Final Thoughts: 2018

On the eve of New Year's Eve, I reflect back on this blog's eighth year of existence and look forward to its ninth. When I started F & L, I didn't really have a vision for how long I would be doing it. But I certainly never imagined it going on as long as it has. I would attribute its longevity to the same thing that surely frustrates a lot of you who submit music to me: I'm very selective about what I write about. If you haven't figured it out by now, I have a personal philosophy of only writing positive reviews. I have limited hours to work on this blog, and I will not waste my time writing about stuff that I'm not excited about. Moreover, I try to "stay in my lane" of punk rock, power pop, and rock n' roll. Honestly, I get a lot of submission that are quite good that I simply don't have time to get to.

That said, if I do have a 2019 "New Year's resolution" for F & L, it's to make more of an effort to write about new bands. There was so much great music this year from bands that I have previously covered, and my focus on all of that took me away from seeking out newer groups. I just think this is a great time to be into punk, power pop, and rock n' roll. You will never find me complaining about how terrible mainstream music is. Seriously, who cares what's being played on the radio? Between podcasts/Internet radio, streaming services, and online platforms like Bandcamp, there are SO many ways to hear music that doesn't suck. Especially within the general style of music that I follow, there are as many great bands out there as ever. That's what motivates me to keep this blog going. Frankly, I foresee myself writing an even smaller quantity of reviews in 2019. And of course I will have much to say about personal favorites of mine (Pale Lips and Nato Coles, you're on deck!). But I also plan to discover a whole lot of new bands - or at least bands that are new to me (probably already covered by Mick Fletcher years ago! Ha!). I'll be back tomorrow with my best of 2018 list, and then it's on to a new year!

-L.R.