Lost my way with this site again recently, for a whole host of reasons, but activity will pick up somewhat in 2012. There are two, possibly three, imminent podcast interviews in the works, and hopefully a few others as the year progresses. Beyond that, it’s hard to say. I’m having the same internal arguments I had the previous two Januarys regarding the viability of continuing to spend money (not much, granted) on this domain — at some point the plug will be pulled, it’s inevitable, the question is whether it happens in 2012, 2014, 2112 (a.k.a. “the Geddy Lee option”), or whenever.
I’m open to ideas, contributions (intellectual contributions, I mean), suggestions, criticisms, witticisms, etc. This site has always been boring when it’s been only about me, so — what say you?
RockCritics.com 
I should probably amend the post to mention this, rather than add a comment, but I meant to recommend to readers of this site something I haven’t yet had time to read (but it’s a great idea, I imagine it will be good): Rock Critic Roundtable. David Cooper Moore is doing a series of roundtables, on subjects (presumably) of interest to rock critics, and he's looking for takers. Jump in!
I’m thinking if it’s a matter of money for the domain, I’m willing to chip in, and I’m sure I’m not the only one! Let’s not talk of this site going away until/unless things become much more dire…
Extremely kind of you to suggest that, Andrew, but given how little activity there is around here I’d feel guilty accepting a penny from anyone. And truthfully, it isn’t a LOT of money to keep this thing afloat, cash is just one small factor — convenient cover, you might even say — piled on top of all sorts of bigger factors, i.e., my general sense that although information occasionally passes through this place very little actually gets communicated (in other words, my issues are probably more — ahem — existential in nature).
I vote with Andrew Hamlin, Scott, as I’d like to see rockcritics.com continue. You cover topics of interest to me that I never seem to see anywhere else. A prime example of that would be “The Grad School of Rock,” posted on July 17 last year, in which you excerpted a fascinating-to-me passage from NZ writer David Cohen’s interview with Bob Christgau.
Quoth the Dean on his old/fading pals Dave Marsh and Greil Marcus: “These days I would call Dave a cultural conservative [A-men! sez this junior CREEMster], and Greil has become a person with, ah, extremely intense and narrow interests: he loves what he loves and ignores almost everything else.”
The latter part of Bob’s statement really struck me, as it gave me a true breakthrough as to why Marcus’s writings have often rubbed me the wrong way; I too am an aged rock critic with “extremely intense and narrow interests,” which DON’T happen to coincide with Greil’s. He likes American-Studies-quaint expressions in music, while I . . . (Be still, my Arthur-Lee-beating heart!) . . . but there’s no need to go into any detail here.
The important thing is that your posting helped me reach a live-and-let-live accomodation with the Holy Greil at long last. I turned sixty-frigging-five last month, I’m entitled to be “narrow & intense” by now if anybody is. Most of the CD’s I’ve bought in the past 12 months are jazz or classical(!), rather than walk-ons from Christgau’s never-ending tour of the latest pop releases. And I owe this new sense of musical lib to rockcritics.com for digging up that esoteric article from New Zealand.
As for increasing the “existential communication” around here, I’m all for that, Scott, and I’m making a new year’s resolution to Start Writing More Again.
I respectfully disagree that nothing gets communicated around here. Even if that were true–which I contend it is not–this site holds incalculable worth as an *archive*…
So think of that when you’re fighting off the existential blues! And let me know if you need a few bucks; I’ll do what I can and it seems I’m not alone.
By the way, if Mr. Riegel and/or anyone else wants to talk about jazz and/or classical records, I’m all for it. I’m back listening to jazz after a long stretch of mostly-ignoring it, and jazz topped my Top Ten (top two slots) for 2011:
http://www.eastportlandblog.com/2012/01/03/top-ten-recordings-of-2011-by-andrew-hamlin/
Lastly, if you could pass my contact info along to Jeff Pike, tell him I haven’t heard from him in ages and would love to catch up!
Best,
Andrew
I checked your link, Andrew, and I see you’re auditing jazz records from as recently as 2011, which is all to the good. I’m only about 50 or 60 years behind you — I’ve been accumulating John Coltrane LPs and CDs for years (absolutely LOVE his sound!), and just the past few months I’ve started buying up CDs by his fellow saxophonist Sonny Rollins, used ones I find at the record exchange, or those Prestige cutouts by mail from Daedelus Music. Very groovy stuff, both Rollins and his frequent drummer Max Roach, nothing recorded later than the 1950s so far.
I feel like I’m picking up on the beatnik-intellectual role I was likely destined for, until the British Invasion intervened. I still believe in r’n’r, but the universe is too big & my clock’s too small, I gotta KNOW about all this jazz (and classical too) before it gets too dark.
Cheers,
Richard R.