Hello, is this thing on? Yes? Okay. So this is a blog. I’ve decided to blog again. Those who’ve continued to follow me on the socials might argue I never really stopped – and that’s a fair point – but may as well make it official.

When I took down the chromewaves shingle, I was burnt out on a number of levels and after I got off the hamster wheel, I eventually rediscovered my love of music not by looking at “what’s new” and “what’s next”, but “what has been”. I only really started listening to music beyond the radio and MuchMusic in, like, 1991, so there have always been many many blind spots in my musical history (which I hope I’ve always fessed up to).

I felt free to go back and explore and educate in private, and let me tell you – being able to listen to nothing but Bowie and Eno albums without having to write a single word about it was divine. I delved into the scenes and movements that laid the groundwork for the music I loved most and… I loved it even more. And now, seven years on, the bulk of my listening is of artists I rarely if ever blogged about; some I didn’t even know existed. And on top of that, as soon as I closed up shop it seemed like every classic shoegaze band saw that as a sign to reunite, tour, and record. And while it was great to just be able to enjoy that, there was also an itch or two.

So I’ve returned from the wilderness, but I’m not here to talk about it. Life is different now, and there is neither the will nor way to write an essay a day about anything – and who has the appetite for that anyways? Instead, this will be largely curatorial, sharing out links to videos, interviews, news, images, maybe with a little bit of commentary as the mood hits but probably not much. So like my Twitter, but better organized and not constrained by the idea of “timeliness”. Everything from everywhen is fair game. I was the guy who saved every music magazine ever when he was younger, and re-read them looking for interviews or sidebars on artists or albums I’d discovered since I’d gone through them the last time, so this is kind of like that.

And while things will be looser in structure and schedule than before, they’ll also be much narrower in focus. I’m intending to follow the threads of art-rock, post-punk, shoegaze, dreampop, and post-rock – and maybe a little prog as I’ve also embraced my love of Rush and Pink Floyd – as they weave their ways from the ’70s through today. I reserve the right to meander, but am going to try and colour between the lines. This is stuff I didn’t get to write about and share before, so I’ll be remedying that somewhat. And forewarned – I’ll be indulging my guitar gear and record collecting nerdities a lot more than I did before so if you’re into pedals and wax, strap in.