Question: How do you get bloggers to comment again when you return from a hiatus?






I hinted earlier in the year I would return to the blog to post year-end lists. But it’s tough to stay positive when people aren’t commenting on the new posts. It’s easy to get a little down on yourself and wonder whether my blog is appreciated anymore?  Does anybody want to read blogs with so much noise on the internet? I got 1 comment and 0 comments(2x) on my latest three posts. What am I doing wrong? Maybe my posting style of sharing multiple videos is too overwhelming and time-consuming for visitors. It could also be my erratic posting schedule is confusing. Feel free to make suggestions of posts you would like to see me write.
I feel I have done everything in my power to hint to my old readers that my blog is semi active again, by commenting on almost all of their sites. I always attempt to be friendly and non-offensive, and try and leave a comment of value. I always reply to comments here on the blog. I always share my blogposts on twitter. Those who know me online are aware I am a loyal friend and you should be allowed to take a hiatus, right?
But as they say, you can’t force others to be your friend and you have to let these things develop naturally. Perhaps it’s naive of me to expect loyalty after a seven month break. People change and maybe blog friendships are only temporary. Perhaps I am overthinking it. It used to be simple to attract comments, you visited their blog and they would comment back. That is not working for me anymore in 2016 the way it once did. I spent many hours commenting on the blogs I know during November, so I’m not sure what else I can do to promote my blog? To be honest I don't care about stats and numbers. Maybe I just have to be patient and they will eventually notice I’m posting again. It's possible I need to reach out to new corners of the web who might have more time to comment than my exsisting followers do.
Perhaps my content is not compatible with the communities I frequent. But I feel I should only write about what genuinely interests me. I often share music and don’t watch the latest popular TV shows such as Westworld or Game of Thrones. I will be queuing up for Arrival (2016) which isn’t out over here until December.
Getting people back into the routine of visiting your blog after a hiatus apparently is tricky, and I may have hurt commenting around here by stopping regular features like Monthly Recap and saying in March that blogging no longer fulfils me. The goodbye post I wrote seems to have given readers the impression that I’m not serious about visiting other blogs and not serious about this blog. All I can say is I’m still here with a desire to interact, and I still enjoy visiting your blogs. But I don’t know how to get my readership to notice I’m back. Maybe that old readership has simply no time for commenting anymore except those blogs that are 100% compatible with their interests.
I’d like to know what I have to do to attract readers again. When I’m only posting part-time due to other things happening in my life now, it seems difficult to maintain a readership. Perhaps going over to wordpress is the answer, is commenting on blogspot fading out?








I appreciate those who did comment recently and please don’t take this as a personal attack. I’m not trying to make you feel guilty about not commenting enough, and I’m not trying to control other people. A famous quote from The Great Gatsby goes that “you can’t repeat the past” and maybe I’m trying to repeat a sense of community with people who have different priorities today. If you don''t want to read my blog that's okay. As I said before you can't force others to be friendly. I’m just curious what am I doing wrong and why am I getting very little response on my recent posts? Is commenting on other sites and expecting them to return the favour a thing of the distant past?

It’s frustrating when you want comments but don’t know how to get them anymore. It can be hurtful when people don't visit your blog and you can see they are active on other blogs. I love blogging but I don't love it when my blog is ignored. I just needed to put that out there. What can I do to make people care and comment on a regular basis again? 



Scheduled posts for December 2016 and January 2017. 
Older soundtrack discoveries of 2016
Older film discoveries during 2016
Best albums of 2016 #1 - #10
Best albums of 2016 #11 - #20
TV watched in 2016
Older album discoveries of 2016
Top 100 songs of 2016 (split into 10 posts)
Top 10 films of 2016 so far




Favorite viral videos of 2016 (part 3 of 3)




Intertextuality: Hollywood's New Currency
Nostalgia and familiarity sell tickets. But we need originality in film.





Drop the Mic w/ Anne Hathaway and James Corden
No idea if was partly scripted/prepared? A fun rap battle







The Internet is Down - THE MUSICAL 
Funny and relatable. What would you miss if the internet was no longer available?






World's 5 greatest MAGIC TRICKS revealed
If you want to keep the mystery intact, you should skip







Toddler Proves A Hug Is All We Need To Shake Off A Bad Mood







10 Things You've Been Doing Wrong Your Whole Life
Now I have an excuse to not shower as often!




What do you think? As always, comments are welcome

Favorite viral videos of 2016 (part 2 of 3)




Watly: the next BIG THING
I hope the invention helps people in need






The Mad Hatter Surprise
That would have made my day





How to Get Creatively Unstuck: A Lesson from Novelist Jonathan Safran Foer
Definitely food for thought if you are a creative person







Murder One (music video) by Metallica and Robert Valley
A tribute to Motörhead's Lemmy
I feel bad for sharing, I can't stop laughing at this video. The two elderly men became accidental internet stars, struggling as they make their way the wrong way up an escalator




What do you think about one (or all) of these videos? As always, comments are welcome!


Favorite viral videos of 2016 (part 1 of 3)




Marty McFly & Doc Brown Visit Jimmy Kimmel Live
From late 2015. A must watch if you love Back To The Future trilogy





Guy dresses up as dog's favorite toy
Such a crazy and cute idea. All that love is kind of dangerous too.






Little Interviews - Rory McIlroy
Cheeky interviewer puts the golfer on the spot






Steve Davis retires and reflects
A great career in snooker. Never seen him so candid and emotional before






Robin Haase loses point for hindrance in hilarious fashion
Is grunting annoying or fun?






Donald Trump Lets Jimmy Fallon Mess Up His Hair
Because you want to know if it's real hair





What do you think about one (or all) of these videos? As always, comments are welcome!

Guilty pleasure songs of 2016




Every year-end list needs its pop trash. What exactly is a guilty pleasure? According to the dictionary it's "something one enjoys despite feeling that it is not generally held in high regard." Below are mine:



Try Everything by Shakira (Zootopia soundtrack)







So Much It Hurts by Niki and the Dove







Fever by Carly Rae Jepsen
The One by Carly Rae Jepsen






Lost Boys by Still Corners
Downtown by Still Corners






First Crush by Empire Of The Sun







Still Falling For You by Ellie Goulding ( Bridget Jones's Baby Soundtrack)








Body Talk by Foxes




Have you listened to these artists? Do you have any guilty pleasure music, older or new?

Top 10 album disappointments of 2016


I realize November is jumping the gun for a year-end list, but now that I've listened to Metallica's new album on their site, which was ok, there basically isn't anything else in music I'm personally anticipating for the rest of 2016. I can always update this post, if there is a surprise release.
Below I'm only counting albums I actually listened to from start to finish. Included are albums that either were hyped, or I was familiar with the artists previous work. In no particular order:




Atrocity Exhibition by Danny Brown 
I don't understand the love for this album. Granted some of his writing is brilliant(“Bought a nightmare, sold a dream”, ”Don't know opposite of sin”, ”Bought hope, can't get change”, “Thought process so immature, can't make it up, up out the sewer” , “Sin is such a work of art”)
Although I find it tiresome so many of the songs concern themselves with hip hop clichés: drugs, fame, hookers and sex.
There are beats which I liked, for example on Hell For It. Unfortunately Danny Brown's whiny vocals ruin it for me.
The words are spoken at such a frantic pace, making it difficult to keep up, unless the lyric sheet is in front of me. Ain’t It Funny and Golddust are examples from the album which are incomprehensible. Is he just showing off that his delivery is super fast? I guess I learned speed rap is not my thing.







Remember Us to Life by Regina Spektor 
The singles "Bleeding Heart", "Small Bill$" & "Older and Taller" have some enjoyable melodies.
The non-singles didn't hold my attention, I found my mind constantly wandering due to boredom. I prefer her earlier work.









The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey 
I respect her for shining a light on pressing issues rather than just singing about herself. Unfortunately the album itself I didn't want to listen to more than a couple of times. I didn't have an emotional connection. In fact I was a little bored and wouldn't go back to except the opening track The Community of Hope. Not yet listened to PJ Harvey's other work, I imagine there are far better albums in her discography.







Love You to Death by Tegan and Sara
For fans of radio-friendly electropop, just wasn’t for me. The single "Boyfriend" is moderately good, but most of the songs sound the same and the autotune strips away personality and emotion from their vocals. "100x" tries a different approach using piano instead of synths. "BWU" has a beautiful intro and reminded me of the synthwave band College. "Stop Desire" starts well in its opening 60 seconds, even though I find the song too repetitive. I didn't love their last album Heartthrob either, although "Closer" was pretty catchy.







Stranger to Stranger by Paul Simon
I love Paul Simon's music and he has reached great heights both with Garfunkel and as a solo artist. To me, his latest is just very average and the songs sound like B-side leftovers. If he still enjoys making music then he should keep doing it, although I would prefer concerts of his old hits. Cool Papa Bell is the only new song I kinda liked. The enthusiastic reviews in the press are baffling. I'll stick to the classic stuff.








The Bride by Bat for Lashes 
A couple of good singles, In God's House and Sunday Love. The rest of the album had a minimalistic approach which failed to captivate me. I was bored and it left me emotionally cold.







Let It Be You by Joan as Police Woman / Benjamin Lazar 
I'm a fan of Joan and I admire her willingness to change sound and collaborators, but I don't particularly like the direction she took with this record.
Admittedly the first half has a few ok moments (Broke Me In Two, Magic Lamp). However these are hardly as good as her previous material.
I didn't like the production choices quite a lot of the time, lacking beauty, cheap-sounding, as if homemade.







Two Vines by Empire of the Sun
First Crush is pretty good, but the album is weak. A step backwards compared to the vibrant Ice on the Dune (2013)




Oh No by Jessy Lanza
I really liked the hyped single It Means I Love You. Sadly I couldn't find any other tracks I responded to. With all the autotuning and effects, the music became too impersonal. The second single VV Violence sounds like a Grimes impersonation.







The Getaway by Red Hot Chili Peppers
It's listenable, but I didn't expect the album to be bland and forgettable. Only highlights for me are Encore and The Longest Wave, which at least are a little memorable. I hope they return to rock. They can do better.




Other 2016 albums that had one song I liked but otherwise underwhelmed me:
Adore Life by Savages
Everybody's Heart Is Broken Now by Niki & the Dove
Not to Disappear by Daughter
Malibu by Anderson .Paak
X-Communicate by Kristin Kontrol
A Sailor's Guide to Earth by Sturgill Simpson
The Lexicon of Love II by ABC






This is just an opinion and I'm sure there will be people who disagree with me. I welcome a defence of an album in the comments. I'm also curious which album(s) disappointed YOU this year? In my next post, I promise to be more positive!

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