The End of an Act

Dearest Readers,

I’ll be 32 in a few days. The age of the new adult. For the last 11 years I’ve been writing on an almost daily basis about music (and sometimes film). The older I get, the more I feel I’ve been – probably, most likely, oh yea definitely – wasting my time. All along I’ve tried to never over-intellectualize the subject of rock/pop music, this for three reasons: (1) I want anyone, at any level of comprehension, to find my writing style palatable and the content interesting; (2) I’m not an intellectual; and (3) Is rock n’ roll something that’s meant to be intellectualized? Isn’t it something that’s meant to be seen and heard? Something inspiring? An art that can be either comforting or upsetting (ya know, in a motivational sort of way). It’s supposed to be felt, right? Yeah, that’s right. And, for most of us, a good song or album is meant to be mysterious – something that arrives from the sky and evokes a feeling or emotion in a way nothing else can.

The concept of getting excited about something you love and connect with – and then talking/writing about why you love it – is a concept I’ll always adore and participate in. But the idea of writers having influential opinions on others about the arts is not something I’ve ever been able to completely wrap my head around. There will always be tastemakers, but as the Internet takes over for good, the idea of a writer being a tastemaker is a dying concept. There are too many voices – too many opinions – to take any one seriously. Too many unqualified tastemakers out there talking shit loudly. No one truly stands out in 2012. There is no Lester Bangs.

Over the years I’ve developed my voice and style into one that I’m proud of. I believe it to be a unique, honest and excited voice. One that’s purely in love with art, and thus writes from the place of a fan. I thought, all along, that I was creating a body of work for readers to fall in love with … but that never happened. Many times I’ve said, to other writers, “I’m not so much a writer as I am a fan who can’t say enough about what I love.” It confuses them. Most of the writers I have known are the kids who were really hot shit in your high school language arts class. Burnin’ hot. The kids who read at lunch. And then, when they were 17, they discovered The Smiths. My Bloody Valentine. John Lennon. Rolling their own cigarettes. And now we’re flooded with a generation of music writers who like to show off their skills while kinda/sorta talking about music. Mostly, they look to impress. The writing is about them, not their subjects; and most of them don’t make for interesting title characters. That I’ve not been able to make my passionate/loving/excited voice stand out in this ugly sea of self importance and Ivy League exercising is why I’ve decided to phase out the music- and film-related writing in my life. I like what I was doing, but realize that it’s not working. People just aren’t connecting to it, and damn is that frustrating.

In addition to the writing you’ll find on this site, I do other work. Film work. Painting. Graphic design. Cooking. Sleeping. But mostly, I do other kinds of writing. And a lot of it. Film scripts, books, short stories, poetry – you name it. (I even recently wrote a full treatment for a television series meant to chronicle the fictional post-minor celebrity life of a onetime New York City news anchor.) I love writing – it’s cheap and it’s accessible and it’s expressive and it’s something I’ll always do. And I’m pretty sure I’ll always listen to lots of music and go to as many films as possible. But, from this point forward, I’ll very rarely write about film or music. Only if someone is paying me. Because I need money. If the day comes where I don’t need money … well … I suppose the music and film writing will end. Or maybe my approach will change. But that day is an impossibility.

Thank you for coming to my site. I’ve checked my readership/traffic statistics on a daily basis for two years now, so if you’re a regular, I know you’re out there, and I greatly appreciate the time you’ve given me. This site may be updated here and there; but probably not often enough to warrant daily – or even weekly – check-ins. I hope you’ll continue coming by to use some of our lists as reference points for your exploring of music and film. I’m very proud of the lists on the site and update them all regularly, as I see and hear new things. Or think new thoughts. The concept of the list was to be the point of the site – a quick, simple, clear way to share and document my feelings on art.

I feel it reasonable to now mention that, despite featuring a number of ads, this website never made me a dollar. And while that was never the point of my writing about music, adding Click-Ads to the site was a way to warrant the thousands of hours spend on the 900+ unique pages on this site – and maybe pay back some of the money spent creating the site. Needless to say, it didn’t work out.

I can be contacted by e-mailing gregwlocke@gmail.com. Have a good 2012. Oh, and scroll on down and check out all of our awesome recent content – including all our usual year-end lists.

I remain yours, a most accessible historian,

Greg W. Locke
Owner / Writer / Publisher / Designer
ZeCatalist.com