Back in college, I had a friend that was in a band. This band liked to do extended jams, and some of them were quite good. They consisted of a rhythm guitarist/singer, a bass player, a lead guitarist, and a drummer. Pretty typical outfit. The drummer & bassist made up the rhythm section of the band. They’re responsible for keeping “time” of a song, and often have the additional duty of directing where the song goes.
Listen for it. The next time you’re taking in a live album, you’ll often hear a particular bass line or drum fill that signals for the song to change soloists, or to bring the solo to an end…. If the musician is paying attention. In this band I knew, the lead guitarist had this problem: He would go for a solo, and it would be good. But… he would get self-indulgent. He’d go too long, start going off-course to the detriment of the song. You could hear the drummer signal with a fill “hey buddy…bring this thing on home.” Still, he’d solo. Again… the drummer, a little louder this time, would send the message with a fill, and the bassist would join in as if saying “get back in the fuckin’ pocket with us!” Unaware, the lead guitar would keep going. You would then see the eyes of the other band members start rolling. Eventually, the singer would have to just step to the mic, and start belting out lyrics for the guitarist to get the point, and finally, he’d stop.
Now, it was college, so the lack of attention of the lead guitarist could have been attributed to herbal or liquid remedies. However, he shouldn’t have had to be smacked in the face to come back to reality with the rest of the band.
How often do we do this exact SAME THING, but with Social Media? It’s easy to do. Endless scroll, after all, isn’t an accident. While some love to rail against technology, and Social Media, ( not difficult, and rightly so sometimes) the fact remains that our lives are likely NOT going back to a world with less technology, and no internet. So, you have to manage it. If you continually get lost scrolling, you have to be aware of it. Keep a clock running. Look at those convenient apps on your phone or computer that measure and show you exactly how much you’re using an app. Does the amount of time you’ve spent on these apps create a feeling of shame? If it does, then you KNOW you’re spending too much time there.
The remedy for this, is to have a rhythm section to call your attention back to what you’re supposed to be doing. This can be as simple as saying “alright. 2 minutes of Twitter, then I’m done.” Or, literally setting a sonic cue ( like a drum fill or alarm) to jar you back to reality. It could be just your internal rhythm section of a conscience, dutifully keeping time for you, and reminding you of what you really wanted to accomplish today with your ever-fading time on this Earth. It probably wasn’t looking at another influencer, a political tweet, or a picture of your “friend’s” meal. Listen to that drummer and bassist in your head….bring it on home… get back in the fuckin’ pocket…USE YOUR TIME.
Andrew L Hamilton 