Friday, May 29, 2020

The Monthly Manifesto

This little mote of dust in the universe of online publications serves as a herald for the "artistic" endeavors of Mr. McMusic. Chief among those endeavors for the past five-plus years has been BIG WES Turner's Trio, a modest effort to carry on the musical traditions of it eponymous mentor. Some of a certain age might call us a "bar band," and we would take that as a compliment. It has always been a hand-to-mouth kind of venture (the hand invariably holding a glass of beer) and any chance to promote the venture for little or no cost is hard to turn down. Thusly, damn near any band you can name has a Facebook page. It has become damn near a necessity; who can afford NOT to have a Facebook page?

Most of us can't afford the time it would take to go down a list of all the people we know and update each of them on how we are and what we are up to and in turn hear the same back from them. But so-called social media, Facebook in particular, makes doing that kinda possible, in a way, sort of. It enables quick contact with friends and acquaintances and it only costs some of your time. You give your time; Facebook sells your time.

That may seem like a fair exchange, but Mr. McMusic is suspicious. Because there's more to it than a simple this-for-that. Your time is the commodity that makes Facebook rich, so naturally it wants as much of it as can be gotten out of you, and its notorious algorithms have found that getting you pissed off is a great way to keep you logged on.

Well, Mr. McMusic doesn't need an algorithm to get pissed off. Which is why you will no longer find BIG WES Turner's Trio on Facebook. Even now, when it has become difficult and even dangerous to meet with others in person, when the digital space seems like the only safe space, even now, Evil is still Evil, and to the extent that we can avoid participating in or enabling Evil, we should. No more Devil's bargains, thank you.

But more updates on the return from COVID-19 quarantine of BIG WES Turner's Trio and other noteworthy items. Check back.

P.S. A shout out to all our fans in Ukraine! Don't be strangers. Leave a comment.