FULL CIRCLE
Disillusioned by what one admin called ‘forum intrigue'(1) and the
lack of a music forum with a satisfactory members’ journal system, I
have finally set up this blog as an alternative, in which my intention
is to continue writing what would have been my forum posts or journal
entries.
Beginning with probably the two biggest progressive rock forums and
driven out of both by a post which lamented that, with the mention of
Foghat, the particular site had become more like a classic rock board,
it took me a while to find a forum where I could settle. This was on one
of the larger classic rock sites. Almost immediately, it was clear that
an interest in classic rock did not preclude an affection for
progressive rock, so I began conversing and posting in earnest, a
process which lasted for several years and thousands of posts. Before
long, I got to know the regular posters as well as is possible via a
computer keyboard: the regular characters whose constancy gave the feel
of a family, those that supported my more ambitious threads and others
in whose own sites I became involved. While some contributors came and
went, one appeared with whom I clashed, resulting in my first departure.
After leaving the classic rock organisation, I settled on a general
site, which had an abrasive forum, but where I was drawn into a
progressive rock album club and subsequently the members’ journals.
Previously, my experience of journals was limited to a few YouTube clips
and embedded Grooveshark samples of favourite tracks. On the new site,
with encouragement and examples, a proper journal was established with
fully considered album reviews and band biographies, painstakingly
constructed. Best of all, the entries could be edited after an unlimited
time, which was ideal for a perfectionist like myself. Eventually,
however, the album club disintegrated, as is the way of these things,
and the journal was never quite enough on its own. In the meantime, the
forum was as fractious and lacking in conversation as ever, so the news
that the troll had left the old haunt was enough to secure my return.
They say you cannot reheat a souffle and it is true. A year after
rejoining, a classic rock moderator deleted one of my posts, without
discussing it first, and I departed for the second time. With the
exception of a few PMs and contributions to birthday threads, this was
the final farewell.
With hindsight, a meaningful journal on the classic rock site would
have kept me out of trouble, but the realisation came too late. At the
point of leaving, I considered concentrating on my first blog, which I
had run on-and-off for several years, but my initial enthusiasm had
gone. After a break, I searched for a fresh journals sub-forum without
success, so I began requesting them and/or starting my own journal-like
threads – with an equal lack of success. Out of utter frustration, and
after reading former NME journalist Stuart Maconie’s biography,
came first the writing of a private diary, as an outlet for my musical
observations. This, in turn, led next to the consideration of, and
experimentation in, several new blog sites, including this one. After a
while, both diary and blog were constructed in parallel, until they
could be merged.
Cider with Roadies by Stuart Maconie was inspirational
because the author could plot the course of his life by the music he
heard at various important stages, rather like myself. It was
essentially biographical, but also took the form of diary, anecdotes,
background information and journalistic articles. Another inspiration
came in the guise of a member of the general site, who worked tirelessly
on his continuous stream of journal entries, while attracting a huge
cult readership.
One of my problems as a forum member has always been perfectionism,
which resulted in articles of which I could feel satisfaction, but which
also inhibited the rate of my output. For a while, at various
locations, I experimented with deliberately short articles, although I
never felt happy with them. This blog represents turning over a new
leaf, as I feel I must set myself the target of one article written per
day, even if it is not posted immediately . . . or if it is far from
perfect.
(1) With thanks to CRF
Written 06.09.15/ Posted 10.09.15
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