Juneteenth "Pushback"--The Social Media Backlash to the New Federal Holiday, Americans Bursting Their Own Bias Bubbles, Major Shift in "Paying" for Audio, (The Five for 06/18/21)

Hey, welcome to The Five.

It’s Friday, so let’s dive into culture & commentary.

[one]

Usually, 24 hours after a major news story would be too soon, but in the case of Congress and the Biden Administration making Juneteenth a federal holiday, the vote was nearly unanimous, so there shouldn’t be any additional “breaking news” on this one. I’m not even going to recap it here, because if you’re smart enough to be reading this newsletter, you’re smart enough to follow the news of a new federal holiday before this email hits your inbox.

Tonight (Thursday night, ad the time of this writing), I hopped on Twitter and found that…even the most unanimously supported moves face backlash. Genetta Adams, managing editor of The Root, went viral for claiming it was illegal in the U.S. to teach why Juneteenth “is a holiday.”

That’s…a really bad take, and likely one motivated more by the need for personal attention than justice.

For the record:

A). There is no place in the U.S. or any modern democracy where it’s illegal to teach about the end of slavery.

and

B). Assuming this is a dig at some states/governing bodies trying to ban the controversial Critical Race Theory…which is currently being taught in the armed forces, multiple federal agencies, and in education, from kindergartens to colleges around the country. Are there organizations and institutions trying to ban CRT? Sure. But that doesn’t justify downplaying a new federal holiday.

Twitter Blue Checks/quasi public figures like Adams build their platforms on being outraged…and many don’t have any other tool in their tool belt to maintain mass attention except to just keep being outraged.

On the other side of the issue, conservative commentator/talk show host Candace Owens claims she won’t celebrate Juneteenth, which a local commentator in STL pointed out as…kinda silly, as Juneteenth has mass support from both sides of the aisle, including former President Trump.

Going viral on Twitter has created a very nice life (financially) for both Genetta Adams and Candace Owens, and both have enjoyed viral tweets that likely fire off the dopamine in their brains as well as fill their bank accounts.

To me, these reactions (and others, on both sides of the aisle, who are mad about Juneteenth) tell us more about the human addiction to dopamine in the modern era than about the end of slavery, racism or a new federal holiday.

We know that drug addicts will do pretty much anything if they’re desperate to get high, including lie, cheat and steal. Tweets like this, while everyone else is happy and having a good time, feels like a drug addict at a wedding thumbing through random purses for enough cash for a couple of hits of meth…while the rest of the room is having a good time or on the dance floor

To those who are “outraged” at Juneteenth becoming a holiday…you’re only killing your own buzz at this point. The rest of us probably aren’t too emotionally effected. But if faux-anger is your only move, the hand you’re playing is becoming increasingly obvious before you lay your cards on the table.

Outrage is less shocking when we all see it coming.

[two]

Wired magazine has some excellent reporting on the trend of Americans working to pop their own biased news bubble, which highlights allsides.com (which I recently contributed to) and The Flip Side.

“What’s needed is a way to curate and find the best thinking from left and right,” says Haidt, who created an online library for this purpose with videos, books, and essays. To better understand perspectives on the left, for example, the library offers sources such as Edmund Fawcett’s essay “Reclaiming Liberalism.” Choose the library door on the right, and you’ll find thought pieces like Yuval Levin’s “A Conservative Governing Vision.” Haidt also reads the Flip Side and AllSides daily.

Use of these sites is growing, but their numbers remain tiny compared with Facebook. AllSides has more than 190,000 Instagram followers, while the Flip Side has 250,000 subscribers. It’s far from clear that they’ll make a difference when social media behemoths create information silos and nudge many toward tribalism and extremism.

Other experiments aim to shift the social media experience away from outrage and virtue signaling. What if status on social media hinged on traits such as open-mindedness? The Flip Side and Duke’s Polarization Lab are each working on social platforms toward this end. The Flip Side’s version will elevate posts enjoyed by people with different ideologies; the more likes by conservatives for a liberal’s post, for example, the more often it will be displayed to other users.

When I contributed to All Sides last week, I had to take a bias test, which found that I “lean right.” Users are also allowed to rate my writing (right now, it’s an even split between “agree” and “disagree” with some reviews saying I have a left bias…which was news to me).

Good stuff…let’s have more of this. Every journalist needs a ballast to keep them honest, including me.

The worst part of big tech…may just be solved by more innovative tech.

[three]

Pop star Billie Elish in one of her signature baggy outfits, as mentioned below.

According to Yahoo, “emotionally and psychologically wrecked is the new sexy” for female pop stars.

From Being a pop star once meant baring skin – now, for artists like Billie Eilish and Demi Lovato, it's all about emotional stripping:

In Billie Eilish’s 2019 video for “Bury A Friend,” the then-17-year-old singer blurs the lines between being in a nightmare and being committed to a psychiatric hospital.

“I want to end me,” she repeats six times before the song ends.

But somehow, that’s not what stuck with audiences, media outlets or industry decision-makers, who – until her British Vogue cover broke on May 2 – were more likely to talk about how groundbreaking she was for wearing baggy clothes than her repeated mentions of suicidal thoughts.

It’s a familiar story, whether it’s Amy Winehouse singing about not wanting to go to rehab before dying of alcohol poisoning at 27, or Kurt Cobain writing a song called “I Hate Myself and Want To Die” before dying by suicide at 27.

Audiences devour trauma narratives. Perhaps they provide a source of comfort by validating viewers’ own experiences, making them feel less alone or reminding them that they’re comparatively lucky. On the flip side, the titillating content can offer fans a sort of voyeuristic pleasure from the safety of their living rooms. In any case, the implicit agreement appears to be that artists may express their pain as long as audiences can imagine that it’s not really a problem they need to be concerned with, but is just something being amplified for artistic effect.

While these revelations can boost an artist’s popularity, they can also overshadow all other aspects of the artists’ life and work – and can end up veering into another form of exploitation.

A decade or so into a culture that’s made “mental health” a major talking point, I’m starting to question whether this is about wellbeing…or marketing…in 2021.

Although my day job is in corporate America these days, I’ve been around the entertainment block enough to witness those who are desperate for “a career” to venture into drug use in order to “fit in” and transactional sex with key players in media…all for one shot at fame.

The question now…is whether current and aspiring pop stars will “lean in,” exaggerate or outright falsify mental health issues in order to sell music.

And if that happens (is happening?) what are the long term effects on both the artists and fans?

Something tells me we’re going to find out in the coming years.

[four]

Finally, a fascinating look at Americans’ shifting attitudes towards around paying for audio.

From Edison Research:

From satellite radio to Spotify, a new survey from Edison Research finds that nearly half of Americans aged 13 and older are paying for audio. The 47% that now pay for at least one audio service is more than twice what it was in 2015 when Edison said 23% had a paid subscription.

The release of the Share of Ear data comes as Spotify and Apple roll out paid podcast subscription services. But Edison says its data shows growth in audio subscriptions has come from a variety of sources, including music streaming services such as Spotify Premium, Apple Music, Pandora Premium or Plus, along with SiriusXM and audiobook subscriptions from Audible.

“While much of this doubling of the numbers is the redirection of money that was going to physical music formats to music streaming subscriptions, there is also the trend of more people paying to avoid commercials,” said Edison Research president Larry Rosin. “I have to believe that we will see more subscription efforts in the future, particularly from radio companies.”

Edison says it seems only a matter of time before the number of Americans paying for audio crosses the 50% threshold. It also pointed out some radio broadcasters are getting in on the act, such as Bauer Media in the U.K. which recently launched a subscription radio service that offers commercial-free versions of their radio brands and other content.

“I would think such efforts are likely to be launched in the U.S. as well,” said Rosin.

[five]

• A Father of the Bride remake is in the works featuring Saturday Night Live cast member Chloe Fineman and Andy Garcia (Oceans 11, The Godfather Pt III) and Gloria Estefan (best known as the vocalist for 80’s pop Group Miami Sound Machine) as the parents.

• If you have an urge to return to the local multiplex, 12 Mighty Orphans, which follows the true story of an orphanage football team playing for the Texas State Championship in the 1930’s, looks like a solid take on a…rather formulaic narrative. Luke Wilson (Old School, The Royal Tenenbaums) and Robert Duvall (The Apostle, Open Range) lead the cast. See the trailer.

• The Netflix docu-series Heist looks amazing. It profiles real life criminals who stole millions, talking about how they did it (and presumably, how they got caught). Trailer here.

• MUSIC: One of my most trusted music outlets, savingcountrymusic.com, released their Best Country & Roots Albums of 2021 (So Far) list, which is highly recommended. The Killers teamed up with Bruce Springsteen for a heck of a single. That, and the new Gang of Youths song have been on heavy repeat for me. Adele doesn’t have a new album out yet, but her first project in six years is expected…sometime soon. The Foo Fighters are putting out a novelty disco record next month (hope you had fun making it guys, I’ll have fun never listening to it under any circumstance). Amazon Prime put out three live concert films from Billie Eilish, H.E.R. and Kid Cudi this week, which are free if you’re a prime subscriber. Rory Feek (formerly of country duo Joey+Rory) returns as a solo artist after losing his wife, Joey Feek, to cancer in 2015. The new album is absolutely gut-wrenching, and one you should hear…but probably not the soundtrack to your afternoon commute. The hope shines through, but it’s a heavy affair. Roots singer Much buzzed about roots/Americana singer/songwriter Amythest Kiah has a new album Wary+Strange, which I’m loving at first spin (good blues/soul elements mixed in). Finally, new singles NEEDTOBREATHE (the fourth pre-release single from their forthcoming album, out in July…which is too much. Hold something back for the record!), Switchfoot (2nd single off a new album coming in August) and Flatland Calvary (third single off their next album—I hate this). Worship group Maverick City Music released a reworked their album Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition with a host of guests, including rapper Lecrae.

[epilogue]

Twenty Steppe Eagles were were fitted with GPS trackers in Saudi Arabia and traveled to more than a dozen countries in Europe, Asia and Africa in one year.

Until the next one,

-sth