#Anti-Social Media
My heart isn’t in the game. The appetite for promoting my own endeavors is waning. When I scroll my feed I hear what sounds like noise. My noise included. That’s the only way to describe it. There’s this mass uprising going on in our country and we’re talking about our new song? I’m not being hypocritical. I’m the queen of self-promotion. Even plowed through the release of an album during the onset of a pandemic. But after the events of Jan 6 I am jelly. I almost forgot there was a pandemic. 🥺
Haven’t picked up my guitar or sat on a piano bench in weeks. Music is in the back seat. Except…for some reason in the middle of a night last week a random melody ran through my head. I couldn’t place it. I thought surely it was Todd Rundgren. I let myself fall back to sleep only to realize in a dream it was George Harrison’s “Love Comes To Everyone.” It’s been an earworm ever since — demanding my attention — like a boogie I can’t get off my finger. So this morning, in order to acknowledge it fully (and perhaps change the station in my head) I stood under my kitchen Sonos speakers and blasted it while I closed my eyes and swayed back and forth to the joy of this song. It’s still in my head. But I digress. Where was I? Oh, yes…
With all the conflicting truths Facebook has sowed I’ve considered bidding it farewell. The problem is a lot of my family and friends are not Instagram-friendly. So I’m hanging in with hope that they’ll implement some guard rails moving forward.
I’ve implemented some personal guard rails as well. Like…first thing every morning before checking my email, or any texts I might have missed from the night before (as I’m usually in bed by 9 these days) I grab a coffee and sit in my yard and just be. In fact before I take a sip I hold the mug to my nose and breath it in so as to “pre-extend” the experience. This behavior is in line with the theme of the Disney/Pixar flick Soul (a must-see) — life isn’t just about our purpose or our calling, but the more subtle beauty going on around us. Even the mundane.
Shares about anything on social media other than letting off steam regarding what transpired at the Capitol seem irrelevant and tone def. A humble brag? A blatant brag? I don’t care. Is it just me? Maybe it’s just me. I know, I know — music can be a cure-all. In fact in the words of Fran Lebowitz from her hilarious Netflix series Pretend it’s a City (another must-see) music is one of the only things that gives us pleasure AND isn’t bad for us (unlike chocolate, dysfunctional relationships, or alcohol). But I just can’t go there right now. Instead, I’ve been furiously re-organizing and purging — making soup, rearranging my spice rack, deep cleaning my food processor, getting lost in novels, (Writers and Lovers, Rules of Civility — thank you for the recs, Lindy Robbins) and as you can tell, enjoying all the fabulous content on TV. Anything to distract me.
Meditation playlists have taken over. But Pop Music? Meh. Except…that Bee Gees Doc (more content!) totally enthralled me as did Barry Gibbs’ awesome new duets album (kudos to my friend Jay Landers for Executive Producing). Dolly’s senior warble on “Words” takes on new meaning and poignancy after all these years. But I digress…AGAIN!
What else…I’m finding hashtags superficial and try-hard. Do we really need to use them to attract more engagement outside our following? Ugh. It’s so pathetic.
Who invented them? And why? Now if we don’t use them we’re worse for the wear. Like those padded work-out bras I swore I’d never buy. I gave up. You can’t even find a workout bra without them.
To add insult to injury to the recent events fuzzing up my raison d'etre, my wifey Suzan Koc (one of my best friends and emotional support humans) packed up all her sh*t and left the country because she couldn’t take the hate anymore. She bought this gear so we could hug good-bye.
So yeah. It’s been sucky. And still I’m all too aware that I’m one of the lucky ones. It’s not about me though. I can handle me. It’s the nurses, the hospitals, the teachers, the students, the servers, the restaurants, the small businesses, my tour-less musician pals. I’m thrilled and relieved about the changing of the guard but we’re still at a pretty low low right now with each other. If not an actual civil war, most certainly a spiritual one.
I powered through Covid protocol (thus far) able to pivot as we say…and stay productive, give back, even find some solace in thinning my activities, outings and circles. This past year however, has made me re-assess how I want to move forward in my life and with whom I want to do it.
That said this morning, while unloading the dishwasher KCRW played “Bad To the Bone” and I noticed a shift in my mood and a pep in my pace. That dishwasher was emptied in less than 2 minutes. This was a good sign. The song must have gotten me off my ass because here I am in my office tapping away to tell you all about it (but not before I burned some sage around my desk.)
Just like a song, a blog defines a moment in time. Soon enough I’ll be scrolling like the old days and caring more about what’s happening in my business…and yours. I’ll find my footing on Facebook — even re-embrace hashtags.
Sometimes going off the grid even temporarily is healthy — a necessary reset. A cleanse. Don’t you think?
I watched Fareed Zakaria GPS on Sunday (I’m so sick of the usual talking heads) and he suggested that instead of fearing that other countries will continue pitying America — and questioning the integrity of a Democracy — it’s likely that when we survive and we’re stronger for it we’ll have proof that a Democracy can take a hit and keep on ticking. They say you have to hit bottom before you can get back up. I think we’ve hit bottom as it applies to my lifetime. But America is Bad to the Bone. We are a resilient bunch. Thanks #GeorgeThorogood and #GeorgeHarrison for the music. I’m ready for the rise. # !!!
This song is still in my head. Listen to it. It will make you happy. (Clapton cut it too!)
Thanks for reading, my friends. Have a listen to my new album, 2.0 etc... If you'd like to receive my blog via email, please click here. Follow me on Twitter and Insta. Visit my Serial Songwriter Facebook Page. Read my musings on creativity on the Yamaha Music Blog. Stay Safe! WAIT FOR IT!