Category: News

2025 Most-Played YouTube Videos

I started a YouTube Channel in mid-January of this year. I don’t get a ton of views but I’ll post links to my most-watched videos here. The first three links are the most viewed. I’ll follow those with the top-ten most-played songs.

My goal was never to attempt to get views and create a popular channel, but rather simply to catalog songs and post some about songwriting and music.

The Top Three

  1. New Martin Guitar Junior 000
  2. Gibson L-00 Parlor Review: It’s Not Quite What I’d Hoped For
  3. Comparing a Martin 000 Junior With a Gibson L-00, Which Sounds Better?

The Top-Ten Songs

  1. Charlie Kirk Was a Jerk
  2. Heartache as Big as Texas
  3. Sippin’ Whiskey
  4. If I Were God Good Dogs Would Live Forever
  5. Escondido
  6. King Musk
  7. Justice
  8. Voice of an Angel
  9. Out of My Heart and Into Your Hands
  10. Welcome to the Gulf of America

What’s Going to Happen in 2026?

I posted a total of 199 videos in 2025 and gained 93 subscribers. Again, getting subscribers was not the primary reason for starting the channel. Documenting my own songwriting journey was.

I officially retired from full-time work on December 1. Shortly after I stopped working in early November, I almost doubled my output on the channel. I could keep that up. But I’m not going to. Why?

Although I was tempted to try to start building the channel instead of simply using it for my own space, I’ve decided against that idea for now. In April, I’ll be moving back to Maine. I’ll be busy moving and doing some work on my condo up there. I want to do some traveling. I might go back to work part time. So, I’m not ready to commit to something more than what I’m currently doing on my channel.

That Could Change

I’ve always considered the idea of doing something more with the channel and/or starting a second channel. But I only want to do that if I’ve decided to seriously commit to the project(s).

That would mean that I’d get new and improved equipment, and that I’d create a space specifically as a YouTube studio. I’d study the art of YouTube production and become more deliberate in creating higher-quality work. I’d aim for better video and better audio. I’d learn how to edit. I’d have more scripted videos.

I’m not yet convinced I want to do all that. I need to wait and see what direction life takes after my move back to Maine. Also, a part of me likes the simple lo-fi authenticity of my channel as it is.

So, until mid-2026, I’ve decided to pare back a little and only post a few times per week rather than daily as I did through most of November and December.

Here’s to 2026! – dse

Reevaluating Everything: Goals for 2026

I already set my goals for 2026 a couple of months back. They are very simple and general. In fact, I’ve already met a few of them and it’s not even 2026 yet. Here’s a review:

10 things I hope to do before the end of next year.

  1. Give my website a simple remodel.
  2. Continue writing and recording songs and music.
  3. Write poetry and consider short story.
  4. Keep walking regularly and participate in other physical activities.
  5. Monitor my health and see experts on my blood condition.
  6. Read on a fairly regular basis.
  7. Consider a second piece of real estate in Kansas or Missouri.
  8. Retire from my current job and move back to Maine.
  9. Create a YouTube Studio in a different location and focus on a few strategies to promote the channel.
  10. Travel and work on becoming a better photographer.

So, #1 is done. #8 is part done. I’ll be taking a photography class starting in January, #10. Many of the other goals are things I simply do on an ongoing basis. See what I did there. I made it nearly impossible not to meet my goals.

There are a few things I want to reevaluate.

Let’s review #2, #7, #9, and add one big thing that I forgot to include.

#2. Continue writing and recording songs and music: Of course, I’m going to continue to do music. The question is at what level? Since I retired, I’ve sped up my output, both in writing and posting to my YouTube channel. I’ve even done some new Anderhill music. I’m not sure I’m going to continue to increase musical output going into 2026. Something is telling me to slow down a bit on the musical output and to focus on quality over quantity.

#7. Consider a second piece of real estate in Kansas or Missouri: This is simply a thought, an option. I often consider real estate in that region for the low cost, and to be close to my first daughter who was stillborn and buried in Joplin, Missouri. But I think in 2026 it will be more important to focus on my property in Maine.

#9. Create a YouTube Studio in a different location and focus on a few strategies to promote the channel: As with #2, I’m not going to stop. However, I’m also not going to put the YouTube channel at a high level of importance. In fact, I’ll be making an announcement on the channel before the end of the year that I will be slowing down output. And chances are fair that I’ll keep the channel simmering on the back burner until after I’ve resettled in Maine. Only then will I decide about the new studio space and the direction of content and promotion.

One important thing I left off the initial list.

I have a small condo in Maine. It’s livable but is also in need of some updates. So, upon my return, I need to start on the process of getting some things done. Here’s a list of things I’d like to consider completing over the next couple of years:

  1. Get electrical and plumbing inspected and repaired.
  2. Get the windows and exterior doors replaced.
  3. Do a partial kitchen remodel and get new appliances.
  4. Get a new shower/tub.
  5. Repaint the entire interior.
  6. Possibly install new flooring downstairs and resurface the stairs.
  7. Replace heating units with new and more efficient models.
  8. Turn the basement area into a YouTube studio instead of a storage area.
  9. Minimize furnishings and decor.

And a few of other things…

Other things I left off my original list because they are not certainties:

  1. Consider getting another dog.
  2. Working part-time either at Cabelas and/or adjunct teaching.
  3. Traveling to Canada, Scotland, and/or Iceland.

So, there you have it. A slightly more specific list of goals for 2026. Again, I do not like to set goals the way I used to. I used to aim too high and set unrealistic goals. I might have met 40% of them. Life is uncertain and keeping your goals loose is a much better option, especially things that are outside of your ability to control.

Don’t set goals you can’t control.

For instance, a few weeks ago, I noticed that my YouTube channel had about 83 subscribers and 180 posts. So, I posted a goal on Facebook. I said by the end of the year I’d have 200 posts and 100 subscribers.

At the rate I’ve been making videos, the 200 posts by the end of the year was very reachable. Still is. But I can’t control how many people subscribe to the channel. It’s gone from 83 to 92 but I don’t expect to reach 100 by December 31. I was setting myself up for failure by making my goals dependent on the actions of others.

This, in part, led me to reevaluate the importance of my YouTube channel. I’ve blogged and I have been caught up in the endless cycle of trying to grow an online presence in the past. I’m not going to let that cycle repeat when I retire. I cannot control the actions of others. I cannot force people to come to my channel. This is not The Field of Dreams.

I started the YouTube channel as a place to catalog songs and discuss things related to songwriting and music, and occasionally, life. I started the channel with no illusions of becoming popular or monetizing. And for now, that’s just how it will remain. And I think I’ll end the year with 199 posts just because I can. – dse

Little Trilogy

I wanted to complete one more Anderhill project before the year’s end. Over the last few days I’ve been working on a few tracks. A trilogy will have to do for now. Here’s Little Trilogy.

Now that I’m no longer working full time, I hope 2026 will allow me more time to work on ambient and drone music. I’ll also be moving back to Maine which offers a lot of great landscapes to meditate upon. My electronic work is often based on place.

This short EP, Little Trilogy, is reminiscent of work I did during the pandemic. It has dark and light drone and ambient compositions that may be a hint of more to come in 2026. – dse

Performing at Our Spot, Gallatin TN, December 3, 2025

I’ll be making a rare performance in a week! If you live in the area come on by and check out the show.

Since retiring from my day job, I’ve been doing a little bit of playing in the Nashville region. On December 3, 2025, I’ll do a one-hour set on the patio at Our Spot, 134 Broadway, Gallatin, TN.

I’m not making a huge push to do live performances, but my goal is to play once or twice a month in the region until I move back to Maine in the spring. I’ll post more dates and times soon.

If you live in the area, come on out and check out the show. – dse

So this Happened: I Retired!

My plan was to retire on June 1, 2026. But I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. Due to some unforeseen events, I’m officially retired on December 1, 2025. But I’m no longer working at VolState. It’s all going to work for the better.

Due to what was becoming a toxic environment for me at the workplace, I made an-almost impulse decision to retire earlier than I’d planned. I thought about it for about three days. It’s a bit scary, having to turn to social security and retirement funds to survive. Anyone who’s taken this step understands the concern of “what if I run out of money too soon?”

But let’s get something clear for the record. I retired from a full-time job because I could. That doesn’t mean I’m done working. And today it dawned on me that the timing for social security purposes is perfect. (So much for imperfection.)

If I’d have waited until June 1, 2026 to retire, I’d have made over $20,000 in 2026. As a 62 year old collecting social security, there is a limit for annual income. It’s $23,400. That means if I’d have retired on June 1, I wouldn’t have been able to make much money doing part-time work without getting social security held back.

So, what’s next on the agenda?

For now, I’m just settling into the new mode. I’ll likely move from Tennessee back to Maine next spring when my lease is up. But in the meantime I have some potential plans.

  1. Take on a couple of classes as an adjunct if I can. I’m already in touch with Southern Maine Community College, Nashville State Community College and Belmont University.
  2. Play some open mics and writer’s rounds around the region? Maybe. I have mixed feelings about that whole scene.
  3. Do a little regional traveling. I’ll probably wait on any international traveling until I’m settled into a permanent living situation again.
  4. Get some work done on the condo in Maine.
  5. Read, write songs, and write poetry.
  6. Exercise.
  7. Learn more about my camera, maybe even take a class.

That’s enough for now. – dse

My Current List of Musical Instruments

When it comes to musical instruments I’m not a minimalist. I try. But I do have less instruments than I did a few years ago. It also depends on what I include.

For this post, I’m going with stringed instruments. I have ten stringed instruments.

Recently, I did a trade. I traded a problematic Gibson L-00 acoustic guitar for a Martin. Check out the YouTube.

Here’s my current list of stringed instruments:

Acoustic Guitars

Electric Guitars

  • Fender 1962 American Telecaster Reissue
  • Epiphone ES-335

Other Stringed Instruments

Other Random Stuff

If you include other stuff, the list gets longer. I have a toy piano, a concertina, harmonicas, hand drums, shakers, a handful of electric guitar pedals and other musical paraphernalia. But who’s counting? – dse