Every year, around December 30th, I start to think about what I would like to do for the following year, some sort of challenge that I can carry through for the entirety of the year. Some people call them resolutions, but I like to call them goals. I’m not the greatest goal achiever, in fact, my shots on goal are high, but my scoring average is very low. 1
I suppose if I started thinking about these things earlier than the next to last day of the year, I would be able to properly plan. But in addition to my low scoring percentage, I have a pretty high amount of procrastination. I wish I could come up with some kind of cool Dungeons & Dragons, RPG, analogy for my stats, but I just can’t.2
Regardless, I start thinking of these things around the end of the year, half-ass it for a month or two, and then just give up. Last year it was a photo every day, and every year since 2013, it’s been 1 Second Every Day, and there have been many others over the years. For the most part, failure isn’t a bug in the system, but a feature.
So I go into this next project knowing full well that I just might fail at it. I already have a few irons in the fire, and my Substack has such low numbers that it will be really easy just to let it sit here without any updates. But I think trying is a step above failure, even if I end up not accomplishing my goals. At least I took a shot.
And this year is no different. I’m gonna shoot my shot. If I miss, oh well.
So what am I going to do this year?
I love music. Honestly, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love music. I mean, if you don’t love music, you must be someone who worships the same Jesus that John Lithgow worshipped in Footloose. I don’t know about you, but that Jesus ain’t the real one, because I think the real Jesus loves music as well.
Anyway, music.
Over the years I’ve wanted to do something about the music that I enjoy the most, hopefully pointing someone towards an artist they may grow to love as much as I do, or remind someone of an album that they may have enjoyed once, but sort of forgot.
So while thinking about this, I decided to tackle a year long project recommending music that I love - alphabetically. There are 26 letters in the alphabet, and 52 weeks in a year. So that means I can either do two albums per week, or one every two. Needless to say, I have a list of 52 albums, so here’s hoping I can do one per week.
With some planning ahead, I am sure I can do this.3
So starting this week (I’m a bit behind, but I think I can catch up), I will do just that.
But with every challenge, there must be rules. Because without rules, we have anarchy. And anarchy is only cool when the Sex Pistols sing about it, and it’s happening in the U.K. and not here in the States. So what are the rules?
First, I make the rules. So I’m not going to be rigid. That means, if I can’t find an album that fits the letter when it comes to the artist name, it will have to be from the album title.4
Second, there’s no hard and fast rule for length of entry. It can be 100 words or it can be 1000. So yes, phoning it in will still count.
And lastly, if I don’t finish this project, no beating myself up. I got COVID in the past few months, and it threw my life into absolute chaos, and I’m just now getting through it. If life throws me another curveball, I can’t beat myself up if I strike out.5
So, if you’re so inclined, feel free to subscribe, share this substack, and follow along. Hopefully, come January 2023, you’ll see 52 albums in a new light.
I’m sure there’s some kind of sports analogy that I could make here, but I’m not much of a sports guy at all, so feel free to fill in your own if you would like.
I was never allowed to dip my toes into the RPG waters, because my grandfather, who I love, was heavily influenced by televangelists in the 80s, and therefore anything mentioning Dungeons or Dragons was verboten in my house growing up.
I say this every year, and every year, I believe it.
I decided to do this because, there are very few bands that start with the letter Q, and while I could recommend Quiet Riot or something, I don’t know enough about them to justify including Q36 by the Rentals instead.
That’s not a bad sports analogy. I’m gonna pat myself on the back for that one.