What is the point of this music blog?

I write reviews of records, tapes, and compact discs I personally own. I bought my first album when I was seven years old. I am now fifty-seven, so that’s quite a long time. There is no shortage of material.

What is your criteria for reviewing an album?

The artists reviewed on this blog represent a wide spectrum of genres and interests. The only criteria for being reviewed is that the album must be a physical part of my personal collection.

How often will you publish a new review?

I roughly plan to write one review every few weeks, pending things and stuff. This will vary according to whatever else I have going. Astute readers will detect a five-month gap at one point. I was wrapping up a book project during that time.

Why do you have two grading systems?

I couldn’t decide if I wanted to use a letter grade (A-F) or a standard 1-10 scale, so I did both.

What does the blog title On Returning reference?

It’s a song by Wire off their album 154. It seemed appropriate for a retrospective review site.

Why did you decide to start this blog?

I don’t know. I was writing a book at the time, as mentioned, so perhaps I needed an ancillary creative outlet to distract me. I also considered writing about baseball.

Don’t you think you’re overdoing it a bit with the privacy statement and terms?

A friend of mine versed in cyber law suggested that it would be a good idea to include those.

What’s that in the footer about the darkness doubling?

It’s the first line from “Marquee Moon,” a song by Television.

Are you a musician?

Not really, but I try.

If I send you a demo of my band, will you review it?

No.

Why not?

See my response to the first question above.

Do you think music is better or worse than when you were growing up?

I think the tools for making music are much more sophisticated today. I’m not wholly convinced that the artistry or skill is at the same level, however.

Your generational bias is showing.

That wasn’t a question.