#7 Nervous energy & algorithmic detox
I left social media but you probably didn't notice, because algorithms
I do a lot of things: I talk to a lot of people, read a lot, listen to a lot. I think a lot.
In this very important email, I compile some of that into one convenient location, and you are free to choose your own adventure thru my patch of the internet/culture/world.
MINDY MENG WANG 王萌 + TIM SHIEL EP: OUT NOW
Kicking off in promo mode because I’m so proud of this collaboration. All four tracks from our Nervous Energy 一 触即发 EP are out now, in all the places.
Mindy is one of my favourite new friends - we were introduced last year by Music in Exile founder Joe Alexander and instantly found ourselves developing a deep level of trust as collaborators, and an excitement for new possibilities.
Thank you to all who have leant their support so far, especially those in community radio around Australia who have been so overwhelming in their support of the project.
If you’re reading this on Friday AEDT time, tune into FBi Radio just before noon to hear us introduce an exclusive 60-minute mix of Chinese music we put together.
You can also catch up with Mindy’s interview with Zan Rowe on Double J yesterday where she went deeper on some of the influences and resonances in these songs, how they relate to both the ancient and modern Chinese experience, and the role of the guzheng.
The Nervous Energy 一 触即发 EP is available on limited edition vinyl at Music in Exile’s Bandcamp right now.
I’M ON ALGORITHMIC DETOX AND YOU CAN TOO
Before going on, wanted to just put a few words down in a semi-public space about my continually shifting relationship with social media…
I doubt many people noticed this, because empty space in the feed is always efficiently and pleasingly filled by the algorithms. Always. But I have now quietly vacated my Facebook, Twitter & Instagram accounts.
I actually left Facebook a little while back, while the other two were harder to kick - nonetheless, it has been two and a bit weeks since I left some parting messages on my Twitter & IG, and so far I am loving not having it in my daily life. Don’t know if this is forever but it feels pretty great right now.
No one thinkpiece or person tipped me into it, it just felt like time.
I know that for some people the idea of going on a social media detox is, like, so 2015. I know that for other people, the idea of turning away from social platforms is anxiety-inducing, because these platforms are, for better or worse, most people’s primary means for communication and information gathering in our modern moment. But I’m increasingly convinced that there are alternative ways to build community online, and I’m increasingly convinced that the large social media platforms do more harm than good on both an individual level (mental health & productivity) and social level (misinformation & disconnection).
Don’t get me wrong - I’m still busy, and a huge chunk of my work and daily life is still mediated by the internet and technology, and these goddamn amazing and sickening screens. And I’m not deleting my accounts - what I am doing is hitting reset in order to have a much more intentional relationship with them.
I think I am developing an allergy to algorithms. I’m happy, at least, that I can now for the most part see them at work. Our relationship with algorithms is deeply complex, and important. Algorithms work best and integrate into our lives easiest when they are invisible. A big chunk of the world’s human and technological resources are devoted to the task of perfecting not just the efficiency of algorithms, but the invisibility of them. Seeing them - let alone understanding them, recognising them, avoiding or rejecting them - is a tremendous challenge for us humans especially as social media continues to atomise, disconnect, divide and conquer us.
I guess humans have always had algorithms of a sort - memes existed before the internet, and behaviours, codes of conduct and shared social constructs are nothing new and have gently guided our individual and social behaviours since we started being human animals - but tech-powered algorithms are increasingly frightening. Everywhere you look there are thinkpieces, anecdotes, academic papers - yes even that Netflix documentary - that all back up the gut feel that social media is a net negative.
I think over the next few years you will see a mass exodus of people from the major social platforms - the level of distrust around them is growing, plus people waking up out of the fog of the behaviours they’ve been trained into - especially artists, thinkers, academics, many of whom left Facebook/Instagram many many years ago. You and I just didn’t notice them leave the room. Because the algo effortlessly fills the gaps with the voices that remain - voices that are either explicitly sponsored or who have been subconsciously trained to speak in a language/format primed for monetisation and data harvesting. An engagement, or even a conversation, on social media is so rarely a human connection even if it is desperately trying to masquerade as one.
So yeah I think it is as dark as you think it is and more, but there is always hope. I’m an internet person, always have been, always will be. This is a somewhat reductive statement but tl;dr: I believe social media is the problem, not the internet, and that there are still very valuable tools for creating real human connection online - some new, and some very old. Email was invented in the 70s, and from a technology standpoint hasn’t really changed much in 25 years. So I’ll be refocusing my energy on things like this newsletter, so keep reading this if you want to know what I’m up to - and if you want to chat/hang with me, you’ll find me for the time being haunting various Discord servers, most obviously Spirit Level’s one.
Come in, the water is fine.
But yeah. Thinking of this not quite as a “social media detox” - Discord, Substack, email, are highly adjacent to social media depending on your definition - but as an “algorithm detox.” I want to take back full control of what information I consume, who I choose to connect to and why. This extends to my music listening and discovery behaviours by the way, where I’m leaning further in on my favourite radio shows, favourite curators, and even further away from algo-generated Spotify playlists (which, to be honest, were already not of much use for me).
I’ll see how it goes and let you know. If you’ve been thinking of getting away from social media, in whatever way, I wholeheartedly encourage you to try it.
RADIO BITS
A busy month on the radio as always, and some really amazing conversations.
Julien Baker on second album Oblivions (Double J)
The music of Julien Baker covers addiction, spirituality and religion, love, life, death - there’s plenty of darkness in there, but it is always offset by her unrelenting and disarming honesty. She’s as thoughtful and generous to chat to as you could imagine, we talk about her punk & hardcore roots and also about how she’s leaning into activism and one-on-one support in her adopted local Nashville community.
The Paper Kites talk about opening the doors to collaborators (Double J)
I chatted to Paper Kites frontman Sam Bentley about honestly one of the most beautiful albums I’ve heard in a long time. It helps when you invite Ainslie Wills, Lucy Rose, Nadia Reid, MARO and more to jump on board. This was an absolute joy, weaving through the album and talking about the multiple glorious benefits that come from pursuing real and deep collaboration with other artists.
Coming up over the next couple weeks on Double J, chats with two of my favourite new artists MICHELLE and For Those I Love. Something More is on a roll too, as always - recently covering new releases from Doss, Andras, Loraine James, Yu Su and many many more - hit the program page to listen back, or the Spotify playlist.
SPIRIT LEVEL
Spirit Level is an artist-run record label that I am proud to be a part of, alongside an ever-shifting collection of close friends and inspired acquaintances.
Another mind-bending mix from Big Sig this time for Seattle’s KEXP and their legendary mix program Midnight In A Perfect World. Check it here.
Kcin drops another single next week, plus I am hard at work helping Happy Axe finish her long-awaited second album - can’t wait to start sharing those songs.
As always, get closer with the Spirit Level community by joining our Discord.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
One-to-one purposeful personal connection >>> algorithm-mediated void-screaming.
^^^ by which I mean to say —> Hit me up! Say hi!
Shoot me a reply or find me in the SL Discord.
👋
Tim