Thank you to every reader, Patreon, and contributing columnist. I look at what has happened this last month and I am completely blown away!
Any and all goals my team and I set were crushed! In a time where it is more difficult than ever for columnists and audiences to connect in the AI driven algo, you found us and like us…and we like you exactly the way you are!
Crushed!
On April 1st we celebrated a 35% increase in new visitors and a 48% increase in unique page views. Our March goal of 2500 articles read by people like you was met. This last month we set an aggressive goal of 5,000 articles read by people like you which is an important metric to prove viability in article driven sites like this.
We ended April with a 99% increase in unique readers and a 380% increase in articles read. As far as that goal of 5,000 reads? You, our readers, more than doubled that with over 12,000 reads!
Sunday With Casey Kasem
Every Sunday from 1970 to 1988 Casey Kasem filled the radio airwaves across America to give us the top 40 hits in music for the week. But along the way he also gave us some new music to listen to, and some “oldies” along with heartwarming stories from the listeners.
Kasey Casem was a radio DJ who also was the voice of Shaggy in Scooby Doo and Dick Greyson (Robin) in Superfriends. He was the voice of a generation spinning the songs we all wanted to hear or could not stand anymore.
But the countdown, the stories from and about listeners, and what he said about the artists and the song was always positive and kind. They say Sunday is the most segregated and divided day in America due to churches, but Casey Kasem and the American Top 40 radio show united us through music and kindness.
Every Sunday we are going to deliver that to the audience with a brief recap of the top 3 hits of the week on the site, some beautiful comments from the viewers, and a special introduction to new articles you might not have checked out yet and brushing the dust off an oldie that we wrote along with a staff pick.
As we swiftly gain new audience members in, it is an important service. And if I am being honest, seeing what is trending on my favorite steaming services and staff recommendations at book stores and record stores helps me discover new material. Also, I really enjoy knowing what others are saying about things in a community I am a part of.
For now I am going to give you the top ten for the month of April because it is fascinating and fun. This is what thousands of you read and shared in this breakout month.
Number 10
This article spoke to the power that is Madonna being unapologetically herself in the face of undue criticism. Then we had an interview with a woman we wrote about in a Fem Friday article.
But Heather took control of the interview and turned the tables on me.
You celebrated Madonna as a self proclaimed unapologetic bitch and Heather for not letting an interview define or dictate her.
Here are just readers who helped make this the #10 for April!
Rhonda:
“As the “fangirl “ here, I love this table-flipped interview! Hearts and hugs to Heather’s dad and Heather!”
Caryn:
“Amazing article! Reading these words – the vulnerability and insight – was like watching two race horses neck-and-neck at full gallop! I could feel my mind enthralled and amazed.
What do you think?
Number 9
In this ode to Patti Smith we put the emphasis on self definition. Everyone wants to define Patti Smith and Smith denies almost every definition. The only definition to Patti that matters to Patti is how Patti defines self. That could be the story for all the journalists and the fans, but we keep trying to define others as opposed to listening to them.
From there, in true Fem Friday fashion, we went on to speak about a woman I knew in the 80’s. Her name was Jenny. She was a redheaded aspiring model who was also deaf. I wrote about Jenny in response to a friend asking more to be more inclusive in my writing to persons of disability. She had told me it is an area not covered very much in media. I could not ignore this request.
In reading articles from abled people about people with a disability, most of it was cringeworthy. It is either trauma porn or they are rescue pups in need of our sympathy.
But Jenny was funny, flirtatious, passionate, loved music, and taught me how to feel music differently. When we do not read these stories and get to know these people, we lose the opportunity to discover beauty. To define Jenny as a sympathetic deaf girl we lose out on the wonder.
I fought like hell for this article to get read. On social media I was an unrelenting pest about this article for days. But it was worth it because she is someone that was special to me and it matters. ASL is the 3rd most spoken language in the US. We need to listen with our eyes if we can see and feel the vibrations of the music of life.
Number 8
Music and Social Columnist Jeremy Ritch wrote a masterpiece. It was not merely about the influence and pain and impact of Kurt Cobain on a generation and the impact of his life, it was so much more.
It was about addiction and Jeremy’s road into it and his struggles living life as an addict. He came out the other side from a darkness many never escape from.
For a short time this rose to our number one all time slot. If I am being honest, even though this is not something that I wrote, it may be something I am most proud of for having had the honor to publish it.
This article was one of the most honest, transparent, painful, horrific, and beautiful things I have ever read.
I hope you give it a read if you have not.
You will likely feel the same.
Number 7
Hitting the number 7 spot is another Jeremy Ritch article and the one that created controversy here.
On the surface it is a review of the latest albums by Taylor Swift and Beyonce!
But because it was written by Jeremy it is so much more.
It is about gatekeepers of joy and people infused with keyboard courage to attack others for the simple act of enjoying something.
For various reasons there were some who did not like this article that celebrated powerful women. They tried to take down the site and remove us from social media.
Some still are.
And that is sad.
But the article is wonderful.
Number 6
This one needs to speak for itself. It is art, a great movie quote, and uses pictures of readers like you. Enjoy it as many others have.
Number 5
Number 5 was a surprise sleeper hit that came out of nowhere.
Originally released in early March to respectable numbers, this one found a new life towards the end of April and would not relent. With no recent marketing, links, or mentions, it just became a hit and found an audience seemingly out of nowhere.
This is Jeremy Ritch defending the simple need to have joy without gatekeepers judging us and trying to prohibit us from just seeking a few moments of beauty and joy in art on our terms.
This is a problem that exists in social media and real life.
Jeremy digs into this in a manner that no one else but Jeremy could.
Discover it, reflect, and change if needed. I had to re evaluate how I treat some people after reading this one. I needed that.
Number 4
This was another sleeper hit. It published at the beginning of April to not a lot of fanfare. Though it was a passion piece by me about one of my favorite topics, watches, it did not have an initial hit run.
It was about my first Swatch Watch in the 80’s and how the amazing story into how Swatches came to exist and how they saved the Swiss Watch makers from the brink of literal extinction to an industry that thrives today.
But in the background it just kept getting reads and attention and found a quiet audience.
Like the number 5 I had honestly all but forgotten about it and did not give it any more attention assuming it was not connecting. I moved on, the readers did not.
There was one other unexpected treat. I had mentioned that I had lost that watch to the hands of time and a reader found one from 1984 still in the original packaging and sent it to me as a thank you gift.
That is a very special watch in my collection knowing that it came from one of you.
Number 3
The number 3 slot was written in March, but like the number 4 and 5, just kept on going. In the case of this one, I was aware it was growing an audience.
The Walkman changed how we engage with music and paved the way for wearable devices. If you were Gen X, you had one and you changed the world without knowing you were part of it.
In this article we also discussed how the Walkman came to be. It has an underwhelming response from engineers as it was a wholly unremarkable device that lacked features the world was conventionally used to.
Sony did not expect it to do as well as it did. No one predicted it would change the world.
The inventor just wanted something small that he could use to listen to him music while on planes and trains.
Turns out he was not the only one.
Number 2
This is a bittersweet journey about a book I read when I was 13 about a 13 year old in 1928 who had a magical Summer with friends.
In the book, the boy discovers that an old man in a rocking chair telling stories can be a time machine if you sit and listen to the stories.
It inspired me to spend my teen, young adult, and middle aged years listening to the stories of the living time machine.
As someone who is Gen X, I am now a time machine and my articles are sometimes my rocking chair to whisk you to another time and another place in a rock and roll infused fable.
This piece is also a sweet analogy of some of the core values that defines Gen X Watch.
So feel free to discover Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine, time travel, and the beauty of shared stories that can either be preserved or lost in time.
May you preserve and travel well.
Number 1
There is nothing I can say about this article that I did not say in the article. It is one step shy of being viral and has more than double the hits of the #2 article. I wanted Mister Rogers to visit us one more time. For the younger generations that read it, I wanted them to feel the power of love as only Fred Rogers could. It got more reads in April than the total number of visitors to the entire site in March. And it is still being read and enjoyed. As I write this, there are 21 people reading the article live.
Let’s Have Some Adventures in May!
I hope we see some more articles by Jeremy and Tawn this month! There will be an interview coming soon that I think you will like. And May is the month of the first Gen X Watch Podcast!
You keep reading and we will keep writing. Thank you!
We Need Your Help!
There are four ways you can do this:
1. Share this story with a friend and leave a comment.
2. Tip me! I need your support!
3. Become a Members Only Patreon! In the Patreon I will have unfiltered rants, exclusive content, free PDF copies of the upcoming quarterly magazine, and more.
4. Go to our store and buy the print magazine! It is art, news, and nostalgia that matters!
Thank you for your support and taking the time to read this.
Stay Totally Awesome! Stay true to you.
Leave a Reply