I thought I’d wrap up this first week of the new year by looking ahead to some of my plans for the blog in 2023.
Today’s SOTD has no relevance beyond its title, but it’s pretty decent considering I happened upon it by randomly searching “coming attractions” in Amazon Music. Nodaway is a band fronted by Nashville-based artist Chris Jobe and this track comes from their 2015 EP 500 Days of Whatever.
So what can you expect on Meet Me in Montauk in 2023, beyond 365 new Songs of the Day?
– Occasional looks at the Billboard Hot 100 in ‘What the Kids are Listening To‘
– The next installments of the ‘Decades‘ series, starting with 2004, then looping back around to 1975, 1985, 1995, and 2005 (though I doubt I’ll get to all of those this year)
– More artist deep dives. I really enjoyed doing album-by-album explorations of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Madonna and Bob Marley over the past couple of years. I came to know and appreciate the work of each of those artists so much better. I have a laundry list of performers I’m considering for this treatment, including The Supremes, The Kinks, Linda Ronstadt, and Cat Stevens.
– A look at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame classes of 2013, 2012 and each preceding year until I hit the inaugural class of 1986 (that will take awhile!)
– Track-by-track appreciations of any notable new albums (including Lana Del Rey, for sure, and Rihanna if we’re lucky)
– A feature I’ve been kicking around called ‘Deafspots,’ wherein I feature highlights from the careers of notable artists with whom I have zero familiarity
– Various lists as they come to me (I’ve been contemplating a ‘Best Debut Albums’ list as well as my official ‘Favorite 25 Albums’)
That’s what I have in the works on the music front, but fans of the blog know I’m just as interested in cinema. And I have a lot of plans to write about movies this year, including:
– My top ten movies of 2022
– My personal picks and predictions in the top Oscar categories
– Director deep dives like the ones I’ve done for Wes Anderson and Paul Thomas Anderson. I’m planning to cover the filmographies of Nicole Holofcener and Steven Spielberg, for starters, as well as the Japanese directors Yasujirō Ozu, Akira Kurosawa, and Hayao Miyazaki.
– A very superficial look at Indian cinema, into which I’ve recently dipped my toe
– An exploration of a genre I’ve long avoided but recently embraced: horror. Since last October, I’ve been on a mission to watch as many classic and contemporary horror films as I can so I can fully appreciate the genre.
There you have it. I think I have more than enough on the runway to make for another interesting and entertaining year of blogging. I look forward to hearing my readers’ thoughts on all of the above, both in the comments below and throughout the year.
I don’t believe in ghosts
But I feel the most sipping spirits
The spirits of my past
Emptying up my glass
You can hear them
Why do you walk that way, girl?
Why do you talk that way?
Make an entrance
Hell, this life’s a stage
Tickets to your play, a play for the middays
Act one was no fun
But act two took us to the bedroom
You said, “Sex saves lives”
You said it with your eyes
And then I asked you
“Why do you walk that way, girl?
Why do you talk that way?”
Make an entrance
Hell, this life’s a stage
Tickets to your play, a play for the middays
(Yo)
[Chorus]
I put you in the lights
Coming Attraction
Every weekend night
Coming Attraction
[Refrain]
What do you what from me girl?
“What do you want from me boy?” she said
Hanging on my arm
Like it’s a new attraction
What do you want from me girl?
“What do you want from me boy?” she said
Now is not the time
Set fixed on the islands of my eyes
[Verse]
I don’t believe in ghosts
But I feel the most sipping spirits
Spirits of my pasts
Emptying up my glass
You can hear them
Why do you walk that way, girl?
Why do you talk that way?
Make an entrance
Hell this life’s a stage
Tickets to your play, a play for the middays
Act one was no fun
But act two took us to the bedroom
You said, “Sex saves lives”
You said it with your eyes
Then I asked you
“Why do you walk that way, girl?
Why do you talk that way?”
Make an entrance
Hell, this life’s a stage
Tickets to your play, a play for the middays
(Yo)
[Hook]
I put you in the lights
Coming Attraction
Every weekend night
Coming Attraction
[Refrain]
What do you what from me girl?
“What do you want from me boy?” she said
Hanging on my arm, like it’s a new attraction
What do you want from me girl?
“What do you want from me boy?” she said
Now is not the time
Set fixed on the islands of my eyes
[Verse]
I don’t believe in ghosts
But I feel the most sipping spirits
The spirits of my pasts
Emptying up my glass
You can hear them
Why do you walk that way, girl?
Why do you talk that way?
Make an entrance
Hell, this life’s a stage
Tickets to your play, a play for the the middays
[Hook]
I put you in the lights
Coming Attraction
Every weekend night
Coming Attraction
[Refrain]
What do you what from me girl?
“What do you want from me boy?” she said
Hanging on my arm, like it’s a new attraction
What do you want from me girl?
“What do you want from me boy?” she said
Now is not the time
Set fixed on the islands of my eyes
Meet Me In Montauk 
It’s really impressive how your blog has evolved over the years from its humble beginnings. It reminds me of MTV, which started in the early 80s as exclusively playing music videos, and then adding so many different types of content (concerts, reality shows, etc) to the point where they stopped playing music videos entirely. Heck, I now see MTV producing Yellowstone and the related Taylor Sheridan projects on entirely different networks!
Anyway, I look forward to all that is to come this year (well, maybe not the foreign films/directors and horror movies…😉)
I admire that you’ve created a space to not only celebrate the art forms you already love but to discover and examine those with which you have less familiarity. Even when that means your readers might be less receptive or ready to debate you (though I’m guessing you’re all for the debate 😜).
Curious how you select the musicians and filmmakers for the deep dive series and would suggest we all put on our thinking caps to rechristen “deaf spots” with a new, more inclusive, name. Otherwise, I, too, am excited to learn more about music, movies, and the blogger in the year ahead. (I absolutely did not foresee a later in life embrace of the horror genre, that’s for sure! 😳)
Part of the deep dive consideration is the amount of output. I like to dig into artists who’ve released somewhere between 15-25 albums so there’s plenty of material to mine but not anything too overwhelming. I also pick artists whose work I’ve admired in bits and pieces but whose cultural impact I’ve never explored in any depth.
In the case of Holofcener, I’ve always wanted to catch up on her movies but somehow have managed to not see a single one. This will make sure that happens. Spielberg has been on such a roll lately that it feels like a good time to give him some focus, and it will give me an excuse to watch the handful of his films I’ve missed.
I, for one, am very excited for the Nicole Holofcener deep dive and to learn more about these far less familiar to me Japanese directors who have such a deep influence on the filmmakers I do know and love.
I eagerly await next year’s blog. I certainly have learned much about music I don’t really like or listen to as well as music I love. Since I am more into film I always enjoy reading your movie critiques and ratings. I also enjoy the comments the blogs generate! Here’s a toast 🥂 to you and meetmeinmontauk ❤️
What a line up!!
Excited for all the segments, especially the deep dives. I particularly gained such a better knowledge of Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell from you and the blog – so I always look forward to finding new rabbit holes to go down.