Hello, and welcome to my music blog. I am Moish.
My intention, right now, is to blog about music -- that means any aspect of music and my relationship to it. That's kind of vague, I admit. But the simple rule is that I decide what's acceptable. I'll probably touch on other topics -- politics and religion for example -- but for the purpose of getting at whatever music or music-related point I am trying to make. I have no intention of writing about politics for the purpose of debating politics.
So, I may as well describe the role music plays and has played in my life.
To star with, I enjoy music (duh). Generally speaking, I like most forms of rock (and rock-related) music, with special attention to British pub rock of the 1970s (and related acts), early new wave, C&W, and cowpunk. Oh, I also love the Monkees, even though they don't fit into any of those categories.
In college, I wrote for the music sections of a few campus newspapers -- mostly record reviews, but there were a couple of essays, interviews and concert reviews. At one point I was Music Editor for one of those papers. In grad school (at a different college), I wrote a couple of record reviews for the campus paper. I have also done some freelance music journalism (most notably for the now-defunct Tower Records' Pulse!). I toyed with the idea of pursuing a career in music journalism, but realized that, for a variety of reasons, that's not for me.
I also do a little songwriting on the side, At this point I have exactly three songs that I think are worthy of trying to sell. By contrast, I have written many, many songs that (how shall I put this delicately?) aren't worthy of trying to sell. As a songwriter, I have made about $20 in royalties (which isn't enough for me to quit my day job) and gotten into ASCAP.
I also collect CDs. I haven't really embraced the new digital reality of buying music as downloads. For me, it's got to be on a physical CD or it doesn't feel right.
I can play a little bit of guitar, enough to support my songwriting. But I'm not particularly good at it. As a singer, I'm an excellent guitarist.
UPDATE: I should have mentioned that in college I was also a DJ for the campus radio station. I did a show called The Alternate Version Show, in which I played, back to back, two versions of one song by two different performers.
What is the ASCAP? Is that a group to prevent cruelty to dyslexic animals?
ReplyDeleteASCAP is The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
ReplyDeleteWhen songs are played on the radio or in concert or in a movie theatre (as part of a movie), the songwriters are due royalties. ASCAP is one of a few organizations that collects money on behalf of its members and then pays them.