It’s en vogue right now to question the role of a lot of technology in my life. I don’t think this is an old-man-yells-at-cloud situation, either, since I encounter many young people who seem to be thinking the same things. Like:
- How do I know what I’m seeing is true?
- Is my music listening driven by me, or an algorithm?
- Why do all my feeds look like…that?
- There’s so much to watch and why can’t I find anything?
- Why can’t I focus when I read?
- Why do I get so distracted?
The answer to all of this is not entirely technology’s fault. I’m not so naive that I think Mark Zuckerberg is to blame for all our social ills. Things like collapsing social circles, friendships, dating, etc. have been in decline for a long time. I happen to think the sheer costs of transportation (especially for young people) is as much a driver of these problems, to name just a few, as “social media”.
But I became a little worried the other day when I realized:
I can’t name a single new artist I like right now.
I use Apple Music since I prefer the audio quality, I already pay for Apple One, and I quite like the Discovery Station. One of the most popular posts on my site is this one on how I was getting Apple Music to behave more like Spotify. I wrote that prior to the Discovery Station even being added.
Still, when I put the music on it just sorta … exists. I don’t even know the names of the artists in my library. If I pulled it up right now and looked at my Artists listing, I could not tell you who they are, where they are from, what songs they performed, or…anything.
As an author and artist of sorts myself, this is deeply unsettling to me.
When you read books you tend to know the author. Maybe you forget the book over time, but if you read enough you come to realize you have certain favorite authors. When Jon Meacham prepares to release a new book, I’ll buy it. Instantly. Won’t even think about it because I trust him and I like him.
We still sort of do this with movies and high-quality TV. If Quentin Tarantino releases a new film, a lot of people are going to say, “I’m in” without even knowing what it’s about. I take notice when Vince Gilligan or Matthew Weiner are involved in something. But I increasingly don’t know a lot of names. I know Hans Zimmer on score is bound to be good. Some actors indicate a hint of quality, like Tom Hanks. But newer actors…? I guess Taron Egerton. He was great in that Elton John biopic Rocket Man.
People used to do this with music. Some still do. But most don’t. If you asked me to name some favorite bands I could tell you The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Aerosmith, KISS, and probably several others. All pre-2010. In more modern times, I could probably point to a few names I kinda like and know. I think Harry Styles is fun. But I’m not sure I could name a song specifically, but I’d know it when I hear it. Same with The 1975 or Blue October. I know their names, but not a connection to their songs even though I know I like some and have made efforts to try and remember them.
I could tell you popular names like Beyonce, but I don’t really listen to her. I just know her. Benson Boone is kinda fun. I saw the video he did covering Queen. Yungblud came to my attention recently because he did a collab with Aerosmith.
But it doesn’t take long to notice my connections to several of these younger artists is by way of other, more established artists I actually know and remember. This is strange and alarming to me. All the world’s music can instantly fill my house and I don’t even know who it is singing to me.
That’s what bothers me. I like knowing the people. I don’t want to obsess over them or follow them around online or whatever. But I at least want to know some names. This is what an endless stream of everything has done to my brain. I just click and it sorta washes over me, purposeless and almost without meaning. Like grabbing an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen. Completely pointless, often not that good, and totally forgettable mass-produced stuff.
None of this supports human flourishing. If anything, it kinda diminishes it. None of the people available in online streaming libraries are any more or less successful today than they would have been in 2000, 1990, or 1980. Good talent in music and film tends to rise to the top regardless. In this case, it’s just worse for them because most people kinda know of them, but not really, and what’s that really translate to? More streams at .00003 cents? Wouldn’t they be better off if I just bought some music for $20 like we used to?
We know in the modern music era you can’t make music off streaming. Even top artists like Taylor Swift (who I don’t care for, but, like Beyonce, I know her at least) don’t make much off streaming. Tours and merch is where they make a living. Wasn’t it better for artists when they could make more off albums sales so they could spend more time making music and less time in marketing meetings and tour buses?
This is how I know this isn’t great. It doesn’t support human flourishing. At best streaming, AI-generated text, and endless Netflix options support some executives’ flourishing. And maybe fills waiting rooms and dance halls with cheap tunes or moving pictures. But that isn’t flourishing.
