As far as writing goes, I did a lot of it in 2011. More of it than I might have ever thought possible. Enough of it to make me a little crazy at times. But not enough of it to make me feel like I never want to write again.
The other week, in a conversation with Matthew and B. Michael, I got kind of flustered trying to explain my frustration with not using Tumblr the “traditional” way. I want to publish these short and pithy posts, I said, but every time I set up a draft for one, it just feels wrong. I delete it and tell myself that it’s better to wait until I’m inspired to say something. But I also feel bad about it. I told them how I’ve been anticipating a grand exodus of followers for some time now, but that their number is steady — if not increasing. Nervous Acid has kept me humble in that regard: It turns out that despite the conventional Internet wisdom of the 24-hour news cycle, people will wait for you to think things through.
So while I may not post every hour — or every week, for that matter — your support in the past year has encouraged me to write and publish some really meaningful work on this site, and for that, I am grateful. To acknowledge it, I compiled a list of Nervous Acid’s Greatest Hits of 2011. These are, in chronological order, the ten short essays that I feel best represent (and map out) my year in thinking:
• “Take That (Or, Why I Am Not an Indie Rocker)” (January 3)
“The fact is that credibility has been institutionalized by scene ideologies and critical tropes. And because we don’t own it, we are unwillingly controlled by it. We consume, evaluate, and in many cases, simply dismiss media based on outdated historicism and meaningless signifiers of taste — and this is precisely why I am not an indie rocker. Much less an over-idealistic punk. Because, by my estimation, a group of 40-year-old men who, only twenty years ago, appeared in a music video naked while smearing jelly over themselves just made the album of the year.”
Reblogg’d not only because I’m mentioned, but also because this is some good writing!
