4

Four years. Over 1,200 posts. Two or three or four (or five?) thousand songs shared. A few dozen concerts recapped.

I highly doubt that there is anyone out there who's been along for the entire ride, but that's OK. A few people get on board and jam along with me, a few others move on and disappear into internet anonymity. Sometimes I wonder what's happened to readers who use to comment in the past. Have they let their connection to music move in to the background of life, to be replaced by children, a job, significant others? Have their musical tastes and mine taken different paths? Have they given up electronics as their New Year's resolution and are currently living off the land in eastern Montana Little House on the Prairie style?

Why do I stick around here? It's a fair question. At first I didn't expect to have more than two people read it a month. It was simply a personal way of expressing my passion for music in a novel way. But as I wrote and shared, I found that my exploration of other people's writing about music online changed my own connection with music. My horizons broadened exponentially, and as they did, it was reflected in what I shared in my own writing. (Sometimes I wonder if the majority of people who read music blogs are the same people writing music blogs. Are we just an inbred group of insatiable musical fiends?)

I use to check daily to see how many readers visited the site, how many songs were downloaded, what were my most popular posts. Now a days, not so much. Not at all, really. I hope you are all still visiting, but I'm going to keep listening and writing regardless. Although it wanes and waxes, the power of music still holds me tight in its embrace. For better or, in some cases, worse, certain artists, songs, and albums will eternally take me to a particular minute, period, memory, or person. New songs bring me new connections.

Last year at this time I wasn't sure how much longer MISB would continue. This year I'm more optimistic. Does it have another four years in its legs? We'll see. I can't imagine I'm going to run out of music to write about between now and then. Will you still be reading in four years? Probably not. That's ok though. Stick around for as long as you'd like. Listen to a few songs, share some musical moments with me. Just don't go the Little House on the Prairie route, 'cuz life without music wouldn't be much of a life. Whether they're in the form of mp3's, CD's, records, heck even 8 tracks, keep on spinnin'em, and hopefully reading MISB helps you find a few new favorites.








Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns - Four Play : What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves: 1967-1977 [Disc 4]

Johnny Cash - Four Strong Winds : American V: A Hundred Highways

NOMO - Fourth Ward : New Tones

Nina Simone - Four Women : Four Women: The Nina Simone Philips Recordings

Cake - Friend Is A Four Letter Word : Fashion Nugget

Jay Brannan - On All Fours : Goddamned

Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators - Four Leaf Clover : Keep Reachin' Up

Anathallo - Hanasakajiijii (Four: A Great Wind, More Ash) : Floating World

Fats Domino - Let the Four Winds Blow : Let the Four Winds Blow 7"

Modest Mouse - Four-Fingered Fisherman : Sad Sappy Sucker

Robert Johnson - From Four Till Late : The Complete Recordings [Disc 2]