Hi Everyone,

Greetings from San Francisco! I’m out here for a bit of vacation, and to see a few Smashing Pumpkins at The Fillmore. I’ve already been to two, and they have been amazing. I am looking forward to posting lots of photos and some videos, just as soon as my Internet connection is reliable. If I don’t get it done before the 1st, then I’ll have it done by the 3rd. Hopefully, however, I’ll get something up soon. So, what this boils down to is this: keep looking!

In the meantime, here’s a tease (go ahead: click on it!):

Update (8/4): Slight delays in processing the material have made for delays in production. While waiting for the report (in the next few days), have a look at the photos and videos from the event (over in the sidebar). Thanks!

Hi, everyone!

I just wanted to keep you aware of what’s going on in these parts. As you’ve noticed, we’ve have had two new contributors – Nicholas and April – and we’re very grateful to have them. As ever, if you’re interested in contributing, please let me know! The more the merrier! We’ve also received notice from a number of kind websites who have sent us a great quantity of traffic. Certainly, the greatest volume has come from summerskiss.com. There have been many others, though, and I’m exceptionally grateful for all the mentions this page has received. If I haven’t reciprocated, do let me know. And as ever, thank you very much for stopping by – this site wouldn’t work at all without you.

So, what’s on the horizon? As ever, more guest contributions! There are one or two people I’ve been stalking for a while, now, and I hope to shame them into contributing in no time! (Watch this space for public shaming.) This is also going to be a month of gig reviews – or, at least, many more than we’ve had to date. I’ll be seeing a few Smashing Pumpkins shows out in San Francisco, and will bring you reviews as they happen. They’re letting us photograph, videotape, and audio record the performances. With luck (and money!), we’ll have a multimedia blitz for you. Also, there is a mystery gig review coming by the end of the week. Who knows what that could be? You? This bear?

Stay Tuned!

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to take a moment to point out some of the changes around here. First, We’ve introduced a “Tales from Beyond!” section which aggregates data from the RSS feeds of sites that we like. ( Huh? ) So, if you’re looking for something else to read, or somewhere else to go, why not have a look? Also, there are two different sets of links in the sidebar: One highlights work by our authors, and the other contains links to music blogs – and oeuvreblogs – that we’re fans of, as well. (Did we leave you out? Let us know.) Please take the time to visit – we’re sure you’ll be glad you did!

We’ve also introduced a couple of changes to the way RSS feeds are handled around here. The first change involves the length of the feeds, which have now been altered to provide “full text” instead of excerpts. We’ll experiment with this feature over time, but I imagine it will be nicer for those reading through feed readers. (Please do comment on this, if you have an opinion!) Also, you can now subscribe to updates by e-mail using Feedburner. There’s a link in the sidebar, or you could click here.

In addition, we’ve added a little page outlining the process by which one becomes a contributor. We’re very eager to widen the scope of this site, and hope that you will take advantage of this! Please don’t hesitate to contact us for advice, as we really want to make this work.

Lastly, both Chris and Jon have started their own oeuvreblogs. Jon’s focuses on The Cure, and Chris’ focuses on Nine Inch Nails. Go show them some love, eh?

That’s all for now. Our errant contributors should be coming home to roost in no time, so keep watching! And thank you all for your support thus far – we’ve loved sharing our stories with you, and look forward to reading your own.

Hi everyone,

The time has come to unveil the first part of my evil plan for world domination! I am very proud to introduce you to our very first contributor – Chris Clark. Chris is a friend of mine from ages ago, a survivor of the Chelmsford, MA music scene (population five), and a lover of terrible, terrible pop bubblegum trashâ„¢. Seriously, though, Chris provides a set of experiences that will very likely be couched in songs that I would never have considered, even though I’m familiar with them. And that, my friends, is the point of this site. Or, at least, it’s what I hope this site will become. In the next few weeks, I will (fingers crossed) be introducing a handful of new contributors as things begin to take shape.

Would you like to be one of them? You could be. The first step is to register for the site. The second is to send me your ideas, and we’ll see about opening this thing up a bit. I’m still going to keep on writing about the songs that saved my life, but my hope is that we’ll find a way to share our diverse experiences in a way that will bring us closer.

And so, help me welcome our first contributor by heading over to read Chris’ post. In the next few weeks, there will be others… and, yes, there are more surprises to come! Hang in there, true believers…

Hey Everyone,

As you can see, things have changed. First of all, I’m trying out a new look for the site, and I’d really like your opinion. Please use the poll to the side, comment here, or both! I feel like things are considerably more personal, now, and we can move on to phase two of my evil plan. All in good time, though. Also, you’ll notice (if you’re particularly astute) that the permalinks have changed. { One of the results being that all of the YouTube videos now behave in IE… } You may now (and are encouraged to) visit the site via http://www.songsthatsavedyourlife.com. This will be the last time you need to update your bookmarks. Feeds should remain untouched. { I am such a liar. My love of tinkering has broken the old rss feed. Please re-subscribe. Pretty please? I promise I’ll never touch the server again. Ever. }

As I alluded to before, there are some longer posts to come in the next couple of weeks. Also, I am still working on the site’s first-ever collaborative project, and I hope to have news in a couple of weeks. Until then, for your singing and dancing pleasure, I leave you Thing One and Thing Two. Have a great April!