BLOG | JUN. 11, 2025

Promo CDs and Reality

So here's a pile of CDs I'm supposed to be listening to right now instead of enjoying The Skids' Sweet Suburbia album. Some of these I actually bought (so I should be enjoying them I guess) and some were handed over by friends (yes, the Scott Hampton CD is good and "yes Scott, I actually have heard it more than three times!"). Obviously purchased and friend's CDs might take priority over the stuff that randomly gets sent to Tape Op Magazine for review. And the "promo" CDs you do see here are a TINY amount of the actual CDs sent to the mag at the Portland PO Box - I already hand-picked the ones I thought I might get to. But I never find enough time, and I never feel like I get to give a fair shake to what I do get around to listening to. I realized years ago that I better not let the pressure of "CD reviews" get to me, and that if I felt guilty while listening to Pink Floyd's Meddle for the 1000th time that there was something very wrong with my life. So the CDs pile up, the pressure is less than it used to be, the emails asking me to listen to stuff go unanswered, I'm sorry if you want me to listen to and review your hard work and are feeling slighted, and I'm still listening to The Skids.

Tape Op is a bi-monthly magazine devoted to the art of record making.

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