NHT Blog

Yesterday on the official Instagram account for my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast I posted a quote from a past episode.  It was said by nationally known comedian Jim Florentine, who also happens to have his own podcast, which I listen to fairly regularly.  Admittedly, this week’s blog might be influenced to some extent by him and the fact that he is always referring to people who act like sheep, meaning, just following the pack.

Back when I used to go to a recording studio to record my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast, I learned that one of the biggest compliments that I get about the show is the guests reacting with, “Wow, that’s a great question,” or, as some have said on or off the air, “You ask really good questions!”

This is quite the rollercoaster ride we’re all on, is it not?  We went from the whole world for all intents and purposes shutting down, to some hope that there was light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, to then a second wave of the Coronavirus, and well, yeah, you know the ups and downs from there.

It’s International Women’s Day.  Lots will be written today about the ladies who have made and/or are making a difference.  And others will say that it shouldn’t take this annual occasion rolling around for those countless individuals to be recognized.  I agree with that since I’m often heard making a similar claim about holidays such as Valentine’s Day or Thanksgiving.

I’ll be the first to admit that I thought that the pandemic would be over by now.  I convinced myself that I was giving it too much attention here in this weekly blog as well as on my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast.  Now that a third vaccine has been approved, the tendency would be to think, “Yeah, c’mon, the Covid era is over.  Move on.”

In case you missed it, last Wednesday marked the seven-year anniversary of my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast.  Had you told me on February 17, 2014, when Episode 1 came out that I’d get up to 367 episodes, I’m sure I would’ve said, “Whoa, slow down!”

One might say that it’s a bit contradictory for me to be writing this week about Instagram posts after I’ve had to take some time away from that platform due to health challenges over the last few weeks.  Admittedly, I’m disappointed myself, having been a daily poster on there for a streak that went back quite a way before having to “put the phone do

If you’re thinking about producing music, now is a wonderful time to start. Not only are tools and learning materials more accessible than ever, but the listening population is also growing larger and more hungry for new music by the day.

Collaboration doesn’t necessarily have to mean co-writing a song with someone or being a guest musician on a song they record or at one of their gigs.  Granted, what I’m about to describe is going to be a bit generous in terms of loosely expanding the term 'collaboration,' but the bottom line here really is more about always focusing on not viewing everyone else as competition.

Even though today is yet another holiday, with all due respect to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it’s time to start taking action and stop using “it’s the holidays” as a reason to continue hibernating.  As warm and fuzzy and tempting as that sounds, it’s no way to be productive and get ahead.