NHT Blog

Okay, I know, the day after Thanksgiving is supposed to signal the start of the countdown to the biggest holiday of the year, but with all due respect for Black Friday, I think it’s fitting for my first blog of December and Christmas being exactly three weeks from today that I was introduced to a song that puts a nice bow on timing for this review.

“Christmas (I Think I’m Gonna Be Sad)” is the new holiday single from New York City-based rock singer-songwriter Dan Miraldi.  And I’m here to tell you that I like it.

When I meet someone who isn’t familiar with my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast and they, as a result, ask what it is, I tell them that I interview “guests who are having success in entertainment, primarily music.”  And from there one of the follow up questions I might get is, “Well, what do you mean ‘having success’?”

About the only thing that everybody in the world knew about was the pandemic.  A close second is (unfortunately) the Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Hamas wars going on.  And if you say, “What do you mean a close second?  Everyone knows about the wars!” then consider that there actually might be some people who don’t!  And that helps you with perspective on not assuming that everyone knows who you are and/or what you do.

Call it a bucket list or call it a target (hmm, maybe it’s the New Year’s resolution you make in less than two months), but there are some intimate rooms out there for indie music performers to aim to get booked in.  Whether you do it for an album release party or just for a high-profile performance spot, I’m here to encourage you to not be intimidated by the image that you’ve probably created due to their reputation.

I have personally been to each of these – in most cases, having a client perform there – so I speak from firsthand experience.

I went through it too.  In 2020 we all moved our entire lives inside.  Both “quarantined” and “shelter in place” became a regular part of our lexicon.  It almost makes you cringe now to hear those terms because we can only flash back to the worldwide shutdown and the negative memories that we connect to that time.

I’m not sure why but I’ve never celebrated the milestones for this weekly blog like I do with those that I hit for my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast.  It’s not that it’s the proverbial redheaded stepchild, but I guess it’s more of a put my head down and keep pressing forward type of mindset.  Perhaps I need to reevaluate as a 2024 New Year’s resolution since it’s now been more than nine years that I’ve been publishing something new here every week.

I’m working with someone who recently started a podcast.  An episode of theirs got released on time, yet there were some technical issues very late in production that resulted in it being put out with audio quality that isn’t at the same level as those before and after it.  You either get it out on schedule with sound that you’re not one hundred percent satisfied with, or it sounds the way you want it to but it’s late.

I remember being at Podfest Multimedia Expo in Orlando and listening to a keynote speaker tell a story about a time when he didn’t release an episode of his show.  He put up a slide that showed an email from a listener, asking, “Where the %#&!* is Episode 479?”

Needless to say, this shows real loyalty by an audience who counts on that host to be there when they say they’re going to.

I get it that content creators and influencers want to keep up with the latest trend(s).  It’s by no means easy to be the first one out of the gate with something, no less guarantee that you’ll be the one to get credit for having started it.

Oh sure, you might have a video that goes viral, in which case everyone knows that it was yours, but I might also win the lottery.  Yeah, the odds are probably not too far off from one another.

I recently had a bad experience with a song that was sent to me for review.  It had started out nicely, caught my attention, had my interest up, and proceeded to go downhill (actually, it went in too many different directions), to where I had to decline it.

So, understandably, I was a bit cautious as I continued to listen to “Sweet Song” from Waking Up Production.  Fortunately for me, this one did not disappoint, and, with a smile on my face, I was able to hit the Approve button.