March 3. It was supposed to be celebratory. I’d spent a couple years developing two new musical projects, particularly my solo album, Cowboy Sutra. I looked forward to announcing the new albums on my personal Facebook page and to posting a short music video of the song, “Fast Horses,” one made by my friend and European agent, Luciano Mulder. Just a few minutes after it was out, I got a message--supposedly from Facebook--telling me I did not have rights to that video and that I needed to sign-in again. Should I have been suspicious? Probably. But I was in a celebratory mode. So I signed in again--and got the email pictured above. I pressed the button to notify Facebook that I was not in Hanoi, nor was it really me signing in. But it was too late. I was logged out. When I tried to sign back in, I got the notice below saying my account had been suspended. I even tried changing my password. No go.
For the next few days I spent (wasted) hours upon hours trying to get back into my account. I enlisted my bandmate and whiz kid friend Eli Wrankle to assist me. It was Eli who gave me the bad news that whoever stole the account had most likely dumped all my information from it. Trying to access Facebook through my Instagram account hasn't worked. The phone number for support goes straight to a recording saying that no human is available to help. In Facebook's HELP section, hundreds of articles are supposed to guide you through any and all problems you might encounter. There are places to lodge complaints. The several I've lodged do not, according to the algorithm, constitute a breach of Facebook’s community standards. So, two weeks later, it looks as if my years with Facebook are over. We're breaking up. Because? Facebook works great until it doesn’t. Then you're out of luck. Facebook's parent company, Meta, has spent and lost millions, maybe billions of dollars developing the next great Mark Zuckerburg idea--and in the mean time, lost interest in serving their core business, FACEBOOK. That’s the end of my rant. Herewith, the things I will miss by not being on Facebook and the things I’m glad to be rid of. I’ll miss:- Losing touch with old friends and dear family members. We've moved house more than a few times, and I've always liked getting newsy posts from cousins, high school friends and people who are no longer part of our current daily life. - Letting friends know what we're up to. Both Teresa and I are makers. We love to share the bounty of our work. - Receiving posts out of the blue that are funny, poignant or beautiful. I don’t need fancy video but do appreciate a good quote, a brief story or one of those 1000-words-worth photos. - Witnessing the ongoing interchange between two of my friends who could not be farther from each other politically. They're able to spar over issues and still keep their friendship intact. Which gives me hope. What I won’t miss:- Photos that display bruises, incisions, swellings, stitches or other anatomical details for the edification--enjoyment?-- of friends. Spare me, please. - The marked increase of mindless Tik-Tok-like videos, all designed to be addictive. Most are commercially sponsored and dominate the scroll-and-click world we live in now. - Mean-spiritedness. I remember my father telling me the year before he died that he had lost interest in politics because his lifelong party of choice had gotten too mean. I’ve never forgotten that. - Outright lies or partial truths weaponized to justify a particular viewpoint, most often political. Finding and standing for truth is a core value and is not served by lies and partial truth (PERIOD). ConclusionSince I’ve been off Facebook, I’ve noticed I have more productive time at hand. I’m not made grumpy about the stuff that's upsetting with several thousand of my so-called friends . All of a sudden, my life seems more private, calmer. And even though I’m disappointed I could not share the joy of the new music release on Facebook, I’ve been getting lovely notes and calls from people, even a few heartening reviews. Should I go back to Facebook? I may open a tiny account and ask a few treasured friends to join me there. For now, I’ll use Instagram to post photos and announce my news. I’m enjoying Loose Cannon Boost as a way to share. Thanks for reading. And thanks for subscribing. If you're a paid subscriber and have requested a complementary CD or LP, I hope your mail person has delivered it already. If not, please send me a note and I’ll mail out an LP or CD. In the mean time, both recordings are available to stream for free. NOTE:If you’d like deeper insights into social media and how it's influenced culture, do read Ted Gioia’s Honest Broker on Substack. Each year, he releases a “State of Culture,” column. The 2024 edition came out recently. titled, “ The World Was Flat. Now It’s Flattened.” It's definitely worth the read.  You're currently a free subscriber to Loose Cannon Boost. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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Hello -- two new albums
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