News

Exactly one year ago today, The Second Disc uploaded its first post, an assessment of the best reissues of the prior year. It was taken from my personal Facebook page, which I’d been posting thoughts on music and pop culture here and there for some time. I was a college graduate working in a part-time job I was not particularly fond of, in dire need of something to fill time. After some deliberating over what a blog about reissues and box sets – my favorite kind of music – should be called (rejected titles included “Catalogic” and “Reissue Theory”), The Second Disc was born. After a few confident e-mails to some friends who wrote, the site started growing. And growing. And growing.

One year later, some stuff has changed. The Second Disc still looks kind of plain (workin’ on it) and it’s still full of (I hope) great news and features on catalogue titles. Labels have noticed from time to time, and we’ve gotten to talk to some great people in the industry we try to diligently cover. We’ve added a great, dedicated writer in Joe Marchese, and we’ve gotten hits from all across the globe. Nearly 300,000 people have laid eyes on some part of The Second Disc in a year. If you told me that would happen a year ago, I probably would have cried from happiness. If you’re reading this now, I want you to know how happy that makes me. Ideally, some day you’ll be playing reissues or box sets that we’ve actually worked on – wouldn’t that be something? – but right now I’m just glad for everyone reading.

After the jump, Joe and I deliver some personal thanks to some friends of The Second Disc.

If you’ll permit me, I want to personally thank some people for their support over the year. First, my first two supporters out there, Matt Rowe from MusicTAP and Gerry Galipault of Pause & Play. Reading your posts and your tweets made me realize how much I wanted to be part of the reissue/box set/catalogue conversation, and it’s fair to say The Second Disc would be nothing without you two. Jeff Giles and everyone at Popdose have also been great fun; allowing me to post over there is a huge honor.

Everyone who’s ever provided the Internet with great catalogue-oriented news, particularly the folks at Vintage Vinyl News, Addicted to Vinyl and Slicing Up Eyeballs: you guys are great. I’m pleased to be friends with the one and only Popblerd, who’s got a great blog you should be checking out. Eric Luecking is another great supporter with a great blog, Record Racks, that’s worth your time. I want to thank everyone who makes a living producing, marketing and distributing catalogue music, everyone in the business who’s ever taken the time to talk to us about anything and everyone who’s ever read a page on our site.

Lastly, I want to thank some friends, particularly who’ve started writing in the past year. I’m not going to claim responsibility for their writing (ha), but I’m glad they’re chasing their goals through words and they deserve the recognition. So to Dee Scott and Jeff Seesselberg (if you know anyone who works in film, hire this guy), this particularly goes out to you. And no personal thanks would be complete without a note to Miss Disc, who has never stopped reading and listening, not only in the past year, but the five before that.

Now I turn it over to the last person I want to thank: Joe! Your writing has enhanced The Second Disc greatly, and hopefully some of the labels are paying attention to the ideas you’ve shared here.

Thanks to the fantastic record labels that keep great catalogue music alive; without Hip-o Select, Rhino Handmade, Legacy, Ace, Cherry Red, Collectors’ Choice Music, Concord, DRG, Bear Family, Intrada, Film Score Monthly, La-La Land and so many others, where would we be? Extra special thanks to Bruce Kimmel of Kritzerland and Steve Stanley of Now Sounds. Not only do Bruce and Steve both continue to produce reissues of the very highest caliber, they have been extremely supportive of The Second Disc and are true gentlemen. Both are generous with their time and expertise, and I couldn’t be more grateful to them.

On the personal side, I hope I can take a moment to recognize those who have been so encouraging of my efforts at The Second Disc. My family and friends, of course, head that list. To my one year old niece (and future reader) Ally, I promise that “record store,” “CD” and “LP” will be in your vocabulary! Among those friends, Randy Fairman has been unstinting in his willingness to lend a helping hand. To Regina Bunye and Gwen Hillier, thanks for always being so supportive of everything I write. And to Max O. Preeo, the guiding light behind the late, lamented Show Music magazine, and Matt Rowe of MusicTAP, thanks for being such good friends to The Second Disc over the past year.

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank Mike Duquette: founder, editor, colleague and friend. Mike, you have my gratitude for allowing me to be part of this wonderful ride. While a first birthday is indeed a milestone, I know that this is just the first of many we will be celebrating. Cheers, mate!