Today.
Usually my mind would turn to what should or could be the topic of the next ‘Minds Music Monday’ post on a Sunday but not yesterday. Nor the previous Sunday, either. In fact, I’m not sure when the last time I eagerly contemplated a MMM post was? Most likely the Spaceface one. That’s rather telling. The song that was my ‘go to’ when I was feeling particularly low and needing a positive injection was the subject of my last proper MMM post.
Today I just didn’t have it in me.
I’m trying to work on my writing. Spoiler alert – on my blog I am going to talk about my uni stuff and my writing. Yes, I know! I have been trying to keep the two separate, hence I have another blog that I run called ‘University & Unicorns’ (unicorns not because I love them/believe in them and other such tosh but because on the UK coat of arms, Scotland is represented by a unicorn). Perhaps I should have given the title further thought – Academia & ‘Aggis, or Alba …. Or maybe Humanities & Hibernia, or Heilan Coos….or…fuck knows. Studies in Scotland. Nice and bland.
The past couple of days I’ve been trying to concentrate on laudanum and getting into the mind of Samuel Taylor Coleridge for a piece of prose I am working on. Well, TRYING to work on.
I want to talk about my latest uni results here because it really is starting to feel like the only good thing I have going on at the moment. I’m not able to go into too much detail anyway – as it’s university policy not to discuss your results in the public domain, but I am so happy with the marks I achieved for this past academic year both for my module overall and for my last assignment.
This blog used to mean so much to me. I used to be proud of it. Especially all the research and work I put into the posts for 2021 and the Sons And Fascination/Sister Feelings Call 40th Anniversary celebration. The blog FINALLY was feeling properly purposeful and I felt like it had worth but it’s all just slipping away again. At least as a predominantly Simple Minds blog. Recently I had contact from members of both Restricted Code and The Alleged. Both bands’ performances I reviewed having seen them both perform at McChuills at the beginning of the month. Both of the band members thanked me for my review and RC shared my footage of one of their new songs on their social media platforms.
I keep having to remind myself on these down days, these low ebbs that can get the better of me that there IS worth in what I am doing here!
What is this post actually about? I honestly don’t know other than I’m just trying to express my fear that the Simple Minds side of this blog is dying? That I am scared it’s dying and I don’t want it to. That I am starting to fear writing anything on here about the band that could be misconstrued. But I don’t want it to end up being ‘blogging by numbers’ and just writing about new music releases and tour news. Perhaps I should just go back to Kerrsday Thursday posts and drooling over Jim’s raspberry ripples?
I don’t know when there’ll be another MMM post. Before THAT SMOG post happened – the night before I actually had taken a listen to the whole of Direction Of The Heart for the first time since…. November 3rd last year. I wanted to write about how I found it after so many months of just not being able to bring myself to play it, what I thought about the album after that amount of time had elapsed from its release and if I felt I could be more objective about it now. After that SMOG post, I just felt incapable of wanting to write a post about it. I just didn’t want any more grief.
I think the whole blog needs an overhaul. It certainly is crying out for some maintenance and could do with some streamlining. I may begin to work on that and just keep new posts to a minimum. Do my best not to feel pressured to make sure there is fresh content on here as regularly as I have tried to make it.
I can’t deal with the idea of it dying a slow and arduous death.
I just don’t know any more.
One thing I do know is, despite how it may appear right now – this man will continue to inspire me and my future writing endeavours…
