Flip the Needle on Mindless Media
Turning off autopilot and tuning into real, mindful entertainment.
Six weeks in…
Since I started this journey living deliberately I have begun to notice a few things. Not like a sudden awakening of the soul (I think that comes later?) but more of just an awareness of the day to day. It is like auto pilot was turned off and I am suddenly very aware that I’m the one flying this plane. There is one thing in particular I have really noticed, and that is entertainment. It was highlighted this weekend especially by a 1992 court room classic. In which a pair of young men are falsely accused of murder in a small southern town. Broke college kids, unaware of the danger they are in, they call on one of their relatives who is a new lawyer to come down and do everything he can to not only win the case, but grow in the process. This movie is of course “My Cousin Vinny”, which won Marissa Tomei an Academy Award. Seeing this movie countless times, it still holds up as being truly entertaining.
Because even with living deliberately, you still need to unwind a bit or just to break up the monotony. Sometimes it’s music while you prep dinner or just that soundtrack for sitting back and enjoying a beverage—morning coffee or night cap. Be it with music or putting something on TV, there is a conscious choice that needs to be made, less the entire process gets hijacked.
Just Hitting Play.
Most of us choose music by opening up whichever streaming app we subscribe to and just hitting play. Maybe we start with a playlist, but it quickly leads to shuffle. And before long it is the onslaught of ads, algorithmic song choices, and several skips before something palatable is back filling the airwaves. It seemed like it wasn’t long ago when the friend with the biggest pirated music library would be in charge of your curation and that was that… but I digress. I was in this loop fairly recently myself. It was playlists on the app, and working to prevent the auto play/shuffle to the algorithms demand. With the incessant skips of the never ending library happening regularly.
That changed though.
When my wife (then girlfriend) moved in some years ago, she brought with her a collection of vinyl and a record player. Since then, our collection has grown. There is something to be said about popping into a record store and flipping through the albums, finding that one gem amongst the dozens (like the time we found Blink 182’s “Enema of the State” buried). We just gradually made the switch, spending much less time with apps and more time with the records. This isn’t because we are some audiophiles, who believe in vinyl superiority over all other music options. While streaming curated playlists on the apps still has its place (a solid playlist can make or break a roadtrip) we just seem to prefer vinyl while in the comfort of our home. And it wasn’t until recently I figured out another reason vinyl has become my primary source for music.
It requires intention.
Music quickly became a readily available commodity in the last ten to twenty years. CD “walkmans” were the norm for my childhood. We would have to think about which CD we wanted to listen to on our jogs or commutes, because that was probably going to be it for the entirety of our time out. This was replaced by the Ipod. Then we were able to store 1,000 songs at once in something the size of a bar of soap. The possibilities only grew from there, where now any song we could possibly think of is taps away. The options for what we want to listen to are endless. The curation is done for us, recommending different versions, covers and similar music to any song we look up. More time might even be spent searching for the right song or playlist in this vast sea of musical options. Something perfect to match our mood. However we might think there is something better out there, so we keep searching, scrolling, wanting to find just the right set of tones and lyrics played in order.
We might never seem to find it and we give up. The options put us into some state of analysis paralysis. Incapable of making a decision due to the overwhelming possibility of what there is to choose. So, instead, we just put on whatever. Just to have something play in the background. Maybe while we continue to look. Maybe even forgetting why we wanted music in the first place. Changing songs or playlists before the current one even ends.
This limitless access gives us a feeling that we are consistently missing out. We make a decision, but did we make the right decision? We second guess ourselves. We skip the songs repeatedly to get to the one we like. Or just change playlists entirely. We spend much more time with the choosing the music, than we do probably enjoying it, if we enjoy it at all. With the vinyl I found there is a need for deliberate choice. Choosing what artists and albums to purchase is important. Because while we might enjoy one or two songs by someone, the rest of the collection might be less than stellar. This ultimately becomes the soundtrack to our lives we can pick from, setting the mood or matching the vibe. Even then, we have to take a moment and flip through the albums we have. Getting to the end, the only place to go from there is back to the first one and flip some more knowing full well the selection will remain the same. Ultimately, we make a choice, put the needle down and let the music play. If we want to skip, we can only do so with the choices we have already flipped through. We need to have that awareness, and choose how we want to fly that plane.
Watching what you Watch.
Your options to watch something were limited to what was on live, or what you had on DVD (I still have a couple seasons of “The Office” somewhere in my basement). Like the music streaming apps, it can be all too easy to get lost in the endless choice of video streaming options. Is watching that new show the right decision, or should we go to another app and see if there is something better? We flip and jump, until we select the show we know and love. Letting it fill the void with quotes and stories we have heard a hundred times, usually while we sit and scroll. Or even just to have some kind of noise in the background while we do something totally different, ignoring the show all together. Honestly some programing is even designed with that in mind. It isn’t there to be entertaining, it is designed to just be there. To just be on. It is the idea of creating content for content sake, under the guise of entertainment.
If it is just to have something on, then what’s the value add? Why are we seeking entertainment like this in the first place? Is it to be pulled deeply into a story and get lost? Or is it to enjoy something light hearted at the end of a long day by getting in a few laughs? Or is it to even learn something new about far away places and creatures that are bizarre? Entertainment has been a part of human culture since we started painting on walls, and sharing stories around the fire. It is okay to want it, it’s even better to enjoy it. Whatever we choose though, we need to choose it for the sake of being entertained. To engage with the lyrics or the story the way it was intended. Rather than simply having a large screen on while we stare at another. Just having noise going so we don’t sit in silence.
Now it might seem like this is a call to forgo modern forms for music, movies and TV. That we should cancel all our apps, and have a surge for DVD’s, vinyl and maybe even CD’s. You couldn’t pay me to go back to cable, I have multiple theories for Severance I need to see if they play out. And sometimes re-watching a couple episodes of Parks and Rec gives me a laugh I need. Rather, it is a reminder that we have the choice in what we use for entertainment. More importantly we need to remember how we manage ourselves. The music that we listen to while we clean our home or lounge around is up to us. The same goes for the stories we choose to watch and enjoy. If we are choosing that we need to be entertained, we need to make an effort to actually be entertained. What is the value add to watching or listening to something? What benefit do we genuinely stand to gain from it?
Because there is value in entertainment. We just need to make sure we are actually being entertained.
When’s the last time you put on a show or movie, and watched the entire thing without looking at your phone? Like you actually watched the whole thing? Paying attention to the plot points, the lines and the subtle character work? Likewise, when’s the last time you listened to music, and actually just sat there and listened to the music? Felt what emotions the artist was trying to elicit from the lyrics and rhythm? It can be challenging to do, but after making an effort to do so the last few weeks, I can safely say it is a worthwhile endeavor. It makes you much more aware of how important quality story telling is, and what the value add of the entertainment would be. Because the value is to feel something from it. To have the song or show illicit some feeling of sadness or humor. Fear or inspiration. To let it wholly engage your attention, enjoying it fully and completely.
To be genuinely entertained.