And The World Is New

Here I am again. Have I come full circle? Time is a flat circle so it's likely. I've been pulling the tentacles of Facebook off of my life sucker by sucker. Having some conversations with others lately about the role of social media in our lives has been interesting. I love to see my friends' children and animals - and I certainly like to keep up with local shows, but I wonder if I'm even accomplishing that little. I deleted almost 900 people in the past couple days and have "Un-liked" more bands, restaurants, schools (Lean Lab related) and small businesses than I can count. What struck me was how little I had connected with them in light of that. When you "like" 1000 businesses how will you sift through and find what is relevant? How will they reach you without feeding the giant that is facebook, A.K.A. paying to get seen. I want to be more intentional and more active supporting music, places and people that I respect. I also have this sort of Eternal Sunshine-esque fear that with removing (possibly saving some) my personal posts and content from Facebook I won't remember my life. When did I begin to so casually rely on a rambling faceless corporation to curate my....life? It happened gradually I suppose. I'm starting back here in an attempt to remember, share, curate and explore my own life and my own mind. There used to be written journals, photos taken and stored in albums. I mean c'mon I'm not gonna write an Arcade Fire song about it but you know what I mean. I can't pretend I can go full J. Ruckman and use a typewriter and visit the library once a week. That's not realistic. My other fear is the loss of relevancy, as it exists in a world stitched together by algorithm, with regards to being less "active" on facebook. Less people will see my posts. Less people will hit "maybe" on my events - etc. Does it worry me some from a marketing standpoint? Yes. But the mere fact that it worries me makes me more determined to find my own way. I have a website now, LaurenKrum.com, and my projects all have their own facebook pages: Ruddy Swain, Lauren and Fritz, The Grisly Hand, Lorna Kay's One Night Stand and just "Lorna Kay" for when I spin records. How much access do we need to one another? How much do we remember and what's just a facebook, "Memory"? I felt like I should have ended that sentence with ",...man" and maybe taken an aggressive drag off a joint. All this reminds me of the man from Overland Park or nearby who lost his shit while his daughter was planning her wedding and went to live "Off the grid" which for him meant living in a nearby park in the woods with plastic bags over his shoes. My ex and I used to joke, "Do they have Wi Fi off the grid?" Hopefully, amirite? How will I know who loves me?

One thing I'd like to practice a little more is discovering, sharing and writing about new music. I'll get right on that and while I do here's a couple songs I've been drifting around in. 

I've fallen hard for Marlon Williams' voice and melancholy lyrics. He's from Lyttleton, New Zealand and used to be in a boys choir that toured. I've said it before that choir is the best way to get better at singing.



The simplicity of this is key. That sweet earnest quality reminds me of the Louvin Brothers, or maybe some Rodney Crowell to bring it up a few years. She's from Galax, VA.



Where's the obvious lie? I am tired and you are lonely. Oof. She has some more angsty/angular stuff a'la Margaret Glaspy's recent works. Check out "Kid Gloves" for a lil more attitude/less tears.