A connoisseur is one who understands the details, technique, or principles of an art and is competent to act as a critical judge. I'm a connoisseur of dark banjo music. However, I'm not a connoisseur of banjo tuning, but would like to become one. Standard tuning for a 5-string banjo is an open G tuning (G,D,G,B,D). If you strum the banjo without fretting any strings in this tuning you will be playing a G chord. An second tuning used very often in old time music is called Double C Tuning (G,C,G,C,D). The lowest pitched string (the 4th string) is lowered from a D to a C. This gives your banjo a hauntingly drone tone because of the two strings that are tuned to C. A third tuning is referred to as C tuning (G,C,G,B,D). Sometimes it's referred to as "Drop C" tuning because coming from the open G tuning, the D string on the 4th string is dropped down to a C. A fourth tuning is called D tuning (F#,D,F#,A,D). If you strum the banjo without fretting any strings in this tuning you will be playing a D chord. The fifth banjo tuning is my favourite. It's called the "G modal", "sawmill" or "mountain minor" tuning (G,D,G,C,D). This tuning is very close to standard G tuning but the second string (B) is tuned up to a C note. Such a little thing (from B to C in standard tuning) makes such a big difference. This step eliminates the third of the G chord and gives it a modal sound. Mountain minor is a very popular tuning for old-time tunes such as The Cuckoo, Cluck Ol' Hen, Shady Grove, Little Sadie, Pretty Polly and many others. Old-time musicians have come up with a tuning that’s perfect for capturing the special quality of these old traditional songs. Mountain minor makes the banjo playing easier, more effective and gives the songs a haunting eerie sound. The mountain refers to Appalachia and to Appalachian music. For me, mountain minor (G,D,G,C,D) is the most beautiful banjo tuning of them all. And also, the most gothic sounding. 
 
   

You have probably heard the rumour about the power ballad "Winds of Change". It was allegedly written by or connected to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a cultural weapon in the Cold War. I always thought that Scorpions wrote the song. It's hard to imagine security officers trying to write a ballad performed in a rock music style. After working day and night with subliminal messages they finally came up with: "The future's in the air / Can feel it everywhere / Blowing with the wind of change". The conspiracy theory isn’t implausible since CIA has a documented history of engaging in cultural wars. There were many battlegrounds: music, movies, books, television and other media, as well as sports and social beliefs and behavior. The opposite side fought back. Unanimated and animated television series for children could be used in propaganda. They characters didn't need to say obvious things like: "With shock labour we will ensure prompt delivery of the giants of the Five Year Plan". On the contrary, it could be more effective to downplay the differences between the rivaling systems. Instead, the political message could be packaged in stories of overcoming obstacles and solving different problems (working together towards a common goal is a good thing!). I grew up with a TV and radio monopoly, read more here (opens in a new window). In the 1970s Swedish Television bought many television series for children from the Eastern Bloc. Back in those days, the TV producers had an army of writers, animators and other staff to their disposition. The artistic and technical quality were outstanding (if you hover over the image the titles of the best television series will appear). However, there were some glaring contradictions. The animated figures had a notable higher standard of living compared to ordinary people in the Eastern Bloc. Moreover, the animated figures were creative and entrepreneurial, which the political system didn't promote. On the contrary. Other contradictions were provocative. Lolek and Bolek used to spin their globe and put a random finger on where to go. At the same time, the citizens in Poland and other Eastern Bloc countries couldn't go anywhere without a travel permit. And getting a permit was easier said than done. You had to be "trustworthy". Am I stretching this too far? Some people argue that it was just television series for children, nothing more. Others argue that it was sophisticated propaganda in a cultural war. I don't know. But, if there was a war then the Eastern Bloc won the battle, but lost the war.

     

Day of reckoning. I launched the website on 1st March 2014. This is seven years ago. Seven is very popular. People often pick number seven when asked to choose a number between 1 and 10. In many religions and civilisations number seven has a special position. Seven is magic. So many things count to seven. Of the first ten numbers, seven is the most prime. You cannot multiply or divide it within the group. Seven is also the number of completion. Is now a good time to complete this nonsense? The first blog entry I posted had the dramatic title "So it begins...". Since then I have posted an anniversary blog post this time every year. The second blog post (2015) had the expectantly title "So it continues...". Here, I discussed the past, present and future for the site. The third blog post (2016) had the prosaic title "And so it goes on and on and on and on and on...". Here, I did some merciless following up on ambitions and promises. The fourth blog post (2017) had the patronizing title "The necessity of content gardening". Here, I stated that a website, with proper content gardening, could live forever. The fifth blog post (2018) had the technical title "Ratchet effect through organic growth”. Here, I speculated how web indexing and algorithms drove traffic to unprecedented levels. The sixth blog post (2019) had the glorifying title "5 years and 100 000 hits". Here, I rattled off statistics lengthwise and crosswise. The seventh blog post (2020) had the dutiful title "The show must go on". Here, I concluded that the responsibilities I have towards society are too important to be calling it quits. Today, it's time again for a new blog post. The visitor counter indicates 150 601.   

Assessment

Executive summary: I have been muddling through in the time of the pandemic. The last year has been very dull due to the pandemic, but pretty good when it comes to site activity. My day job takes a lot of my time, focus and energy. Working from home isn't a good idea. At least, not for me. Work is carried out at the workplace and home is home. Fortunately, my workplace has been open almost all the time since the outbreak. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. However, I'm too tired to do anything on workday evenings. I do most of the site maintance on weekends. Your brain needs a rest now and then. It's relaxing to read and write about other things than work-related matters. I'm proud to say that the site has a strong focus on content. Content is king. No content, no visitors. The hard part of running a website is getting visitors to the site and then keeping them there.  

Visitor statistics

To go from zero to 150 000 visitors took 2 548 days, which is equal to seven years. Business was slow in the beginning. From zero to 10 000 took 264 days. After 50 000 visits something happened. The web indexing and Google algorithms began to kick in. The step from 50 000 to 60 000 visitors took only 131 days. The average number of days for another 10 000 visitors has since then been around 130-140. 

Department statistics

I wrote one new article last year, listed one more artist in the table, created zero new lists and wrote 26 blog entries. I also have a list of 4-5 bands waiting to be included in my prestigious article series. 

Most visited pages

The five pages below are the most visited. The order of precedence has shifted over time. The start page (Home) is and have always been the most visited page. The second page is the list "10 essential gothic country albums", which comprises a canon of must-have gothic country albums. A newcomer on the top-five list. Review of "Fossil" (Sons of Perdition collaborative album) is placed as number five. The Articles page previously held this position for four years straight in a row. It's now placed as number seven. 
 

Flaws

The website has been up and running twenty-four seven. No incidents to report. Only Russian spam bots. I don't know how they find the time and energy. I felt compelled to disconnect the YouTube module on the site since the videos are living matter. If you stumble over any obsolete or incorrect information or any dead links don't hesitate to contact me and I will fix it. I take some pride in that the website is updated. 

Reflections

I haven't received a single e-mail from market or web solutions companies where they claim earnings from the site. The site is non-profit and free of advertisment. This is the way it has been and will always be.

Future

Seven is the number of completion. Seven is also the number following six and preceding eight. Therefore, the nonsense will go on. I will go on untiringly within the limits of family, work and other duties. 

Science is organized knowledge. I like when things are organized. I like knowledge. A perfect combination. What is the reminiscence bump? It's the tendency to have increased or enhanced recollection for events, which also appears to extend to music-related memories, that occurred during adolescence and early adulthood. Previous research has revealed a consistent reminiscence bump in autobiographical memory. A new study represents one of the largest explorations of the musical reminiscence bump across adulthood to date. The researchers found a reminiscence bump in adolescence, peaking around age 14, for both ratings of the autobiographical salience of songs featured in the charts during that period and the familiarity of these songs. At last, science explained. That's why you are a sucker for the music you grew up with. The 16 albums in the image are tattooed in my mind (if you hover over the image an explanatory text with titles and artists will appear). This is what I listened to when I was 14 years old. I played them over and over again (but not so often these days). 11 of the 16 albums are live albums. Not so surprising. The golden age of live albums was the 1970's. The next topic for research: why have some of the albums aged with dignity and others not? One brutal hypothesis could be that some of the albums you listened to when you were a kid weren't that good in the first place. Further research is needed.        

Questions are never indiscreet, answers sometimes are. Existential questions are deep and philosophical questions that concern our very existence. One existential question is: Do you lend your records / CD's to others? This question was raised in a Discogs forum. The questioner wrote: "I have years ago but never again. And I'm not comfortable borrowing other folks records either. Seems too personal and intrusive. Or maybe you've borrowed friends music and never returned it?" One of the first comments hit the head of the nail: ”Frankly, I'm pretty sure my friends know better than to ask.” I agree. My policy is that I'm more than willing to burn a copy, but the original stays with me. Isn't this policy a little parsimonious? Maybe, or maybe not. In a modern and developed society there exists an implicit contract that if you lend your records to someone you expect to get it back in a certain time and in the same condition. This is the underlying theory. In practise, there's an evident risk that it will be damaged, misplaced or lost forever. Even close friends can make mistakes. My strict policy is built on expensive lessons from late adolescence. We lent and borrowed vinyls like there was no tomorrow. I borrowed from you and you borrowed from me. The lending-borrowing system wasn't foolproof. Some unscrupulous individuals could lend your vinyls to a third person. This led to unclear return responsibilities, questioned ownership and bitter disputes. We didn't know anything about treatment of vinyls. Mistreatment took place on a daily basis. Apart from the mistreatment, a huge problem was recovering what was left of your vinyls. I had a recovery rate of nearly 100 percent, since I'm both dedicated and perseverant. It could have been a brilliant career within the Enforcement Authority.  

 
Many people find it hard, awkward or embarrasing to ask someone to return an item (like a vinyl or cd) they borrowed, especially if this someone is a friend. To ask for its return may be perceived as confrontational and could damage the friendship. For me, it's the other way around. Not returning a record will most certainly damage the relationship. Time is of the essence. You have to act fast and firm. In my experience, escalation is a simple technique to use. Stick to the manual and don't waver. The first step in an escalation procedure is exhortation: "Hey, I would like to have my vinyl/cd back". You may add the word "please". If this doesn't help, the next step is confrontation. "Hey, this is not acceptable. I have asked you to return the vinyl/cd and I want it right now." If this sharper tone doesn't do the trick, the next and final step is intervention. Sometimes you have to improvise, adapt and overcome. Hard-core borrowers-procrastionists are particular difficult to deal with. They are in the second and anal stage in Sigmund Freud's theory of psychosexual development. Returning is contrary to their belief. A couple of years ago I helped a close friend to collect his beloved vinyls from a former friend after more than 15 years. I had a personal interest in the matter since I wanted to borrow some of the rarities and transfer them from vinyl to digital format. I told my friend to call his former friend and tell him that we were coming to collect them. My friend wavered: is this really socially accepted? I asked him rhetorically if borrowing records and not returning them was socially accepted. Of course, my friend had never got any further than to the first step in the escalation procedure. The intervention didn't last long and went pretty well. Some of the vinyls were in bad shape or missing. My friend let the matter pass, due to the awkward social situation but also because he didn't have full control over his record collection. Forgive and forget. Personally, I'm not that magnanimous. There's a special place in hell for people who not return vinyls/cds they have borrowed. Justice will, sooner or later, be served. And, the sooner the better.