the politics of blogging and bob byrnes biro stuff

I've been at this blogging lark for just over one month now and a few things have become clearer. There seem to be a number of blog types out there, namely the self-obsessed type, the informative type, the vindictive type and the ultra specialist type. They range in quality from downright shite to intriguingly brilliant. I would hope that my own blog straddles both qualities in being 'intriguingly shite'.

I've been grappling with what exactly my own blog is actually purporting to do. I started writing it because I believed there was enough interesting stuff going on in the vinyl and turntable world. I still believe that this is the case but over the last few weeks I'm wondering if I've strayed from the original cause. It's been ranging in type from informative to self-obsessed and anywhere in between and an increasing amount of nostalgia is creeping into my writing.

At first I thought that it was becoming a little like a diary of old, my thoughts and musings formulated into words. However I don't think that my blog is introspective enough to accept that charge. I never expected that this blog would be widely consumed by the computer-friendly world but the hit rate is slowly and steadily creeping up.

This brought me to thinking about the relationship between bloggers. I tend to surf the web, find some interesting blogs and if i like them I post a link on the right hand side of the page. I've done this with a few blogs at this stage. It appears that there is a reciprocation on most bloggers parts but then it turns out that there are a number of bloggers where there is not. Then it struck me! They probably just think my blog is shite. All I can say is that there is no accounting for taste.

I was strolling through Dublin today doing my cursory round of high street and second hand record stores when I came across the latest edition of 'The Shiznit' comic freezine. The latest issue, Issue 4, is the best yet. I've been fortunate enough to pick up all of them so far. The best thing about them is that they are free. Quality at the right price. Their writer and creator, Bob Byrne, knocks out his comic (or is it a graphic novella?)when time and cash allow and I for one commend him for his efforts. Check out his website here and download previous issues of The Shiznit here. Bob also blogs on his website in the 'Rants' section. It lightens my heart to see that people are still passionate about stuff that isn't really mass fodder. Harking back to the start of this post I suppose that this is also why I keep writing this blog. It's never going to be everyone's cup of tea, Christ knows that i get pissed off with it somedays, but I reckon that there's enough sad stoner vinyl-loving saps like myself who may inadvertently stumble across it and maybe even like what they see.

Bob Byrne, we (well me anyway)salute you for your illustrative efforts. Long may you hold a crayola in your hand.