On tuning out of the news and tuning into an unhinged mix CD
Maybe we could all use to be surprised a bit more
It’s been a rough week-plus of news. If you’re a person online in 2023, it takes some effort to avoid the especially terrible news days. But we seem quite capable of doing so, when we want to: 36% of people avoid news, often or sometimes, according to the latest findings of an annual report on digital news consumption by Reuters Institute. That’s near an all-time high. Oh, and that’s a global survey, so the American style of media isn’t solely to blame.
My guess is, like me, you’re avoiding the news at times. I know some people who gleefully say they don’t follow the news, at all. Today it’s a war, tomorrow it’s a school shooting, next week it’s a natural disaster. How much sad news can we take? I often feel conflicted about news avoidance. To me, it seems a privilege to be able to tune out and I feel some sense of duty knowing the history of the times we’re living through. But people don’t want the depressing stuff day after day, myself included. If you don’t get a barrage of breaking news alerts, you can pretty easily avoid whatever news you want to avoid. Most of us long ago abandoned the news-by-osmosis experience of flipping through a newspaper or turning on the evening news. But these media outlets need to keep us coming back, and this is why some people argue that news coverage intentionally skews sensational with a hyperfocus on tragedy.
President Biden was asked recently why people still don’t feel good about the economy despite positive indicators and he said (in part): “You get more legs when you report something that’s negative.” In response, Chris Hayes of MSNBC posted on Twitter: “The way I’ve always heard it is, ‘We don’t cover the planes that land.’”
Various studies suggest hearing about the proverbial planes that don’t land day after day isn’t great for our psyche. The onslaught of bad news is taking a toll on our mental and physical health, per the American Psychological Association.
Finding the “right” mix of bad vs. good news is seemingly one that’s long been a hard balance for news organizations to strike. When Sam Zell bought Tribune Co. back in the early aughts, he got into an ugly exchange with a reporter about the choice to cover puppies vs. real information. In retrospect, it was an omen of things to come.
In lieu of puppies, many of those companies have embraced “service journalism.” This is the stuff meant to help you, and a way to keep people engaging with news outlets but without having to actually consume the news. Importantly, these sorts of stories can be monetized in ways the grim stuff cannot. Several months ago, I was talking with a news editor who mused that service journalism is the future and traditional news is the past. I don’t entirely agree or disagree with his premise, but one thing’s for sure: It sure is prevalent. A sampling from today’s front pages:
How to pick the right laundry detergent (hint: it might not be pods)—The Washington Post
What Happens if You Stop Taking Ozempic?—The New York Times
The Big Mistakes People Make in Medicare—and How to Avoid Them—The Wall Street Journal
I’m not here to cast judgement on these types of stories—I’ve written/edited plenty of them myself. But our ability to choose the news we consume, or have it fed to us via algorithms, are dynamics that aren’t likely to go away. I find myself longing for the days of being surprised. If you get a breaking news alert, you get a sense of what’s to come if you read the full story. (Sometimes it’s enough to skip the full story, I would argue.) If you still navigate to your news outlet of choice, you may still be surprised by what’s there. But if rely on Apple News or Google News—whether it’s obvious or not—the news already has been curated for you based on a treasure trove of stuff these companies know about you.
I wish people thought about news consumption in the same way they thought about the food pyramid back in the day—you can have your cake, but eat your veggies, too. Consume what you want, sure, but maybe mix in some news you don’t think you want to know. Then again, who am I to tell someone what their news diet should be?
I missed out on the first two days of coverage of the Hamas attack in Israel by virtue of travel and doing some other stuff. I then faced a choice last week: Do I catch up? (I did.) My logic is: Sometimes the really horrible things happening to people who are far away are also endemic of problems in our backyards. Christopher Booker identified seven basic types of plots in fiction writing. Mightn’t it follow that the same is true in real life?
Yesterday, I hit a limit of sorts on bleak news after reading a string of stories about the 6-year-old who was stabbed to death in a Chicago suburb. He and his mother were targeted because of their Islamic faith. That tragedy that felt so far away a week ago sure does have a way of getting closer and closer.
What’s the right balance of puppies vs. death? I don’t know. Left to your own devices, you could be hyper-informed about all the bad stuff and risk becoming nihilistic or just depressed. Pick your poison, from the environment to political divisions to cultural clashes to violence, things can start looking pretty bleak, pretty quickly. Which is the reason why so many people tune out the bad stuff completely—and whaddya know, the world looks a little better, almost immediately. What I notice, however, in these “tuning out the news” periods, is I’m also left a bit emptier. Because I also miss out the stories that give me hope or that I didn’t know I needed.
When it came time for me to tune out yesterday, I decided to tune into something else: A mix CD. When I bought my car a few years ago, I resurrected two binders of CDs that I’d had from my CD-listening days. I threw out a poll to my Instagram followers to vote on which CD I should listen to: One labeled “Welcome Back Mix” or a purple CD I dubbed “Purple Mystery Mix.” The people overwhelmingly chose the former and we all need a bit more whimsy these days and I promised a review, so here goes.
A bit of background on this CD
When I saw the writing, I reckoned this CD was perhaps made by a college boyfriend. He had a pretty broad range of music tastes, from classic rock to alternative to country to hip-hop and everything in-between. Even with this info, I’m still going in blind. No notes. No track listings. All I know is who (most likely) made the mix and that it’s a welcome back mix!!! That must mean something, right?
Let’s dive in:
1. Sheep Go to Heaven by Cake
This is a bold start to a mix CD. I’m not so familiar with Cake—beyond their biggest hits—and this song didn’t immediately resonate with me. Have I heard it before? Have I listened to this CD before? No clue. My best guess is this song was selected as a nod to my sheep-raising days of youth.
2. Heart of Gold by Neil Young
Okay, two songs in and I’m getting the sense this CD is a collection of the mix-master’s favorites—rather than an attempt to appeal to my likings. Neil Young is fine, but I’m not a huge fan. If this were a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song—Southern Cross, say—I’d be more excited. That said, I’m wondering if there’s an attempt to be sentimental. Is he plausibly suggesting that I have a heart of gold?!
3. I’m Gonne Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers
Aww, are we in the feelings again on this track? If you’re of a certain age, can you hear this song and not think of the movie Benny and Joon? I’m not actually sure I’ve seen that movie, but watching the video, I’m reminded that Johnny Depp really had that whole hot-guy-who’s-a-bit-of-a-weirdo role on lock during the ‘90s. Fast-forward a few decades and I think we all look at Johnny Depp a bit differently these days. And I say that as someone who willfully tuned out of that whole trial ordeal.
Bonus: Did you know Benny and Joon was filmed in Spokane, Washington? That’s the hometown of my buddy Sam, whose Substack you should check out if you haven’t already: Not Pretty, Not Rich. (Was that as smooth as it seemed? Probably not.)
4. Brian Wilson by Barenaked Ladies
Okay, we’ve taken a sharp left turn from any hint of sentimentalism into a song about mental health. I don’t have much to say about this track other than it’s a curious choice. Also, a bit of quibbling about the song selection so far—we’re all over the place and the songs don’t really gel together very well.
5. I Will Survive by Cake
Folks, five songs in and we’ve violated one of the top, top, top rules of mixing: Putting 2 songs by the same artist on a CD. Also, what the hell, man. This song feels like some sort of passive aggressive message to me—don’t worry, I’ll be fine without you, sort-of thing. Or maybe he always sorta knew I’d be fine without him? Deep thoughts.
6. Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers
What’s with all this mopey, lonesome crap? I know a lot of people love RHCP, I just don’t. Never have. This CD is becoming a bit of a grating listen by this point. I will power through, however, and resist the urge to hit the “next” button.
7. Little Green Bag by George Baker
This CD is so unhinged. I don’t think I’ve ever heard this song before, but I learn it was featured in Reservoir Dogs. (Never seen it.) Further research suggests it’s about marijuana? All I hear is the word “loneliness” again. Gawd, put a fork in it already.
8. Desperately Wanting by Better Than Ezra
I haven’t heard this song in a long time, it’s one of those intentionally nostalgic songs that takes you back to childhood: “I remember running through the wet grass, Falling a step behind…” I’ve thought a lot about our teenaged-ish musical tastes since being reunited with CDs that I mostly bought in my middle school and high school years. Did you know that, on average, men are aged 14 when their favorite song is released and women are 13? The songs from those years also influence future musical taste.
(Sidenote: Do you know any of those sorts who only listen to country music now? It’s weird. It seems like the one genre of music where people are especially all-or-nothing.)
Because music is so closely linked with memory and emotion, some songs may make us nostalgic for simpler times or allow us to reflect back—perhaps with some distance—on life’s ups and downs. There’s a bit in one of the episodes of the podcast, Dolly Parton’s America, in which a contributor talks about how she played Light of a Clear Blue Morning on repeat to get through some difficult times in life.
Desperately Wanting makes me laugh a little bit knowing where the mix-master ended up in life. I’d run into him occasionally while living in New York and, so far as I know, he’s the CFO of a hedge fund that’s run by a fairly polarizing figure. I briefly wonder what music he listens to now, because he was a big fan of the “boy from a small town” trope back in the day. Think: Small Town, by John Mellencamp. I could see him listening to country music nowadays. (Sorry, country fans.)
9. Funky Cold Medina by Tone Loc
Okay, I feel like the mix-master is finally placating me now. I was a big hip-hop fan then—still am, to a degree—and so I guess this was my reward for listening through his stuff. That said, I never was a big fan of this song. And it really hasn’t aged well.
10. Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice
Ya know, this is one of those songs that’s kinda fun to hear when you haven’t heard it for a long time. But then you start realizing it’s a really long song and you grow tired of it pretty quickly. (The track clocks in at >5 minutes!) Also, if you choose to watch the music video, it may not feel as outdated as it should. Perhaps it has to do with Vanilla Ice’s outfit—it sorta looks like something you might see someone wearing nowadays. Also, this style of dancing feels familiarly like watching a TikTok video. The youth of today really must feel pressure to be at least moderately decent dancers. The dancing requirements seem to have increased with time, don’t ya think?
11. Bust a Move by Young MC
Okay, we’re really deep into the throwback hip-hop songs that seem to be a nod to my likings now. But my god, how many songs on this CD have referenced loneliness? “You're on a mission and you're wishin,' Someone could cure your lonely condition…”
12. Mama Said Knock You Out by LL Cool J
Anyone else exhausted by this CD yet? Just me? I don’t have many thoughts here other than to say that I’ve never been a big LL Cool J fan. I’m not sure why. He seems fine? But something about the whole lip-licking thing seems overdone.
13. Jump by Kris Kross
Whew, finally one that’s definitely for me. I was obsessed with this song for a while. I was convinced Kris Kross was imminently poised for a huge comeback that never happened. Ya know what’s funny listening to this song today is that I’m not sure I picked up on their use of “wack” until now. This song came out in 1992! I’m not really sure the first time I used “wack” but a quick perusal of my Gmail suggests I was (over)using it in the 2010s. Despite Keith Haring’s 1986 mural, “Crack is Wack,” it seems the word didn’t creep into widespread vernacular into much later and in trying to dig into this, I found it was used in an episode of Friends from 2000. Did Friends make “wack” mainstream? Gawd, that’s a weird notion to consider.
14. The Humpty Dance by Digital Underground
What can I say that hasn’t already been said? This CD is all over the place. Again, it doesn’t feel all that personal as I have no recollection of liking this song. I have to assume he did. There are so many obvious jokes I could make right now, I guess the upside is we’ve turned a corner from the mopiness of the first half of the CD?
15. Jump Around by House of Pain
We’ve reached the final song, and a bit of redemption. This made me smile because this song is a 25-year tradition at the University of Wisconsin Badger football games, where I went to college. How this song came to be the unofficial anthem is basically: One guy played it, and the school has never stopped. It’s funny to think nowadays of an incoming freshman in college—someone born in 2005—getting wildly excited to jump around and sing along to a song that came out in 1992. Other schools have some similarly funny song traditions.
Closing thoughts
That CD was very confusing, the song selection felt unhinged at times. But overall, it was a great little excuse to time travel—and to be surprised. We have so few options to feel surprised these days. We have a cheat sheet to prepare us for the most consequential and inconsequential of decisions in life. There’s no fumbling around in uncertainty, no going into situations blind, because the info is all there for us, just one click away. Some of us recall how, back in the day, if you wanted to call a guy or gal you liked, you had to call that kid’s landline and risk another family member answering. They might just ask who’s calling and shout it out across a room. The horror! But we did it because we had no choice. And yet, The Washington Post recently deemed that “texting before you call” is an unwritten etiquette of phone calls in the modern era. My, how far we’ve fallen!
Putting a CD into a CD player with absolutely no insight into what the next hour-ish of your listening life is going to be is such a curiously foreign experience now. But maybe it shouldn’t be?
In some ways a mix CD is an analogy for an increasingly outdated form of news consumption. What I wanted wasn’t really factored into the song selection, same as editors who once laid out newspapers or magazines with news in a particular order that they thought was most fitting. This dynamic still exists, of course, but we often don’t consume news with the guiding hands of editors and instead get to decide on our own. We’re not popping a CD into a CD player waiting to see what’s on it, we’re fed a playlist by Spotify of the songs we’ll most certainly like.
Had I known the track listing in advance, would listening to this mix CD have held much appeal? Probably not. It was unhinged! To be fair, I wouldn’t have missed out on much, as a result. (I do have actual, paying work to do!) But it is worth considering what we lose when we forego the element of surprise or when we get to dictate what we choose to tune into—and what we choose to tune out.
Bet you didn’t think you would wake up this morning to read a play-by-play account of a CD burned some 20ish years ago mixed with some thoughts on news consumption.
But hey, it was kinda fun to be surprised, right?