Hello, reader(s) of this lovely blog. It’s been quite some time since I last posted here. I’m actually kind of embarrassed. The thing is, for some reason, I just haven’t had much to say. I’m so distracted by responsibilities and merely making it through each day, that there just isn’t room for contemplation or verbal diarrhea. But there have been a few things on my mind.

I don’t listen to the radio much anymore, except on the PA at work. And what I hear really makes me sort of twitch. So much of what constitutes pop music that I hear is just WEAK. It leaves no imprint, it’s soft. There’s no real aggression there – or at least nothing believable. It’s weird – hip hop has kind of taken over pop music, but it’s this weird, lyrically-spare-or-simply-repetitive, gentle version with the same trap beat style over and over. There are exceptions, of course, and I’m oversimplifying the textures heard, but so much of it is just…meh.

No rhythmically interesting beats, no really good lyrics, no real passion. It’s been produced and written to death. There will be tons of writers on each song, and unlike the past, it won’t be because they sampled some old song where they have to credit a bunch of other writers. Post Malone is boring. Halsey’s screechy and somehow sounds out of tune even when she’s in tune. Mind you, I don’t have any animosity toward these people – it’s just that unlike the past, I’m not understanding how ANYONE could connect with this mass mediocrity. I’m desperate for even crappy Bruno Mars retreads and Tay-Tay Swift’s “Hey look guys, I’m writing a version of Red or 1989, but in a Katy Perry sort of way”.

This mass mediocrity is what makes the fact that I’ve been unable to write for quite some time now feel even worse. These songwriters have careers for cowriting stuff that sounds completely half-assed, and I can’t even write anymore, which started as a result of heavy self-criticism, and evolved into a complete lack of belief that I can even do anything. Add the lack of time having a baby around, the way so much music I hear now from actual good songwriters (away from popular radio) sounds like something I could never do even at my best, and, well, I just feel like I don’t have anything to say anymore. Perhaps that was what drove Billy Joel into songwriter retirement. (“River Of Dreams” was kind of a shit way to go out, there, Bill – come on back and fix it.)

Anyway, enough negativity. My playing life is pretty good. Doing a lot of guitar playing, which feels fun and is shaking the rust off that part of my musicianship. Still playing good shows with my brothers in Chandler and The Bings and shredding on bass every time (because why the fuck not?) My baby is walking, which is fun.

I’m thinking of just calling up some of the venues my friends that do solo stuff play and pitching myself to them – I miss that. I also miss fronting a band. It’s weird. I got together with our old friend Ned from Roman Holiday and we played a little and it really made me think about the unrealized potential of that band. That was fun, and I kind of let it die.

So my goal in the three or four months that will surely pass until my next post here is to write and record at least one new song, and to play at least one solo acoustic show. (Let’s see if I can manage even one of the two.)

Thanks for reading, thanks for existing, and if you haven’t subscribed to my social media stuff, please do – I’m on SoundCloud, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr, all as “musicalschizo”, YouTube as “The Musical Schizo” and I have Facebook pages dedicated to my solo gigs (Brian V Sings) and my original stuff (The Musical Schizo).

Peace be the journey!
TMS