Screaming Into the Void: the Soft Opening
Since I’m a thesis acceptance and less than a month away from officially being awarded a Master’s degree in music composition, I am struck with two feelings: first, a sense of relief that I’ve (temporarily) escaped what is a laughably uncaring and bureaucratic system of academia, and second, that overwhelming existential dread and worry about what my next steps will be. I plan to begin my doctorate in September 2023 come hell or high water, but I find myself with a year and change to fill before the acceptance letters (hopefully) start coming in.
Upon looking up many articles listing the “top X best jobs for autistic adults,” I see that journalism is one of the top options; freelance work outside of a dreadful office environment, flexible hours, and the opportunity to work from home (or another quiet area filled with cozy blankets). Therefore, I have decided put my gap year to good use and write some things about music, video games, and other media. With luck, I will write enough here to leverage into some real writing. I have always wanted to start a blog, and I have always wanted to be a music critic, so hopefully I will stick with this for quite some time.
So what can you expect here, on Screaming Into the Void? I can’t pretend that I will be able to stay with one topic for long, but I also won’t promise that I will refrain from posting multiple times on the same topic. I also don’t want to constrain myself in matters such as word count or total post length, so those may vary wildly as well. Basically, if you’re here, expect a wild ride.
What, exactly, will I post about? I play lots of video games and listen to a lot of music, so expect to read my Thoughts about those things often. I have been known to watch a film from time to time, and I recently posted some short ideas on how The Dark Knight (2008) perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the late aughts. I’m working my way through Elden Ring at the moment, and I’m sure I will have something to say about that game’s ideas about the nature of violence and power (hint: it’s just as radical as its Dark Souls cousins, if not more so). Future games include Deus Ex (2000) and its prequels, Metro: Exodus, CONTROL, System Shock 2, Dishonored 2 and Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, The Wandering Village, and Celeste. I also like to think about music a lot, and going to concerts is part of my job as a composer, so I imagine I will write some stuff reviewing local Vancouver performances. You can also expect some pontificating on the state of contemporary classical music in North America, and I might even rave about some of my favourite pieces here from time to time.
I’m going to try a weekly or biweekly posting schedule to keep things fresh and the SEO gods happy, so I suppose my next post will be somewhere on or around Friday, May 6th. I hope to see you then!