Following a year of decline in review production at Filmtracks in 2023, the coverage in 2024 has returned to 2021 and 2022 levels. Since these reviews are spread evenly throughout the year and include both new releases and fresh analysis of older scores, the difference may not be evident to readers. Reduced in the review backlog so far in 2024, though, are re-writes of existing reviews to account for new albums, in part due to challenges in acquiring albums that quickly go out of print.

The coverage goals for 2023 are 40 reviews of all-new scores, 15 new reviews of older scores, and 35 revisions to existing reviews to account for new albums. Those targets represented a 10% overall decline from the previous year to account for a continuation of 2023's reduced level of production. In the first half of 2024, however, a surprising 55 all-new reviews and 16 re-writes were completed, with 28 of the new reviews representing older scores based on reader demand.

While the number of re-writes to add new albums to the reviews is behind schedule, the quantity of all-new reviews has been much stronger than anticipated, especially with the new reviews of older scores. The pace of publishing for this influx of coverage may need to increase, as 17 of them await debut on the site as of this update. Only 7 re-writes are ready in the queue at the same time, with about a dozen scheduled to still be written based on recent album releases. A handful of re-writes addressing 2023 releases remain unpublished because of perpetual problems with product availability from La-La Land Records.

The steady writing about older scores has allowed a surplus stockpile of coverage for the On Cue section of the home page that could run for four months. The resumption in late 2023 and 2024 of writing all-new reviews of older scores has been the most satisfying development. The third overall phase of that work started earlier this summer and will concentrate on filling out the discographies of the major composers from the early 1970s onward. Additional reviews of singular, popular scores from the bronze and digital eras will continue as well, though.

While Filmtracks is poised to blast through its coverage goals in 2024, the year has not been without challenges. Longtime readers know that I battle degenerative blindness, and after more than a decade of stable (but still poor) eyesight, I began losing more vision in April, requiring multiple surgeries. While the situation is precariously stable again at the moment, there are indications of more problems to come in the one eye I currently use for reading and writing. When vision loss happens, it comes on very suddenly.

The influx of writing in May and June at Filmtracks was meant to build the surplus of coverage specifically for the possibility that writing will need to stop entirely for an extended time due to the eyesight issues. The eye surgeons here in Seattle are among the best in the world, though, and they are hopeful that even if I lose my current sighted capabilities, I will be able to adapt using my otherwise more useless eye that lost vision in 2009 and has yielded significant distortions since. Fingers remained crossed.

Otherwise, there are no major new features planned for Filmtracks in 2024, and the server situation is stable. Traffic to the reviews is strong, but it has declined at the Scoreboard this summer. My day job has been especially difficult this year, as two members of my team of five passed away unexpectedly in June at young ages. Family obligations continue to mount as well, and my forest restoration work has languished but remains a priority, as evidenced by the 100+ trees in my driveway that need planted in the upcoming autumn season.

I thank the readership once again for its support of Filmtracks, my eyesight issues, and the forest endeavors!