So I released my first album last month.
It feels like I’ve been megaphoning this from the mountaintop for the past several months but I recognize that many of you out there might scarcely have realized or noticed…
…said the album, “notice me!”
“Auspicious debut albums of this caliber are few and far between. Savor it.” - Creative Loafing, April 23, 2026
“Her music is both groundbreaking and familiar at the same time, and that is a rare combo these days.” - Chattanooga Pulse, April 1, 2026
Listen on
Anywhere
This is my favorite song from the album which I haven’t yet shared here. I wrote it about feeling cringey and awful posting myself on TikTok. It felt blood-sucking.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming…
The thing about releasing an album is that is has neccesarily made me much more active on social media, and much more glued to my phone.
…Or at least that’s what I was telling myself.
“I NEED to be on my phone now. I just need to share this or comment on that, or respond to this, or post that and blah blah blah.” - Me, verbatim.
LIES.
Sharing shit on my phone accomplishes very little.
First of all, most of it gets eaten up by the algorithm and suffocates in the void.
Second of all, even the stuff that receives *some* attention still produces very little returns because scrollers aren’t looking to enjoy and/or spend money on music. They are looking to scroll. Maybe you entertain them for 2 seconds with a strong hook, but it very rarely converts to anything else.
I realized that posting my songs on instagram felt like playing music to disinterested passersby, or being background noise at an overcrowded bar, and I literally just wrote about how I’m turning down these gigs now because I find them soul-sucking and low yield.
When I was promoting my album release show, I considered using a meta ad campaign. I eventually decided against it because all the artists I saw shilling tickets via “sponsored” content were established artists with snazzy, well produced footage of their big shows and big audiences.
I don’t have this, but also I don’t like these platforms. I don’t like the values that they are trying to impose on our society.
It feels out of integrity for me to give them money.
So I guess I’ll just give them hours and hours of my time……?
Guys… my phone usage during this “publicity cycle” was getting to be upwards of 6-7 hours a day.
(I’m embarrassed to write that.)
And comparatively very little of it was spent on publicizing anything!
Rather, here is how I was spending my days:
listening to video podcasts
watching Youtube
filming myself for tiktok
watching other tiktoks
reading substacks and scrolling notes
scrolling insta
reading articles about anything and everything wellness
watching TV and immediately wanting to know everything else that actress has ever been in, where they are from and what their astrological sign is
reading about the astrological transits currently happening
watching astrological “hot takes”
checking back to see if anyone liked my tiktok
getting sucked back into watching more tiktoks
getting force fed alarming and devastating global and political news via tiktok
checking every other news source see if the tiktok videos were accurately representative of the news
reading more news
going back to astrological hot takes for a palate cleanse
ignoring my family
DO I REALLY NEED ACCESS TO THIS MANY OPINIONS AND THIS MUCH INFORMATION ALL THE TIME?
And more importantly…
Do I really want my kids to remember me as a device junky?
I feel regret that I’ve already wasted so much time demonstrating to them how NOT to lead a full and present life.
Last Friday I deleted all social media off my phone again (including this app). I do this periodically, and for the first few days it’s wild how my right hand will just grab my phone and try to find something to scroll without my conscious awareness.
If I feel inspired to put something up or share something, I will redownload the app for a few minutes to accomplish that task, and then delete it again. Otherwise I check from my laptop twice a day.
I am also trying this new thing where when I watch TV or read a book, I just watch TV or read a book.
I have to remind myself that my life is not enhanced by googling every detail of the starring actresses skincare regimen, mid-scene.
Meanwhile what actually enhances my life is:
presence
small moments of beauty
noticing what’s around me
using all of my senses, not just my brain
attuning to my kids and family
connection with real, live people
creating things, not consuming them…
And with all the time I was using NOT to scroll, I wrote a whole song about how disgusted I was with my scrolling habits and I want to share it.
It’s a jaunty bit. The working title is “Song for my neck”
That will make more sense if you hit play…
Let me know what you think?
(I’m going back to record some more songs in the studio in August and maybe this will be one of them.)
…And I know I can’t be the only one feeling this way…
Are you actively trying to cut down on your phone use?
How?
And importantly, how is your neck doing?
If you’re looking for more ideas and inspiration on how to get your face out of your phone…
has been smartphone free for a year and she is GOALS. I am already researching this “Light Phone” that she has, and investigating practical ways to spend a lot more of my time smart-phone free.
