NHT Blog

The day after tomorrow will mark the release of Episode 639 of my “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast.  I have never missed a week once since launching the show on February 17, 2014.  Wednesday’s will also be the 1,070th episode hosted in my podcasting career.  (I have a second show that has been delivered on time, every Monday since February 1, 2019.)

Yes, consistency is key.  I’ve written about it before as have countless others.

I often think back to my interview way back on Episode 188 of my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast when the guest was Charlie Midnight.  (The accompanying photo shows us recording that conversation.)  He is a multi-Grammy™, Emmy™, and Golden Globe™ award winning and nominated songwriter and producer and has worked with some of the biggest names in the business.

This coming Thursday (April 30) is International Jazz Day.  So, it’s fitting that the guest on the latest episode of my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast is Chris Standring, one of the most prolific and successful artists on the contemporary urban jazz scene.

We have all heard it before: “You are a brand.” It is one of those phrases that gets tossed around so often it starts to feel meaningless, like something people say just because it sounds good. But the reality is, it is not just a trendy line—it is how people actually experience you in the real world.

A little over a week ago my brother asked me how I listen to music these days.  He immediately followed it up by asking if there is anyone (singular or plural) who has caught my ear to the point of maybe spurring me to dive into their catalog, learn more about them, and so on.

I don’t want to get sidetracked here by venturing into the answers that I was giving him to those questions that he posed.  But suffice it to say, if the song “No More Saving You” by Zy Smoke had come across my screen sooner, I’m sure I would’ve mentioned that in our conversation.

You’ve heard that expression, right?  It shows up a lot on social media.  Someone let me know if I’m wrong and it has been around a long time, but I feel like it’s maybe more of a 21st century thing.  “It costs nothing to be nice to someone.”

But let’s take that a step further.

There are so many expressions that people throw around, almost without sincerity, that messages and intent almost seem watered down.  Sadly.

Notice how many times people will use the expression, “Thoughts and prayers” when someone is going through something difficult.  If you haven’t been through it yourself, you don’t realize that even if you honestly are thinking about and praying for that person, that saying has gotten over saturated at this point.

More than 15 years ago, when I was working in the Olympic Movement, I attended an International Sports Press Association conference in Turkey.  One of the speakers was the head of media for the International Olympic Committee.  He implored the attendees, “Let’s stop saying ‘new media.’  There’s nothing new about the Internet anymore.”

Do I really have to explain the benefits of collaborations?  It has become such a regular part of music business lexicon and a common practice that I have to stop to wonder if it’s just being acknowledged but not actually activated.

Make no mistake, we all certainly see plenty of examples, but my challenge to you today is (here’s that expression I so love to use) to do a self-audit to assess whether you’re taking part and, if not, why you haven’t jumped in with both feet.

One can go to Barstow, California, for as long as they want. It’s just too bad that you can only spend 3 minutes and 47 seconds with “Barstow” the song, though.  Well, until you put it on Repeat, that is.  ((wink))

I was thrilled to take a detour this week from the usual blog content when I heard this new track, grounds for a review post instead of what readers here have grown accustomed to.  And the artist is quite noteworthy as well due to the high profile she has already achieved in the arts.