Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Ten Years. TEN YEARS! TEN! Ten. Ten Years. TEN YEARS MAN! Ten!

On September 3rd of this year, Burning Wood will be ten years old!

Hole E. Crap.

I looked back to the very first posts of 2008. Did you know that Ken D. was the very first person to leave a comment? Thanks Ken D.

Burning Wood started as a very different animal. I wanted this blog to reflect whatever I was thinking at the time, like a live conversation over the counter with the customers at my shop. I also wanted this place to be a go-to for music information, old and new, and for a long time, it was just that. I looked at some of the old "If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Release Day" posts and I was stunned at how much new music I listened to and reviewed. Now, I can only describe the feeling of NOT having to listen to every new band as relief, like getting a bad tooth pulled.

For the next month leading up to the anniversary, I am going to repost some of my favorite pieces and reboot some of my favorite mixes. And of course, when inspired, there will be new content.

I would also like to thank each and every one of you who has been there from day one and has never abandoned me, even in my unpleasantness. It was never personal. Thank you all for the respect you have given this place.

Lastly, as always at this time of year, I'll need to renew the site that houses all the music and mixes from the last ten years. There is no obligation to help out, but there is a Paypal donation button for those who feel like it.

Thanks for a great run. I"ll go another ten if you're still reading.

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats Sal! I almost forgot about the Tuesday new release posts. Loved 'em!

You're always the first place I go to every morning.

Randy

Tumblingdice70 said...

Congratulations and thank you Sal! Bonus points for the Grosse Pointe Blank reference!

Bryan

Anonymous said...

Hello all...no, please remain seated,

Congrats! 10 years is amazing, and a lot of hard work.

Regards,
RichD

Anonymous said...

well, you're the second place I go to every morning, but the other one starts with an "a", and you're a "b", so... looking forward to the old posts and mixes!

Shriner said...

10 years, huh. I wonder how far back it was when I came across your site. Feels like almost that long (or I'm just getting old...)

Keep on truckin'!

Troy said...

+1 on the Congratulations, and thanks for your efforts.

++1 on the Grosse Point Blank reference. Made me smile, which hasn't happened much today.

Unknown said...

Happy Anniversary, Sal!
Not been here quite from the start, but feel like I've gained a lifetime's knowledge and fun. Yes, fun! The reason I check in every day is because it's fun discovering new music, sharing opinions, anecdotes, pleasures and prejudices.
Looking forward to the next ten years.
Burn on!
Tinpot

mauijim said...

Congrats Sal. If you keep writing, Ill keep reading and sometimes posting a more than obvious comment.

Ken D said...

Commenter Number One here again. If you say so...I don't remember that.
Happy to have been here from the start. And still here with ears wide open.

Keep spinnin' the wax, and telling us what you think.

Eric said...

thank u sal

heartsofstone said...

Thanks for all of you hard work and insights. Looking forward to the next ten.

DaveF said...

Reading your blog is one of the highlights of my day...everyday. Thank you for everything you do and congratulations on an amazing ten years.

Zippy said...

Cheers to another ten, and another, and ....

daudder said...

congrats and always a great read, and listen.

dogbreath said...

Congrats, that's quite an achievement. Not too shabby at all. Count me in - I love this blog, it's got it all: music, great anecdotes, spleen-venting, knowledge, humour. Long may it all continue. Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Sal. BW is a pleasure.

OldRockr1 said...

Sal,

Thanks for the ten years. I may not always comment but I head over here pretty much every day to see what's new. New Release Tuesday’s...that one I miss.

Chris

M_Sharp said...

Congrats! You're at the top of my music blog list, a dubious distinction fer sher.

@whut said...

It seems longer, but then I realized I was following your writing indirectly via Eric Alterman's blog for several years prior to that!
Congrats!

p.s. I bet the Eric commenting above is The Alterman

Anonymous said...

Bravo, Sal! I still miss NYCD and am happy that it’s spirit lives on here.

Dave F

buzzbabyjesus said...

I distinctly remember being blown out by first hearing the newest version of "Strawberry Fields Forever", from "LOVE", on an early post, and thrilled further by downloading it.
I must have just come from the store, where I spent innumerable lunch hours during my time at AMNH, around the corner.

Congrats! TEN YEARS, MAN!

Matty Gee said...

Sal - Thanks for all of it. One of the best things on the World Wide Web.
Here's to another ten years...at the least.

Mr. Baez said...

Thank you, Sal for your wonderful gift that is Burning Wood. Here's to the next decade!

Anonymous said...

It's funny. I have, and have had, numerous music blogs bookmarked, and for quite a spell -- I don't remember the specifics -- I would visit BW only occasionally; it wasn't one of the bookmarked ones. I'd see it in the blogroll off to the side of the one blog I HAD to visit every day, and if the title of the post of that day caught my fancy, I'd check it out. Somehow, over doing that enough times, I got hooked and found myself checking BW way more than my bookmarked blogs. So, duh, I bookmarked it. And for a couple years now there are two music blogs I HAVE to visit daily. The other one's for the tunes, but this one's for the tunes and talk. I hope you continue doing your thing here, and congrats on doing it this long!
C in California

kevin m said...

10x around the sun! Well done Sal. There's not a week that goes by where I don't stop to be entertained and educated. And those rare times when the site was dark, I was always a bit sad...as if a bright light went out.

Here's hoping 10 more years is coming! Appreciate all that you've done to keep this site up and running w/ insightful and witty writing.

PS - I'm not a PayPal user but would be happy to make a small donation via check. LMK if you'd like to send something via snail mail.

Thanks again!

Chris Collins said...

My favorite blog is 10!! thanks for everything, Sal!

And I kinda miss those music reviews. Although I certainly wouldn't wanna do them. So I totally get it.

Thanks for being a guiding light on a lot of things music. this is invaluable.

Sal Nunziato said...

Thank you everyone! A few things about "If It's Tuesday..."

When I started the blog, I wasn't too far removed from my retail days. I had many of my label connections in touch, as well as a very full mailbox every week. So the "new music" came to me. As time went on, the connections dried up, the mail stopped coming and quite frankly, it was a real slog listening to so much music that did nothing for me. When my ex-biz partner wrote up his most recent Best Of The Year list for Huff/Po, his opening line was, "The best thing about no longer owning a record store is that I don't have to listen to new music anymore." I kind of feel the same way, however curmudgeonly that sounds. I have way more fun discovering older artists with deep catalogues that got by me, or simply listening to what I love.

steve simels said...

Mazel tov!

Jeff in Denton TX said...

I'm fairly certain I've been here since the beginning having migrated over from whatever incarnation of (Eric Alterman's) Altercation blog was going on at that time. Congrats, Sal!

A walk in the woods said...

Sal, congratulations on your blog - it kicks ass, and always has. You've enlightened a lot of us, and at a minimum have shared songs (BBJ too) that have made their way into my "permanant rotation" (to play off Aerosmith).

On a weird side note, I apparently joined Facebook exactly 10 years ago also - I got the notice the same time I saw this on your blog - so, some verisimilitude there.

Except - Facebook often sucks, but Burning Wood never sucks.

Power on for 10 more and then some!

rick said...

Congratulations on 10 years, Sal!

elroy said...

Hi Sal, I lurk a lot more than I post, but I greatly appreciate your site and posts - I have learned a lot and discovered some terrific music I wouldn't have found any other way.

Contribution to follow!

Alexi said...

Thanks Sal- your blog is inimitable and essential. To many more years!

kodak ghost said...

Excellent. You have led us all down some interesting paths! May it long continue.

Michael Giltz said...

Congrats, Sal! And Ken D! And everyone who keeps this community alive and kicking. (Is that the first Simple Minds callback on Burnwood?)

Christine said...

We're still reading, so keep going.

Anonymous said...

Congrats! Time flies when you're (we're) having fun! Looking fwd to the next 10!
-peacenik