I Want To Thank You

Kind and Generous - Natalie Merchant

I wanted to take a moment to say a few things following the announcement yesterday that I will be winding up this Blog after 12 years (yikes! Has it really been that long?). 

My friend Wooders, a down to earth Yorkshireman whose words of encouragement mean a world to me told me yesterday that I shouldn't be bothered about numbers and should continue posting the blog and a few others have contacted me via Email and messaging services likewise to continue at it. While I am extremely grateful for that enouragement I just wanted to say that the number issue is actually one of many reasons for stopping but not really the main reason.

I have mentioned in the past that I have been having issues of concentration and sometimes struggling over a couple of days to do a post and that the culprit behind this is a by-product of my Epilepsy and the medications I have to take for controlling that. My natural choice would of course be to continue but the struggle to think clearly at times and the over-bearing tiredness that comes with exercising my mind too much when I am trying to write is something I don't necessarily want to always be experiencing. I hope that is something folks will try and understand.

So, in this post I wanted to mainly say a BIG THANK YOU to my friends who have supported me via this blog, and the many people around the world who have visited Soundtrack4Life and maybe found a piece of music that has thrilled their heart and has ended up being part of their very own Soundtrack4Life. Without you reading this I really don't think I would have gone on for 12 years!!

I would also like to offer a word of thanks to the bands/artists who have over the years been kind enough to agree to do an interview with me for the blog (You can see all the interviews here). I only wish that I had taken the time to do more because there are so many great artists/bands with stories to tell.

Thanks also should be extended to a few folks who have been a guest blogger (you know who you are) on Soundtrack4Life. Again I wish that I had been a bit more proactive in encouraging more to participate because it's always pleasant reading about music from someone else's perspective. Not only the guest bloggers but also those who have been kind enough to provide a quote I could use in a particular piece. To each and everyone of you I am extremely grateful.

This post will be #3190 and not a single one of them would have been possible were it not for the musicians, bands, artists, albums, live concerts, 7" Singles etc and to be incredibly cheesy and to totally rip the song out of context I say with those loveable Swedes called ABBA, "THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC". Without the music this blog would have been nothing to write home about!

The artist that I have posted about on this Blog more than any other is Bruce Springsteen (Click here to see all 413 posts...that will keep you busy for a long long time!). Whether it be talking about live shows, promo videos, tours, his records and even particular songs. It's a strange thing trying to explain what a guy from New Jersey means to a boy who grew up in South East London and for the past 30 years has resided in Scotland but I hope that it's his music more than my reasons for liking him that is the reason that so many Bruce fans (and not necessarily Bruce fans) took the time to read each post and even share them with their friends and other fan groups.

The most read post on this Blog was a Bruce Springsteen one from 2014 where I basically put together a list of all the songs performed on the High Hopes Tour with links to each song (all 181 of them!).

The other band that I have posted a lot about over the years has been The Alarm (110 posts to be exact) and Mike Peters. I am sure that there will be more music from them this coming year that will continue to thrill me with wonder.

All manner of Musical Styles have been explored over the years from Rock 'n' Roll, Sixties Soul, Heavy Rock, Nu-Metal, Rock, Punk Rock, New Wave, Post-Punk, Mod Revivalist, Pop, Soul, Gospel, Country, Americana, the Blues, Reggae/Ska, even Classical has slipped into the mix! I hope that there's been a little something for everyone, in the end it's easy to put things in nice little boxes but I hope that folks have seen that it's actually the music itself and not the particular style that has been the thing that has spurred me on doing this blog.

So in finishing up this post, I can only repeat the words of the song posted at the begining of piece, the beautiful words of Natalie Merchant, "I Want To Thank You, Thank You!"