Yesterday I looked back on my past year of blogging, so today is about the year to come. Here are some of my plans for 2024:

A blog is already an old-fashioned concept these days, and I try my best to embrace that. So I won’t seek to reinvent this clunky old wheel. Therefore, you can expect more of the same features that have gotten me this far:

– ‘What the Kids are Listening To,’ starting with a recap of the Hot 100 songs from 2023 that I haven’t yet featured

– ‘Decades,’ with 1995 and 2005 next up before I loop back around to 1976

– ‘Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class Recaps,’ with 2012 in my sights and the 2024 inductees due to be announced in May

– ‘Throwback Weekends,’ which I’ve come to love as a replacement for ‘Random Weekends’

– ‘Artist Deep Dives,’ culled from a growing list of now more than 18 options. To date, I’ve covered The Rolling Stones, Lana Del Rey, Bob Marley, Madonna, Jackson Browne, and Joni Mitchell.

– ‘Track-by-track Album Showcases,’ which might be tough this year because I don’t see many new albums on the 2024 lineup that have me excited. The one pending new release I’m eager to hear is Dua Lipa’s third studio album, so maybe I’ll give that one this treatment. I’m also toying with doing track-by-track rundowns of some classic albums.

– ‘Random Lists,’ including ‘Best Debut Albums’ and ‘My 25 Favorite Albums.’ I planned for both of these last year and never got to them. I’ll give it another shot in 2024.

As for new series, I hope to revisit the temporarily (and perhaps offensively) named ‘Deafspots‘ idea, which will find me dipping my toe into the work of renowned artists with whom I have zero familiarity.

That’s about it on the music side of things. Those who know me are aware that movies are my true passion, so I hope to spend even more time on 2024 writing about film. Those posts will include:

– My ‘Top Ten Movies of 2023.’ I already have a great lineup with a couple of dozen movies left to see.

– My ‘Personal Oscar Picks‘ in the five acting categories as well as Best Director.

– ‘Filmmaker Deep Dives,’ including the Steven Spielberg and Nicole Holofcener ones I promised last year.

– More ‘Horror Movie‘ discourse come next October. I just bought a fancy new book on the genre that I hope will steer me to some interesting and grisly new places.

– My ‘Ranking of Every Disney Animation Film‘, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through last year’s Wish. This 62-movie project is already underway and while I have no idea how long it will take to finish, I vow to make it happen before the end of 2024.

– I’d like to get to some ‘Classic Movie Blindspots,’ ideally around some unifying theme. Maybe Best Picture winners, or ‘AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies’ list.

All of that, along with some odds and ends and an occasional vacation week, should add up to another 366 posts (it’s a leap year!). I look forward to sharing, and to having all of you along for the ride.