Reasons To Be Cheerful (Part 8)

In 1’s and 0’s the data flows
this is how we roll.
In an endless freefall zone
I feel so alone with my old dumbphone





Many of us have been known to talk about the way that technological advancements intended to further our connectedness often seem to have the opposite effect. Sometimes we might even conduct such discussions on our smartphones or tablets, engaged with someone other than the person we're actually sitting with in the wi-fi hotspot that doubles as a coffee shop. Not that the other person minds of course; they're probably texting someone else about the coffee and pastry they could be enjoying right now if they had a couple of spare thumbs.

It's a bit of an awkward conversation to have, I suppose. Especially when so many of us seem to prefer blogging to snogging, or tweeting to eating. Oh, we may lament the way that our cyber-dependent, multitasking lives make it difficult to slow down and actually experience a moment rather than documenting it with a selfie, or how we'll paste thoughts to a Facebook page before we've even finished formulating them, but we'll probably do it via text. A sort of half-hearted SOS via SMS if you like.

My friend and label-mate Ed Woltil doesn't do that though. Oh no; if he's telling me the truth, his phone is an avocado-green rotary dial model with a long curly cord attachment that ends up wrapped tightly around his legs and torso during each phone call. This is good, since it encourages him to keep calls short and sweet and frees up the time necessary to craft little masterpieces like Hiding in Plain Sight. I just feel like I'm floating away, weightless, whenever I listen to this little beauty.  It's a blissful ride alright, and I've never once been tempted to check my phone while listening to it.

Interestingly, Ed will be hiding in plain sight this Saturday evening (2/29) at his Paper Boats CD release party at The Hideaway in St. Petersburg. He'll be serenading all the lucky blighters in attendance with selections from his new release, as well as a few nuggets from his plump back catalogue. Word has it he'll be playing both solo and with his new 4-piece live outfit, Ed Woltil & The Loaded Question, and the admission price also gets you a copy of the fab new CD. For further details, you can always click here, and then text all your friends about it (while glancing at assorted flat-screens when you're dining out with your family). This is how we roll, apparently.