I love your advice to spend more time with people and less time online. Tho I spend a lot of time with novels which is also good. I’m telling my story about my nieces again. They are on absolute opposite ends of the political spectrum which we know from watching their online presence and haven’t talked much the last five years. But my wonderful son convinced them both to come to his wedding and they danced and sang and laughed together all night. My brother, their dad, was in tears; he was so happy they were together. They both knew all the words to a Lizzo song that I don’t know. And that was the same week Lizzo played some founding fathers flute and everyone online was fighting about it. I like my Lizzo story better.
Dec 9, 2022·edited Dec 9, 2022Liked by Jeff Tweedy
So true about spending time on social media above the recommended daily allowance. It presents such a distorted image of life and can encourage humans to behave in a shitty way -- even people who are genuinely kind and nice. So just think what it's like for people who tend towards negativity or who don't have the best interests of others at heart.
It's a problem that predates social media, though. Back when I worked for a newspaper I observed how the news was gathered and presented. Television news has always been very good at getting the word out about breaking events. Newspapers (pre-internet) weren't able to compete at getting the word out quickly but had the advantage of time to gather information and present a more in-depth story that hopefully added nuance and understanding.
People who only consumed TV news had a distorted view of things like the relative safety of a city. "If it bleeds, it leads" was and remains a mainstay of TV news. And the format of the reports lasting only a few seconds or a minute makes it difficult to present anything in depth.
Same goes for rage-inducing tweets and clickbait headlines on stories shared on social media. That stuff is designed to rile us up and make it harder to disengage.
It just seems like humans are hard-wired to be attracted to crisis and conflict. Ugh. Here's to being mindful of that and taking steps to not get pulled into it all. Maybe then we can all get a good night's sleep.
Makes me think of something I just heard the other day about geographics (i.e., “She pulled a geographic”). This meaning she moved to get away from something or someone. Having done this many times in my life, I finally realized that I am most often what is at issue. My perception of the world around me is paramount to my serenity. I have to live with me wherever I go. Might as well try my damndest to be pleasant and share that with my surrounding people and places. And to do that, I need sleep. Two birds, one stone?? 😋
You are so correct about experiencing real human contact and communication instead of only how people communicate online. I find that I feel much worse about basically everything if I read too much online communication. Now I need to deal with my Internet addiction.
Nice. Air conditioner...another technological advance...instead of cooling off under an apple tree on a hot day with neighbors and a pitcher of lemonade, people stay inside and chill.
Spot on with your advice about social media. There is not a single soul I will ever persuade online, no matter how earnest or well researched my post or comment is. It's a contact sport out there. One exception? Starship Casual. Even the Facebook site Shot in the Arm can get rough, despite our mutual love for Wilco's music. But here, miraculously, a safe place has somehow been created, with a bearded Buddha as our Captain. What possibly could go wrong? 😊 Thank you, Captain.
I love your advice to spend more time with people and less time online. Tho I spend a lot of time with novels which is also good. I’m telling my story about my nieces again. They are on absolute opposite ends of the political spectrum which we know from watching their online presence and haven’t talked much the last five years. But my wonderful son convinced them both to come to his wedding and they danced and sang and laughed together all night. My brother, their dad, was in tears; he was so happy they were together. They both knew all the words to a Lizzo song that I don’t know. And that was the same week Lizzo played some founding fathers flute and everyone online was fighting about it. I like my Lizzo story better.
So true about spending time on social media above the recommended daily allowance. It presents such a distorted image of life and can encourage humans to behave in a shitty way -- even people who are genuinely kind and nice. So just think what it's like for people who tend towards negativity or who don't have the best interests of others at heart.
It's a problem that predates social media, though. Back when I worked for a newspaper I observed how the news was gathered and presented. Television news has always been very good at getting the word out about breaking events. Newspapers (pre-internet) weren't able to compete at getting the word out quickly but had the advantage of time to gather information and present a more in-depth story that hopefully added nuance and understanding.
People who only consumed TV news had a distorted view of things like the relative safety of a city. "If it bleeds, it leads" was and remains a mainstay of TV news. And the format of the reports lasting only a few seconds or a minute makes it difficult to present anything in depth.
Same goes for rage-inducing tweets and clickbait headlines on stories shared on social media. That stuff is designed to rile us up and make it harder to disengage.
It just seems like humans are hard-wired to be attracted to crisis and conflict. Ugh. Here's to being mindful of that and taking steps to not get pulled into it all. Maybe then we can all get a good night's sleep.
Spending time with people and spending time with people in nature...we need to I hate to say it ...”get back to the garden”.
Working with Deep Ecology and having recently done a Vision Quest ...the knowledge is out there in the woods.
We get to turn off that thinking part of our being and connect with all the other beings.
Not selling anything here but if anyone wants tips on Vision Quests and getting back to nature message me...
We need to understand the ancestors and the indigenous knowledge that has come before ...ceremony...etc
I love the ceremony we have all created in our music communities and our gatherings ...they are part of a beautiful energy!
And folks I sleep like Jeff and my partner doesn’t sleep ...sometimes I think she will kill me while I sleep ...joke...I think xx
Makes me think of something I just heard the other day about geographics (i.e., “She pulled a geographic”). This meaning she moved to get away from something or someone. Having done this many times in my life, I finally realized that I am most often what is at issue. My perception of the world around me is paramount to my serenity. I have to live with me wherever I go. Might as well try my damndest to be pleasant and share that with my surrounding people and places. And to do that, I need sleep. Two birds, one stone?? 😋
Oh to have seen Loose Fur live. Maybe someday at a future Solid Sound?!?
RECORDING????? That is the best news all day
You are so correct about experiencing real human contact and communication instead of only how people communicate online. I find that I feel much worse about basically everything if I read too much online communication. Now I need to deal with my Internet addiction.
“Everybody needs flat files.” TRUTH
Went to one of those St. Ann's Warehouse shows that was listed as This Week In Wilco Etc. - how lucky was I?
Nice. Air conditioner...another technological advance...instead of cooling off under an apple tree on a hot day with neighbors and a pitcher of lemonade, people stay inside and chill.
I really enjoyed reading this. It was almost like a little jolt of that show we all love. Thanks to all. 💙
Spot on with your advice about social media. There is not a single soul I will ever persuade online, no matter how earnest or well researched my post or comment is. It's a contact sport out there. One exception? Starship Casual. Even the Facebook site Shot in the Arm can get rough, despite our mutual love for Wilco's music. But here, miraculously, a safe place has somehow been created, with a bearded Buddha as our Captain. What possibly could go wrong? 😊 Thank you, Captain.
Thank you for your thoughts on insomnia. I'm working on a meditation routine and listening to readings of kids' stories right before sleep.
I miss you guys. But I can hear your voices as I read these replies. I hope that’s not creepy!
Love the moving advice. I constantly have to remind myself these things.
Always a pleasure hearing sage advice from you both.