It seems like it was just New Years Day 2019- and here in a blink of an eye January is over. I went into 2019 with some music listening goals. One was- since I am writing a lot about the events of 50 years ago- 1969- is to listen to as many albums released that year as I can. I had no number in mind at the start of the year but about a week in- I thought- I want to listen to as many albums as I can from that year- the good- the bad and the ugly. I want to hear the critically acclaimed albums- but I also want to listen to some that- were just popular. I have set a high goal- average one 1969 album a day -so by the end of the year that would be at least 365 albums. I am slightly ahead of pace- as January ends I have listened to 36 different albums from 1969.

Another ambitions project I started the other day is the 1001 Albums To Hear Before You Die list- from the book of that name. I went back to January 1st of this year- I have listened to 79 albums from that list in January. My goal is not to complete it by the end of the year but within two years. There are three editions of the book- I have the first edition- there have been add on’s and deletions in the newer editions- I want to listen to every album listed in each book so it will end up being more than 1001 albums in the end but that is fine- I love listening to music.

My third project is one I have been doing from time to time – pick artists and listen to all their studio album releases- this month I have completed The Beatles [ I tend to do The Beatles from start to finish a number of times each year} The Band, R.E.M, Creedence Clearwater Revival  and U2. I am nearing the end of The Kinks and XTC’s- a few more to go and those will be complete. There are a few others I am in the beginning stages of.

In the month of January my tally of albums listened to–218. An average of 7 albums a day.