Fables of the (Re)Construction

Dear Readers (all six or seven of you):

Forgive this self-indulgence, but I have been thinking about this post since about a week after I started The Tuning Room, which really should be entitled: "What Was I Thinking?!" Truth be told, I started this blog before I should have and then tried to turn it into something I am probably incapable of achieving--a resource on music (albeit a resource from a limited and personal perspective). So I find myself in a bit of a conundrum--one which might end this here adventure or, at a minimum, will alter the approach.

This really isn't a whine--I mean it! I am just thinking through this little (and I mean little) dilemma. Here are pieces of the puzzle--all problems with the mental construction of this blog and I am fully aware that the solutions might just be delusional answers that will allow me to reconstruct (the same) blog. (BTW--I learned this cool technique of inserting random self-reflective commentary via the use of parenthetical qualifiers in graduate school--isn't it the smartest thing you have ever seen?)

Problem #1: So I have this bad habit of building things as I go--but hey it has worked so far! The problem here is that I had this funny idea that if I started this blog about music and got friends and fam to check it out, people would naturally ask if they could join in and post their thoughts on music. I, being raised like a Garrison Keillor character, didn't see any reason to ask anyone directly if they wanted to actually start a group blog on music--that would be presumptuous now wouldn't it? Needless to say, that was I had in mind in the first place.

Problem #2: Too many blogs. Is it possible? Well, yeah, but don't just mean the number of great music blogs out there already, I mean for me personally. There is the work blog--luckily a good colleague maintains the other or it would be two work blogs. And then there is the Brothers K blog (by invitation) about The Artist, The Engineer, and Little Boss which we try to write on frequently to keep friends and family up to date on the boys. So the point is that there is a lot of blogging in this life already. And because of blogging for work (not to mention friends who maintain great sites) I have a tendency to think of blogs as needing to be interesting and have fresh content and therefore I create some self-imposed obligation to keep this site filled with new stuff as if folks are looking for new features each day.

Problem #3: I can't. I love music, but I just don't listen to that much music, have time to explore it as much as I want, AND write about it. Right now there are about a dozen new albums/artists that I want to check out and that doesn't even include jazz and classical. And as I recently noted, I feel like I am just too behind the times to catch up with most of you who would read this. I never meant to be cutting edge, but I am feeling a bit more than behind the curve. As a result, I feel like I am just throwing something up for the sake of posting.

Problem #4: I can't believe that I have reached this point in my life, but I feel like I don't quite have a handle on the technology and so I end up spending time trying to right things that seem wrong on the blog (I am sure you have all noticed) or trying to figure out to get something to work rather than posting about tunes--or god forbid, listening to tunes!

Okay so that sounded like a whine even though I promised it wasn't going to be one and perhaps I should just check into some Blogs Anonymous group, get over it, crank up some tunes and hang. . . . oh please!

Here are the considerations for going forward:

1. Add Players? I am going to let this sit here on the blog for a bit and see if any of you all who read this are, in fact, interested in joining on as "A Player" and writing your thoughts about music here at the TR--or creating something else all together with a music angle. I know most of you have blogs already and doubt you want to sacrifice those--but if you think there might be something to work on along these lines, you know where to find me.

2. Reorient the Room? The other alternative would be to change the orientation of the blog to not just be focused on music--goodness knows I have lots of thoughts about other stuff (really!) and perhaps I should just get out of this genre specific gig.

3. Bone Up on the Techno? Also want to take a little time to figure out some stuff about the back end, putting up music files, and creating a site that is less cluttered and easier to read without all these extraneous components (that I put up rather than taking the time to actually write). So while I might not post very frequently for the next bit, you might see design changes.

4. Get a Life? Finally, while this blog is about as old as a Mayfly, it might just be that we should let it fade into the background and focus on other things (doubtful, but in the mix).

So there you have it--an honest assessment of my current perspective on The Tuning Room. I truly, truly do not share this thoughts as some fishing expedition for reassurance that I must keep this all-important blog up and running (I have enough experience with blogs to know different). Rather, I thought I would put it out there and see if you all had some suggestions--no one would be better to weigh in on this that the few of you friends who stop by. Would love to hear from anyone interested in a joint effort or any advice on good resources for getting more up to speed on the technology side.

Update: Okay I am over this thanks to a little help from my friends--new and old. Thanks to Lisa B. from HighTouchMegastore for the support, advice and offer. To Wobs from OrganizingGrievances for making a comparison that was more motivation than any positive re-enforcement ever could be. Thanks to the good dr over at The Bellman for some tech advice, and a special shout out to Payton from This Mornin' for help on the music files and player piece. Needless to say I am back at it with a bit less ambition and hopefully a bit more focus. And now enough with the navel gazing.