An introduction

This is my first blog and I'm still in the process of figuring out how to use Blogger, so please excuse me I never meant to break your heart if it looks amateurish. I'm not visually talented, so I can't make big promises regarding the layout, but it doesn't matter that much as long as the writing doesn't suck. Right?

Before I get started properly, I'll answer a bunch of basic questions you may or may not have in your head upon entering this page:

Who writes this blog?

I'm Ville (aka the Echo Tester), a 20-year-old guy from Finland who studies English language and literature at the University of Tampere. I'm also an amateur guitar and keyboard player and an avid music listener.

What is this blog about?

Echo Tester is dedicated to music: I'll post my thoughts on albums in my collection upon their anniversaries, but also new releases, discography runthroughs, my latest musical discoveries and the concerts I've attended. I'm an open-minded listener, but metal and progressive rock are my favorite kinds of music, so expect a heavy dose of those two genres.

Why did I start this blog?

I've planned on starting a blog for a while already: I want to share my love for music with the world, have something creative to do in my spare time and practice my writing skills, and this is a neat way to combine those three things. Music is my life - I buy dozens of albums and attend plenty of shows every year. I'm not a professional writer or journalist, and as Frank Zappa once said, "writing about music is like dancing about architeture", but if I manage to convince at least one reader to check out an album I've written about, I feel I've succeeded.

Where does the blog name come from?

My #1 favorite band in the world is Rush, whose 16th album is called Test for Echo. This is how drummer and lyricist Neil Peart explained the title in a tourbook:

"HALLO-O-o-o!
Is there anybody out there?

That's what the title is all about. Everybody needs an "echo," some affirmation, to know they're not alone. Sometimes that can be life's most precious discovery -- somebody out there who feels the way you do. You ask yourself "Am I crazy?", "Am I weird?", and you need some affirmation: the echo. While the answer to those questions may still be "Yes!," it's good to know that you're not the only one. You are not alone.."

I like this concept, because in a way it ties in to what I'm doing with this blog: although I'm writing this blog for the fun of it, I'm also sending my thoughts for all of you to read, hoping for an "echo" to show me there are others who like the same things and feel the same way as I do. There were various blogs with names similar to the album title already, but it was a blessing in disguise, as now I had to come up with a slightly different and more original name.

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy reading this blog as much as I do writing it! Here we go, vertigo...