if people troll or like you said, download hundreds of times and then leave zero comments. Luckily I haven't had either of those problems. The worst thing anybody's ever said on here is 'Wrong music. Doesn't work.' I might have minded it more if I actually understood what that meant. Or sometimes people will say something that sounds kind of offensive at the beginning, but then they'll end with, 'Keep up the great work!', so I'm not entirely sure how to take that, but I've been very lucky that nobody has really said anything bad on here (that's where the lack of popularity really helps!).

I don't really mind when something gets downloaded a lot and there are no comments, for some reason. Maybe it's because I only expect 10 or 20 downloads and then when it gets downloaded a lot, it's as if people are already saying they like it through their downloading. It only gets a little discouraging sometimes on certain compilations that get no reaction just because you've put more work into it and you want a wider range of opinion to get a better perspective on it. Or if it happens on a lot of posts.

But usually when I start to feel that way, I remind myself of why it happens. I know exactly why there are no comments on a lot of posts. It's the exact same reason why I don't comment on other people's blogs. You don't know what to say (despite what people might think reading these tomes of mine, I usually can't think of anything to say about the music other than, 'Thanks' or 'Great post!' or 'Keep up the great work'). Or you don't have time. Or you've just downloaded 10 things and you don't know which to comment on. Or you don't want to comment on some older post that you think nobody's going to read anyway. And maybe 4 or 5 other reasons why people don't comment. So, it keeps me from feeling too discouraged about it.

I knew from other people's blogs that sometimes even the most popular blogs get zero comments. And other blogs with very few posts get a lot of comments. I think it's a combination of things that accounts for it, but I end up reminding myself that that's not why I started the blog anyway, so I'm not really bothered by it. What I wanted was a small group of regular people to occasionally comment on things to get some of that give-and-take. And that actually seems to have happened, so I'm pretty satisfied. But every once in a while that thought still crosses my mind. Like, 'How come nobody commented on the Oscar Winners compilation? I thought it was a pretty good comp.' But then, like I said, I have to remind myself of all the reasons.

Like on this post. I wasn't expecting any reaction or comments. If you look at earlier posts with a lot of rambling on it, they've got no reaction at all, so I was expecting the same thing on this one. So, I'm pretty stunned that it's the post with the most comments on it. I really enjoy people posting comments on this post; it's like a bulletin board. It's that fun give-and-take that I enjoy (though I don't know how fun it is for everybody else.....it may be like a never-ending vortex of responses that they're trapped in).

Hmm....where was I? Oh, yeah. Thanks Ted for the nice comments!!


==================================

Hi Timbo!

Guinness called and they did want to put it in their next edition right after 'Man With The Longest Toenails'. I told them I'd get back to them.

And what did happen to Lounge Tracks? Did he stop the blog or did somebody else do it? I thought maybe somebody had hijacked his blog while he was on vacation and he hasn't come back yet. Well, I hope he didn't do it. Though it seems like he's deleted some of his own links. If he did stop it voluntarily, I hope he decides to comes back.

And as for commenting, I think if people are like me, they're afraid to comment over there because they really didn't know what happened. I just assumed he was hacked and I didn't want to encourage the person who did it. But if people knew that Lounge Tracks did it himself, they would probably make a lot of comments asking him to reconsider.

====================================

Hi Mickey!

It is sad what's happened to all these great blogs lately. I guess some have been attacked and others are disenchanted with blogging. In the old days (like last year), when blogs stopped, they'd leave it up but they'd just stop posting. Now they delete it completely.

I always figured when I got tired of blogging I would just leave the blog up and maybe come back to it every once in a while (which is almost what I've unintentionally done now, I guess), but I always figure as long as the links are active, people can always get what they want even if nobody's there to maintain it. You see a bunch of blogs in the 'Inert' list that have done that. They don't say anything; they've just stopped posting. But you can actually still download a lot of their files. I keep hoping they'll come back someday, but it seems unlikely. At least Soundsational and Voltage Controlled Technicolor left some note saying they were quitting and letting people know they were deleting the blogs.

Though I guess there are a lot of great new blogs springing up, but you hate to see good people leave the blogosphere. It can use all the good people it can get.

==================================

Hi again Dominic!

And thank you for YOUR kind words! It means a lot that you say that. And I appreciate all that you've shared on this blog. Thanks again!

===================================
 
Hi, nomwl1!

Frankly, since the demise of LoungeTracks, yours is the only blog that counts for me, as far as posts and comments are concerned (even if Easy Lounge comp #2 was downloaded zero time). I really appreciate your feedback, and talk about a helluva comeback, my HDD is not big enough to take in all your fabulous new posts. And all the people that leave comments here (not counting me in, of course ;-)) are quality people, (Telstar Ted and Miss F, to name but two of them) and it's always a pleasure to read what they have to say (helps me practising my English at the same time!!). KUTGW!! (you know what that means, don't you? CHEEEEERS!!!
 
Hi Mickey!

I still don't know what happened to Lounge Tracks. I hope he's okay. I miss it also.

Thanks for saying such nice things about the blog (again!). I really appreciate it. I really enjoy the back-and-forth commenting too and people like Ted & Fredda always have something interesting to say and are good people (not to mention Timbo, Bongolong, Dominic, & all the others who have commented).

Thanks for reminding me about the second volume of the Easy Lounge comp! I was looking on my hard drive for it and now I realize I forgot to download it!! I could've sworn I did, but thanks for letting me know (it's that whole, 'I'm an idiot' thing). I still intend on making them a separate post, but I've gotten so behind.

I'm glad you enjoy the new posts. I wasn't sure if people were going to be interested in some of them, but I'm really surprised by the favorable response. More than I was expecting. I figured people were going to ignore most of them, but as soon as I posted them, people started downloading them immediately. Really surprising.

And your English is always great. If I had to speak or write in French, I would sound like Tarzan (or maybe Frankenstein's monster). If you hadn't told me that you were French, I would have never realized that English wasn't your first language!

I was wondering if anybody was going to continue commenting on this post now that it's been pushed farther down in the blog, so I'm glad you found your way back to it!

KUTGW to you too (I did figure it out)! I'm always glad when you comment. I know it will always be fun!!
 
hello

thanks Telstar Ted, the blowjob, aptly-titled "celebrati0n" poem is really nice, isn't it? i guess that goes to show that m0st things aren't obscene or Disgusting by nature, they bec0me so wiTh the way we LOOk at them. a lot of p0rn can be vulgar or lewd (from my p0int of vieW) but they can also be celebratory and beautifuL expressi0ns of human sexuality. anyway i hope that now that you've buzzed off, you're enjoYing whatever it is you're d0ing now whether it's twiddling your thumbs or listening to your fabuLous collecti0n.i really amassed a great number of exceLLent music fr0m you!!!!! thank you~~~~~~~~~~~




well noMw1,i agree with most of the things you wr0te.you said: "And I suppose that's another trap of blogging. To take yourself too seriously, have pretensions about what you're doing as a blogger, or think of yourself as master of all you survey on the blog."



so true.i can't imagine anyone taking BLOGGING THAT seriously. i guess what any sane blogger should realize is that it's useless coMpeting with anyone cuz there will always be someone out there BETTER Than you, the most one can do is outdo oneseLf. being loved and admired because of what u pretenD to be/have will also backfire on you.so you're right, there's no other way to go about bloGGing and sharing music than simply for the fun and enj0yment of iT.

some peopLe blog for noble, wonderfuL reas0ns/m0tives (like to be able to inform, educate, spread awareness) and although they seem "serious" it seems like it's just playing rather than "working"; its obvious that the posts c0me from the heart and arent s0me calculated acti0n to get something more out of it.




anyway, most of the music bLogs i've seen are really utterly beautiful, inspired, and "personaL". ^^



by the way i am making this post cuz 1.) i wanna see my name at the bottom, right after PS and 2.) this comment section here kind of looks like a forum already! should i start a new thread? *^________^*


OH AND GUESS WHAT, a post can take more than 150 comments of varying length, cuz i remember coming across a streamlined mp3 post of NEIL YOUNG'S living with war album (in his very own Blog), and there were more than 150 comments~ but i still wanna find out when this posT can will actually expLode.



savoring the fruit that stinks like hell and tastes like heaven*,
Fredda


*durian, an actually exisTing fruit
 
Yayo belives that heaven is that place where Audrey hepburn is his hair dresser!
 
Hi PS!

I'm glad to find out that Loungetracks wasn't hacked or that it wasn't something worse. I hope he comes back eventually. Well, I'm glad to find out he's fine. Thanks for letting us know!

P.S. (Post script, not Penthouse Safari......well, both actually): Miss F took your bottom spot!


===================================

Hi Miss F!

I'm not sure if Telstar Ted still comes around, so he might not read your response, but I hope he does!

And I agree with you about what you said about blogs. I blog for the fun of it. And the fun of knowing that other people might enjoy listening to the music too. That's one of the things I like about other people's blogs. They're going to all the trouble of posting something mainly just to make it available to me and others to enjoy. I don't get the sense that most people are blogging for self-aggrandizement, so I really like and appreciate that aspect of selflessness relative to the effort involved, if that makes any sense. There may be other reasons involved, but I tend to think these are secondary, so it's something I respect about other bloggers.

I hadn't thought about this being like a forum thread, but I like that analogy! Sounds nice. :))

And after this comment section started, I noticed other blogs that had 100+ comments, so it's nice (& disturbing) to know that Blogger.com will take a lot. So I guess it would be a long ways away before testing its limits, but like you said, it'd be fun to see if you could actually get it to explode! (Just kidding, Blogger.com, if you're reading this. I would never want anything bad to happen to a system that has such a wonderful search engine or that makes editing html code and uploading pictures such a joy! Besides, I would miss those 'waiting for blogger' or 'down for scheduled maintenance' messages if you were gone.)

And I think I've had durian. Is is that fruit with the spiky skin? If it is, I still have a nick in my knee from having run into one of those!

Well, as always, I love hearing from you Miss F(redda)! (And that goes for you too, PS!)

=======================

Hi Yayo!

I love Audrey Hepburn too! :))
 
Hi PS!

I'm glad to find out that Loungetracks wasn't hacked or that it wasn't something worse. I hope he comes back eventually. Well, I'm glad to find out he's fine. Thanks for letting us know!

P.S. (Post script, not Penthouse Safari......well, both actually): Miss F took your bottom spot!


===================================

Hi Miss F!

I'm not sure if Telstar Ted still comes around, so he might not read your response, but I hope he does!

And I agree with you about what you said about blogs. I blog for the fun of it. And the fun of knowing that other people might enjoy listening to the music too. That's one of the things I like about other people's blogs. They're going to all the trouble of posting something mainly just to make it available to me and others to enjoy. I don't get the sense that most people are blogging for self-aggrandizement, so I really like and appreciate that aspect of selflessness relative to the effort involved, if that makes any sense. There may be other reasons involved, but I tend to think these are secondary, so it's something I respect about other bloggers.

I hadn't thought about this being like a forum thread, but I like that analogy! Sounds nice. :))

And after this comment section started, I noticed other blogs that had 100+ comments, so it's nice (& disturbing) to know that Blogger.com will take a lot. So I guess it would be a long ways away before testing its limits, but like you said, it'd be fun to see if you could actually get it to explode! (Just kidding, Blogger.com, if you're reading this. I would never want anything bad to happen to a system that has such a wonderful search engine or that makes editing html code and uploading pictures such a joy! Besides, I would miss those 'waiting for blogger' or 'down for scheduled maintenance' messages if you were gone.)

And I think I've had durian. Is is that fruit with the spiky skin? If it is, I still have a nick in my knee from having run into one of those!

Well, as always, I love hearing from you Miss F(redda)! (And that goes for you too, PS!)

=======================

Hi Yayo!

I love Audrey Hepburn too! :))
 
heLLow nomw1...do u by any chance, know the emaiL address of NEEDLEBEARD? i just goTTa say thanks to the guy for the Lalo Schiffrin's MISSION IMPOSSIBLE he posted s0me time ag0. im pretty disappointed to see that he's gone; i really ouGht to thaNk him.

thanks nomw1, I can see that you've been p0sting a lot, and im happy for you, cuz i know that posting stuff feels greaT. =)

taKe care, nomw1! by the way I've alwaYs wondered how oLd you are.
 
Hi Miss F!

No, sorry I don't know his address. By the time I knew about his blog, it had gone dormant.

And sometimes it feels like I don't post enough! Thanks for the encouragement!

And I've often wondered how old I am too! :))
 
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