The State of Star Beat Music

Publicists, Marketers, Bands, Readers, Friends, On-Lookers, please read:

You may have noticed that in the past two months I've updated this blog sporadically. I've taken breaks, then posted, then stopped, and so fourth. This most recent break has been for two weeks now. So what's up? Well, the truth is that I've felt unmotivated to write about music. I've felt overwhelmed from the amount of requests I get to write about bands and shows. It's hard to sift through what's good and bottom line is most pitches aren't that good and are too long. I feel like it's becoming my job to write but it's not. I do this as a hobby but I take it seriously. I love music and writing. At the point at which it feels like work to me, then something has to change. I write to promote the bands I love. Sure, I'll take a pitch and check out a band, but I might not always post about it. I want to write positive reviews. I don't want to spend my time writing about a band I don't like. That's not what I'm here for. 

Also, I'm not particularly happy with my writing. My writing is boring. This needs to change. Music writing should motivate, explain, be written with feeling. It should tell a story. It shouldn't be the same regurgitated news shit that everyone else posts. Paraphrasing can be necessary but not too often. I need to write with my heart. With everything I got. I want to write about the bands I love and know. I want my writing to evoke aliveness. To tell the reader exactly how I feel about a band. I don't want the writing to sounded forced, like I'm writing to please someone or because I have to, or it's a bland news piece.

I don't want the music shoved down my throat or well, into my ears, and I don't want it to sound like I'm shoving it into yours, either. I want to write naturally. So I need to get back to focus. I need a new direction. So what to do? Do away with all the pitches and write about the bands I love and the bands I discover that are good. Maybe. Ok, well I'll still take pitches, I'm just going to be more honest about what I do and do not want to write about. If I haven't gotten back to you I probably will. I apologize for not returning some emails. But I'm getting back into this. I'm also sorry if you sent me a CD and I have yet to write a review or listen to it. For now, I'm not accepting any CD's in the mail, as gracious a thought as that is.

I'm also looking to expand. This comes both in excitement and fear. Excitement because I can write about bands outside of the NJ/NY area, but fear because now I'm potentially open to reaching an overwhelming number of pitches. What made Star Beat so exciting in the beginning was that I wasn't getting pitches. I was actively seeking out bands. I was discovering the music myself.

I want to personalize it and write less about music news. I want it to be more passionate. I want to write about vinyl, analyze lyrics, do features on bands and bikes (you'd be amazed at how many Brooklyn musicians bike), and cool things. I felt that Star Beat Music was getting a bit boring. I know the content was okay, but I wasn't having fun with it anymore. It's time for me take control and get into some fun, informative, passionate, music writing. Thanks for reading. Hopefully we will get things rolling this week with a few pieces. Until then I encourage you to read some back pieces.

Here are some new features we're planning:

1. BANDS AND BIKES: It strikes me that many musicians, particularly, in Brooklyn ride bikes. I find this neat. I want to find a way to tie that into writing. Does biking having any relation to the bands lyrics? Has any band ever toured by bike? Has a musicians ever ridden to a show locally? Is this something you would be interested in reading about? What questions would you ask? Why is biking popular for Brooklyn musicians? Where else is biking popular?

2. OPEN LETTERS TO BANDS: This is a feature where I write letters to bands expressing my thoughts about their show, their album, or band in general. It allows me to be direct and personal. This might be challenging especially for the bands I love. My plan is to make these letters short and sweet. Hopefully I don't cry in this process. There's something about writing a personalized letter, exposing your emotions to someone, or in most cases an entire band, and then publicizing.

3. PICTURE PROMPT: Remember in 8th grade or high school where you were given a picture and you had to write a story that involved the photo? Well, in this case I'd post one picture from a show and then write a story (show review) that revolves around the image or includes the image. Sounds fun!

4. LYRICS POST: Post lyrics to song, then write about what the song means to me. 

5. VINYL: Post pictures of recent vinyl purchase. Write about the packaging, color, layout, artwork, where to get it, who released it, etc, and what I find attractive about the vinyl plus post photos of it!

6. NEWS: I would post a piece of music news, then my reaction to the news!

What are your thoughts on these features?