Thoughts On Thursday

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Lately I’ve been thinking about how I blog – something I guess we all do from time to time. A number of thoughts have been kicking around in my mind and it felt like maybe I should share them with you. After all, you’re the guys who read these pieces and make it worth my while being here!

I’ve got myself into a regular pattern of posting for Tuesday Tunes and Song Lyric Sunday, and often with another piece in the gap between them – usually on a Thursday or Friday. I’ve never tried to be one of those who posts every day – apart from the Advent Calendar and two attempts (in 2013 and 2014) at taking part in National Blog Posting Month, which takes place in November. The strain was just too much! So what should I be doing with those gaps?

I’ve noticed that I have a tendency to start ‘series,’ which then seem to tail off after a few episodes. In my eyes, they were all good ideas that made them worth doing in the first place, so maybe I should resurrect them? One of those series was Saturday Smiles, which I ran four times back in 2021. My wish not to post on successive days would seem to have ruled that out of a renaissance, but there are still a great many funny videos out there we could be enjoying together, so maybe it can return with a new name – Friday Funnies, perhaps. Not every week, but as part of a regular roster.

There are a couple of music series which you guys seemed to enjoy, and which I have neglected. The first of these was Listen To The Band, in which I took an in-depth look at a favourite artist of mine. There have been six of those so far, featuring The Beatles, The Monkees, The Eagles, Cat Stevens, Jackson Browne, and Warren Zevon. The first five of those appeared in 2021 whilst the last one came last September, after a gap of more than a year. There are loads more out there I could include in this series, so expect to see it back again soon.

Then there have been the various permutations of the Under The Covers banner I have used for selections of cover versions I have enjoyed. There have been seven of these to date, but again the most recent was around nine months ago. Time for another reboot?

I also post occasional musical selections for special occasions: Easter, Valentine’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday are among those that come to mind. I plan to keep doing that, when time and inclination are there.

Thinking ahead, it is only just over six months till Christmas – you heard it here first! In recent years I have been running my Advent Calendar, which sees posts of seasonal songs on every day from 1 to 25 December, along with some favourite Christmas adverts and cartoons. I’m not sure how I’ll be doing it this year, but I’m trying to come up with another plan, because that is a huge ask of both me and you in the current format. Watch this space!

And there is, of course, the series which started as an idle thought and has since become the staple of my blog: Tuesday Tunes. The most recent of these, earlier this week, was #153 in the series, but this has been making me think. Many of you visit this each week, ‘like’ the posts and comment on them, which is great: it’s always good to know there is someone out there! But I’m wondering if the series needs a remodelling? When it began, it was just two or three songs a week, which gradually increased through six to the eight I post now. I had been thinking that perhaps I was being self-indulgent posting so many songs each week, as this is quite an ask of you to go through it all, and someone remarked as such on Tuesday. Basically, he said he always enjoyed the posts but they took a deal of commitment. Expecting too much of the audience is never a good thing, is it, so I’m thinking that I might try shortening the posts back down for a time to, say, five or six songs each week, to see how that goes? What do you think? Thoughts welcome!

Whatever I do, I’d like to think that my blog is somewhere you can come to be entertained – that is the main objective. However, in saying that, I wouldn’t want to lose sight of why I started blogging in the first place: mental health is a topic near and dear to my heart and you will still see occasional reminders of that. It is just too important to overlook.

So, that’s what I’m planning for the next few months on my blog. What will you be doing with yours?

59 thoughts on “Thoughts On Thursday”

  1. Pingback: So, Last Year… | Take It Easy

  2. Hi Clive, I am fairly erratic with my blogs. I write thee committee posts a moth and all the rest is as I feel. I’ve been writing lots of poetry this year and sharing photographs which is different to last year when I posted lots of recipes. I like your blog and visit when I can. I often catch up with posts of friend in 3s and 4s because I get behind 💓

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  3. I long ago stopped blogging to a schedule and can’t recall the last time I scheduled ahead. Every day is probably too much for most bloggers and readers. Short blogs are more likely to be read in the moment and longer ones saved for later. Humour is always welcome and music. Bloggers we enjoy following will always be welcome whether it’s a few days or a few weeks since they posted.

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  5. I know I am late to the party, but you just made my day. I thought it was just me who started and stopped the series. I am not alone!!!! Sorry, but my anxiety is playing up, so any cheering up is helpful. I agree with Jill & Jim: shorter posts are better because I like reading many blogs. But no matter your format, your posts are entertaining and cheer me up. 😊

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    • No worries, I’m pleased to see you! And to compound it WP dumped your comment into Spam, for where I have just retrieved it! I’m happy to have cheered you up, though I really ought to do better with those series! I’m sticking to five on Tuesdays for now, as it seems to be going well. Thank you for your kind words 😊

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  6. Pingback: Friday Funnies | Take It Easy

  7. Pingback: Tuesday Tunes 154: More Goodbyes | Take It Easy

  8. Firstly I will say thank you, Clive as I have discovered many brilliant artists through your posts…You may have noticed I tend to leave them untill the end of the week as sometimes there are too many and I do want to listen to them… Mental Health is always a good sunject as it is often not talked about and as I have two daughters who are on medication and while I think some are neccessary I do think anti depressants and the like are given out too freely. but ultimately it is your blog, Clive and I always enjoy the music 🙂 xx

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  9. You always are entertaining and I have heard a lot of new music from you, but I will agree that cutting back to a smaller amount of songs in a post would make it easier for me to actually read your Tuesday post on a Tuesday. LOL! Love the Friday Funnies or Saturday Smiles idea! Providing laughter fits in well with mental health, for its very good for it!! 🙂

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  11. I think the natural evolution of blogging is we go through peaks and valleys. I have blogged far less this year, and it’s really okay. I suspect that when I don’t have a million other things going on, I’ll get back to it more. I have my regular blogs (yours is one of them) that I try to follow regardless. While I can appreciate the level of self-discipline it requires to blog each day, I don’t like getting so many posts from the same person in one day. I’ve reached the saturation point.

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    • I think we should all do what feels right for us, Pete, as you are currently doing, and I appreciate that your valuable time is spent in part with my blog. What I was saying here is that I might have been asking too much of readers, in the length of some posts rather than frequency. Comments seem to bear this out, on the whole, so expect some (minor) changes.

      I have that same thought about bloggers who reach saturation point: with a few notable exceptions any that I follow get put into daily updates rather than individual post notifications: fewer emails that way, and more control over when and what to read.

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      • I know I can be long-winded. One of my crutches has been to take too many words to say something (I’ve since learned this is frequent of beginning writers) and to repeat things that have already been said in a different way.

        I haven’t noticed this on your posts, but I’ll admit that some posts are so lengthy I either skip them entirely or more likely skim.

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      • I haven’t noticed that on any of your posts, to be honest. I’m going to be looking out for it now, though!

        Shorter posts will be coming, I promise 😊

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  12. For my part I can spend time listening to new songs but if there are too many I do crop ’em to sound bites, and I know you can lose a lot of nuance doing that. But tempus fugits by so quick, and my breakfast and coffee can wind up cold.
    I like the Friday Funnies idea, always good to head towards the weekend with a smile.
    And, at the end of the day, its your blog- do what suits you!

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    • I do have a tendency to enjoy playing tracks I think will be unknown, don’t I! I need better balance, I think, as you’re right.

      I think Friday Funnies will definitely be appearing as the response has been positive.

      Yes, it’s my blog, but if I don’t post things that people enjoy there’s no point in doing it, is there? It’s all a matter of taste, I guess.

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  13. I’m a relatively new follower Clive and music posts, including yours, have made me realise just how wide the gaps are in my knowledge. Some are totally unknown to me, others not my cup of tea at all, and those I am familiar with make me feel old………. but then I realise I am to the kid I was when music was my main interest! I am having a lot of problems being blocked from accessing video links which is annoying, but I enjoy your posts, though confess sometimes there are rather a lot to view!

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  14. Clive, I am impressed with your steadfastness to blogging and your regular slots and the various series over the years. Wow! You are like the publishing world already thinking of Christmas (yes, it was the first time for this year!) and it is great you are so organised. I enjoy longer informative articles and stories but perhaps do not have a chance to always do them justice. Shorter ones will do well too,I am sure. My approach to blogging is so varying I often wonder what I will do next. At the moment a pop in and out approach as life has turned rather busy but I expect to post more regularly in the Autumn again. Happy Blogging!

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    • Thank you, Annika. It feels less steadfast from here, more a string of things I’ve moved away from! The Christmas thought was just one of the things I’ve been pondering, but I’m not sure how I’ll resolve it. Plenty of time yet! I take your point about variable article lengths – the consensus so far is towards shorter ones, so I’ll take note. Hopefully you’ll get back to it on a more regular basis: I hope life settles down for you!

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  18. I always enjoy your posts, but often set them aside for “later when I have more time”, since I am one of those bloggers who posts thrice daily and spend about 10-12 hours per day researching, writing, responding to comments, visiting other blogs, etc. So, I’m with JIm in thinking that with fewer songs, I might get to visit more often. I love the idea of Saturday Smiles or Friday Funnies … these days we can use all the humour we can get! Keep up the great work, Clive … I do love your blog … and I’ll try to visit more often!

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  19. I do enjoy posts that share music, but when there are more than 3 songs on them, I tend to scroll down to the bottom and hit the like button, as there is only so much time in the day that I have for reading.

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  20. Well, you know the funnies always get a rise out of me. As I get older, life continues to become a serious overload. I can use all the smiles I can get. I sometimes feel overwhelmed when the content of a blog is very long, but I understand that we all need to write as the muse directs.

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    • Thanks for your comments, Bernadette. I think the funnies are overdue a return, too. I’ve felt for a while that I might be overloading people, so it feels worth trying to see how shorter Tuesday offerings work out.

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  21. Interesting post – I also wonder if I share too much – or in too many areas – I do posts on movies, music, pop culture, food, travel and whatever seems interesting – some do better than others, but I just decided to do what felt good at the time…I have a few series I have let fall off, until I share another one then they are back again! I enjoy whatever direction you go, but an in-depth look at a single artist is of particular interest to me!

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    • I was working it out for myself, really. I think your approach is fine: you have a lot of interests so why not share them?

      Since posting this I’ve noticed that my menu still includes a much older and more forgotten series. I think I’ll change that out for the Listen To The Band ones, for easy updating when I restart. It will also show you the earlier ones – once I’ve edited them for the videos that are no longer available!

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