Let's get this party started!

In this particular instance, the word "party" can be roughly defined as: One 30-year old man sitting at home, shortly after 10pm on a Wednesday, trying to think of something witty to say to start off his new Blog.

...and that's all I came up with.

Anyhow, moving on, let me say a bit about what I'm going to try to do here. I'm hoping that this Blog will effectively serve as a record of the new music I've discovered on Rhapsody - as I discover it.

The benefit of this to you, the reader, will be that I can hopefuly give you the heads up on anything good I stumble across. And help you avoid any crap I step in. To this end, I've developed a star system to help me rate the albums I'm listening to.

Why red stars? Well, because, as the General, I'm a bit of a Commie and red stars bring me pleasure.

1 star
This rating is for any album that brings my little to no joy. More often than not, this won't be a bad album, just one that doesn't leave an impression. Often, it will be an album that I don't even bother finishing.

2 stars
Two stars basically means that this album might have merit, but it's just not my thing. A two star rating will most likely go to an album that has a review that goes something like this: "I can appreciate (insert random element of the album), but I just don't like it overall." If your tastes are like mine, it'll be worth avoiding; but if you think I'm annoying, it'll probably be your new favorite.

3 stars
A solid if unremarkable album. This will generally be an album that I'll enjoy, and even come back to for more listens... but it will never be my favorite. Still, worth a listen.

4 stars
Good stuff! This album brings me much joy! I require it to bring you joy too!

5 stars
A near perfect album. I'm going to try my darnedest to avoid giving this rating to every other album I listen to. And, since I seem to be increasingly picky about what I listen to these days, I don't see it being much of a problem. Still, I'll try to keep this to what I see being the Best of the Best™. To those of you who know me, be warned that I'll probably play this album enough to annoy you.

In addition to reviewing albums, I'll also be throwing my current favorites over into the "General Approval" section on the right. I'll try to keep this to whatever my Top 6 or so albums of the moment are.

Finally, I think it goes without saying that at no point am I claiming to be a music critic. I'm just the General. And you are my public. The General Public.

...that wasn't witty either.