Song of the Month - June 2024

Plus, Cutting the Zuckercord

A big, warm welcome to all the folks who signed up to this Substack when I signed off Facebook.

That’s right. After 16 years, I finally cut the Zuckercord. It wasn’t easy, and it no doubt won’t be going forward, but I’m up to the challenge.

Why do it?

For one, I can’t accept that social media is necessary to function in the world today. That gives the digital overloads too much power. There are any number of other ways to communicate in 2024, and I don’t want to support internet sites that have been instrumental in making us so divided. So much for Facebook connecting people! Not all their fault, but boy are they culpable.

How?

Let’s say I publish a piece on my news website declaring that two plus two equals three, and you publish a piece on your news website stating that two plus two equals four. Social media sites, which are algorithmically set up to amplify pieces that cause discord, are more likely to boost my inaccurate piece than your accurate one. More eyeballs would see my provably false statement, and some of those eyeballs would at least entertain the idea that two plus two equals three.

Now, what if I publish on my news website a piece declaring that COVID vaccines include a chip created by Bill Gates that allows you to be tracked? Or a piece declaring that the U.S. is funding bioweapons creation in Ukraine? Or a piece stating that a pizza restaurant in Washington, D.C., is the hub of a pedophile ring? These examples aren’t provably true, but they’re not as clearly false as two plus two equals three. That means even more people will entertain these “news items” as fact than my empirically untrue math claim. The amplifying of these probably false claims are a big problem with social media because they lead many people to believe fiction is fact.

How to solve the problem? That’s where Steven Brill comes in. Read all about Brill’s efforts in my review of his nonfiction book The Death of Truth, which comes out this week. Big Internet incorporating something like his company’s methods is the kind of thing that would bring me back to social media.

The truth is, I’d rather not spend my time talking about social media. Who cares about social media? I just released a solo album!

This one is called The Brightness of an Ordinary Star, and it features ten new songs co-written with my Atlanta cohorts Bret Hartley and Kevin Leahy. As with my last album Branches Breaking from the Weight (haven’t bought it? what’s stopping you?), I’m releasing all ten songs from the album as singles, each corresponding to a calendar month. The Song of the Month for June is “Get My Thing Going,” which is an early favorite of mine.

You know when you’re listening to an album, but you’re really kind of waiting for that ONE SONG on the album to pop up? That’s what “Get My Thing Going” is for me. It comes on and I go, “Oh, yeah.” Want to hear what I’m hearing?

A similar song for me on Branches Breaking from the Weight is “Strut,” which also makes me perk up.

I regret that lifestyle and logistics make it impossible for our threesome to find its way to you anytime soon for a live show. Bret and Kevin both live in Georgia, and I live in Oregon. That said, you can see me play solo acoustic at Bandcamp this Friday via livestream. Here’s how it works. You get home from work on Friday, make yourself some tacos, sit back in your favorite chair, sign on to Bandcamp at 5 PM PST, and get the weekend started off right with a short set of live music. It’s happening this Friday, 6/7! See you there! RSVP!

That’s it for me for this month. Feel free to reach out at arthuredwards@gmail.com with anything you find relevant to pass on. It’s always great to hear from you.