Thursday, March 3, 2011

The Album Du Jour - A Review of the Reviews

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
- Winston Churchill
 
          So I spent a good long time today at work listening to Sarah Vaughan as I planned music for the upcoming season of Lent.  The music is good, and perhaps someday soon I'll have a review of it up here.  That day, however, is not today.  For those of you who have been faithfully keeping up with this project, either from its infancy or in the brief couple of months since, I appologize, but "The Album Du Jour" is going into modified service or hiatus mode.  Not sure which yet, but I've rather quickly come to the conclusion I can't keep up with this at this rate.  Financially, time management-wise, whichever.  I've learned and grown a lot from it so far musically, and don't plan on giving up on the whole thing entirely just yet.  However, within the past few months since the project was conceived a few things have changed in my life, all for the better, but this has just been forced a couple pegs lower in terms of my personal priorities.
          When I started this endeavor, I admitted that it would equate to about the same load as three music history/lit courses (one each in jazz, classical, and popular music,) and was excited that I would be able to set my own curriculum and agenda for them all.  I underestimated the enormity of the task at hand - in two months, I've done the equivalent of 20+ pages of writing for each of those three classes.  That's a semester right there.  At any rate, I think this is just the next natural step in that progression - setting my own course pace.  I still plan on reviewing albums, and most likely starting with purchases already made, but just at a more relaxed pace.  In retrospect, pushing through many of these in a day is unfair to the albums themselves.  By rushing through them, I haven't been giving myself time to properly digest the music.  The things I'm listening to and really latching on to are likewise getting pushed aside too rapidly to make room for tomorrow's listening assignment.  And too often, that's what it's coming down to - an assignment.  Something I have to get through just to keep moving forward.  I want to go back to enjoying new music - not considering it homework.
          So with that in mind, I hope to continue this project soon, but for now, I need to step back and smell the roses.  Reprioritize a bit, and just listen to the music.  I'm sorry if this comes as a disapointment, but I need to set this down for now.  More will be coming eventually though.  I promise.
 
Shawn

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