NHT Blog

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.

When I saw a song come through for review consideration by Ariana Colletti I thought, “It’s already a No.  I just wrote something about a track from her in mid-July.”  But the newest song was too good to NOT write about, and so it’s the basis for this week’s post.

It didn’t hurt that “Too Far” wasn’t being released until last month anyway, which allowed me to schedule it out and leave space in between the previous track from her that I wrote about and this one.

It’s Monday, which means it’s back to work for you and me.  That’s a pretty routine statement, right?  Except in my case, when I focus strictly on my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast, I answer with, “Wait, that’s it?  ‘Back to work’?”

Yes, yes, I’m the same guy who just under three months ago wrote a blog under the headline, “You DO Have to Spend Money to Make Money.”  And for the record, I still stand by everything I said in that post, so, don’t email me or message me through social media trying to call this a contradiction.

Purely by coincidence my blog this week could almost be considered a Part 2 of sorts to what I wrote in last week’s post.  It was something I saw between putting that one online and now that made me realize there was more ground to cover on the subject.

I’m referring to what it says in your bio, although this week I’m specifically thinking Instagram and Twitter (a.k.a. X).