02 January, 2008

Zharth's Music Log

Around the middle of last summer, my friend suggested an idea to me, and out of that was born Zharth's Music Log. Having greatly enjoyed my time as a radio dj in college, I kind of missed spreading my music, and my knowledge of it, to the world, since graduation. The one job that I have made an effort to apply for so far was a dj job at a classic rock radio station. I clearly had no chance, but the fact that I went to the effort shows how much I love the idea of being a radio dj. Zharth's Music Log isn't quite the same experience, but it's in a similar vein, and it'll at least keep me from getting too rusty.

So, what is ZML? Basically, it's a song a day, arranged into weekly themes. The songs are pretty much exclusively classic rock and blues songs, largely from the 60's and 70's, with the periodic modern track thrown in from appropriate sources. It's the music I love, and the point is to spread it to other people who are interested in these genres. These are not the classic rock songs you hear every day on your local rock station. Not that I have a problem with a lot of those songs, but on my music log, you'll hear awesome stuff they wouldn't play in a million years on a popular radio station. Plus, the themes make it interesting, and you can even guess what songs or themes are coming up based on the daily clues I like to give out in the "Later this week" blurb at the end of the log.

I've been keeping the log up for 24 weeks now (that's almost half a year), and I've been very good about adding a new song each day. Sometimes it's hard coming up with a comment every day, but I try to bring up something interesting. Think of hosting a radio show, and then having to say something relevant and interesting about every single song you play. It's not the easiest thing in the world, but it can be fun, and I at least have a whole day, if not more, to think about what I want to say. I've got a whole bunch of potential themes marked down in my personal notes, with ideas for songs that would fit, and I try to match themes with holidays and the time of year. But I'm always open to suggestions, and if you have any ideas for songs that would fit a theme I'm doing, or for a theme you'd like to see me use, I'd love to hear about it. I used to have a comments form on the log, but since nobody used it except spam bots, I decided to take it down. Still, you can always email me, or leave a comment here. At the very least, if you let me know you're listening, then I'll be that much more motivated to put up good songs and interesting comments on the log!

So check it out!

Zharth's Music Log

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