A Note From The Guru: Changes & Musings For The New Year

365 days, 365 artists, 365 albums. Honestly, there were many points throughout 2009 that I didn't think I'd be able to pull it off. This blog began as a challenge to myself, and over the year, it took on quite a life of its own.

Music has always been my passion, and it was a true joy to be able to share my thoughts (or ramblings in some cases) with the world at large throughout the past year. When I check the website traffic (a few times a week) and see hits coming from all over the globe, it brings a huge smile to my face. So, to all of my readers all over the world, thank you for taking a few minutes of your day to read my writing.

The initial plan behind this blog was to simply do the 365 and then call it quits. However, due to the sites' traffic, a number of emails, as well as conversations with a number of people, I have decided to keep things going, though the content will change....slightly...

I have always been a firm believer that all of the "1,000 Greatest Albums" books you can buy contain a great amount of "filler." So, with this in mind, I am going to leave albums alone for 2010, as I am rather satisfied that I've covered an overwhelming bulk of "the essentials." In it's place, I will be writing up a SONG a day. It is my belief that this will allow me to bring exposure to many other artists; those who could write a great song, but perhaps not an entire albums' worth. It will also allow me to SLIGHTLY shorten the blogs, as the current format certainly puts a strain on my time...I do have a "real" job aside from my writing...

So, Tuesday through Sunday, I will present write-ups on equally amazing songs and I am working on having a stream to each song. I am going to do my best to write up songs that were not featured on the albums I wrote up in 2009. Certainly, many of the same artists will reappear, but hopefully nothing I've already written about.

On Monday's, I will make available a one-hour podcast type of thing where I will present some other music and a bit of commentary. I wanted to keep this at an hour as I think it's a solid amount for each week for people to enjoy. From time to time, I am sure there will be guests of some sort who join me on this, and I am really looking forward to this addition.

Finally, though it was never even a thought in my mind when I first began "The Daily Guru," I will be spending 2010 working on getting the 2009 blogs published as a book. As this progresses, I will make note of it, but if you want to be "sure" you know about it, send an email to thedailyguru@gmail.com and I will send out ONE mass email when the book is set for publication. I hate spam and pointless email more than most people, so please be assured that your email address will only be contacted if/when I have a release date for the book.

Oh, and since it took about three months for me to really flesh out how the blogs were going to be written, I am going to be re-writing and "finishing" the first few months of blogs from 2009. I will make notes in the "daily songs" as to which of the '09 blogs have been updated.

So again, to all of you who read my blog, thank you SO much for taking time out of your day to read my ramblings. I hope that you've found new music that you love, as well as re-discovered music you already had. I hope that 2010 is your best year yet, and I hope the change in content on the blog is equally as enjoyable.


-Joel (AKA The Music Guru)