Dateline: 2008. I'm looking for somewhere to shop my stupid game where you guess the song intros, and after a search come acoss Music Banter. After having been given the by-now-familiar “don't advertise your crap here” I settle in to explore, and on finding the Journals Section think: this is great. I've been a frustrated writer for so long, and love my music, wanting to share my appreciation of it with others. This is perfect for me. And I set up house. The Playlist of Life is born.
But it is not a happy childhood. I fail to realise that people here have much more eclectic taste in music than I do, and that about 99% of what they listen to is music I have never even heard of or knew existed. After some initial derision and what I see as music elitism concerning my mainstream musical tastes, I get annoyed and close up shop, giving everyone a piece of my mind on the way out, a piece they surely ignore and laugh at.
Flash forward to 2011. Having taken voluntary redundancy and with a lot more time on my hands, I wonder if I should give this Music Banter thing another go? I set up my journal again and take the attitude that if nobody reads or if anyone slags me off, fu
ck them: I like my music and will continue to write about it. Over the course of time I come to realise that, though this is indeed the right way to approach things, it might be interesting and helpful to explore this music they're all talking about. Some of it works, some does not, but at least I get a little more accepted now, and people are certainly reading my journal.
It's now four years on, I have a total of ten journals ranging from TV and movies to mythology and from comics to classic albums, and have become a (hopefully) valued member of the forum. My original journal (this one) has over 200,000 views, the most of any journal by a country mile, and special events like Metal Month have made it reasonably popular. I've essentially taken over the running of the Journals Section, encouraging people who think they might like to start but don't know how or are nervous about it, updating everyone each Sunday on what's happening in all the journals, and generally trying to raise awareness of and interest in the section to a level it had not been anywhere close to when I arrived.
I guess it's really nothing special, not a landmark to be shouted from the rooftops, but I just wanted to note it anyway and say thanks to everyone who made me welcome here (Jackhammer, Janszoon, NonSubmissiveWife, Unknown Soldier, Anteater, Batlord and others) in the initial stages and who helped keep me here (too late to change your minds now!)
and to all the many many friends I have made here, whether you read my journals or not. And a big thank you to the mods who tirelessly approved my many entries (sometimes four or more a day,
every day, way back when!) and who gave me invaluable advice as well as a little abuse when deserved.
Here's to another four years!
Thanks
Trollheart