reactionships

#17 – The Power of the Negative

In employment, wherever it is, whoever it is with, there is one constant that pops up year after year after year: the annual appraisal. It’s that one time of the year when you pause, reflect, and try to be honest with yourself before talking to the boss about what went well and what could haveContinue reading “#17 – The Power of the Negative”

#16 – Is Spotify Actually Evil?

It’s that time of year when everyone is flooding the internet with their Spotify Unwrapped lists and telling the world exactly what they’d ben listening to for the previous twelve months. As marketing campaigns go, it’s a doozie! Get everyone else to shout from the rooftops what Spotify has done for them. Every other socialContinue reading “#16 – Is Spotify Actually Evil?”

#15 – The Phenomenon of Ren

This weekend has seen the culmination and result of a coordinated campaign to get a new album to perform as well as possible at its release. There’s nothing remarkable or new about that for sure. But the real story here is who, how, why and where. Ren’s album Sick Boi has just claimed the numberContinue reading “#15 – The Phenomenon of Ren”

#14 – Haken (rhymes with bacon!)

There’s something slightly ubiquitous about progressive music and beards. No one exemplifies that more than London based Haken. Whilst the photo above might look like the mug shots for a diamond heist gang from the East End, it is in fact a picture of prog metal supremos Haken. I first heard these guys in 2018,Continue reading “#14 – Haken (rhymes with bacon!)”

#13 – A Prog Lifer?

I was recently asked in the comments of the Emerson Lake and Palmer videos if I’d grown up with prog music? It was assumed that, because ELP and Yes and Genesis had been so big in the early 70s that I would have grown up with their sound ringing in my ears, The the legacyContinue reading “#13 – A Prog Lifer?”

#12 – Are Reaction Channels the New Radio?

I was listening to some music recently and was almost immediately transported back in time to the beginning of the 1980s, my childhood bedroom and secretly listening to music hidden under the covers of my bed. You see, I was listening to Van Halen, the American/Dutch band that spawned numerous snappy, catchy, groovy hard rockContinue reading “#12 – Are Reaction Channels the New Radio?”

#11 – Why Vinyl?

There’s a definite difference of opinion about listening to music on vinyl or digital. Of course I listen to digital, and I enjoy the crystal clear sound it delivers. But I am human, and fallible. I appreciate the world is not a perfect place and I like things that have “soul”. A record that cracklesContinue reading “#11 – Why Vinyl?”

#10 – Copyright

I understand copyright, I really do. I understand the importance of an artist or creator protecting their intellectual property and creative endeavour. The performing rights and mechanical rights agencies are there to ensure each recording artist and songwriter is properly compensated for their works. This is fair and proper. I also understand fully that IContinue reading “#10 – Copyright”

#09 – Ten years later….

Ten years ago I made a blog that lasted about 3 posts. Ah, the amount of times I’ve started but not finished things! It’s the story of my life. Well, sort of… the channel seems to have fared better. In fact as it approaches its 5th birthday, I found this old blog post from aContinue reading “#09 – Ten years later….”

#08 – Jim: The Accidental YouTuber

The empty chair, and the wall of records behind me. Its a bit like the proverbial blank piece of paper for the writer…. where do I start? What am I listening to? How NOT to procrastinate! I was going to call this post “How Do You Make A Reaction Video?” but to answer that, I’dContinue reading “#08 – Jim: The Accidental YouTuber”