I
would like to wish Sean McCann all the best following the surgery he had on
Wednesday on his vocal cords. Recently Sean did an interview with The Telegraph
in St. John’s, Newfoundland about the surgery, the release of his new album
“You Know I Love You”, his tour in the Canadian Fall, some interesting comments
about his observations on social interactions and smartphones, the listening
music habits of people, the quality of music we are hearing on smartphones and
being a do it yourself musician. I have written a response here.
I
have shared the article on Google +
“Sean McCann can’t talk to you right now, but when he gets his voice back watch
out” by Tara Bradbury published on 16 June 2016 in The Telegram in St. John’s,
Newfoundland.
Sean
discussed the music listening habits of the public and that influenced him in
the way he released the album. I must say I am really intrigued and excited by
the format he has chosen to release his new album. Like a lot of fans I will be
looking forward to Saturdays over the northern summer and listening to and
seeing a video of one song a week. “The idea of putting out one song at a time,
I’m having a hard time with that because that’s not how I listen to music…I am
going to try the single thing, do one a week and not tax people’s attention
spans, because they are busy. I’d rather take little steps and go further….”
Sean
said “But that’s the way the world is. The world lives on the phone, I really think
these phones fracture our attention spans. I was walking around Pearson airport
one day and there were about 5,000 people in the terminal, and no one was
talking. Everyone’s eyes were down. I found it very metaphorical and it shocked
me a little bit, but I don’t want to be in denial. The convenience they bring to the table is amazing. I think there is a kind of sacrifice that I hear in the
quality of the music collections are (on people’s phones) but the convenience
factor is more important on a society level. Convenience will trump quality…”
While
the way people socially interact with each other has changed due to phones
in Canada’s biggest city Toronto, it certainly looks like it is
becoming that way in Australia. Phones are certainly distracting us from
being in a space with the people we are with, in the here and now. I too have
noticed the ever present phone coming between people, especially
when they go out for meals and other social events. It just seems
acceptable these days to spend time on the phone texting and using social
media while out with others.
Yes,
I agree with Sean that phones are amazingly convenient in particular, for
those of us without tablets or ipads. One of the major factors about using a phone for music for me is I can buy digital music/content from
overseas and in particular Canada and Newfoundland that normally wouldn’t be
available in other preferred formats like CDs
and where the postage is usually the cost of another album. So while the
delivery method is not ideal and quality is poor, digital music is
better than not having the music I want at all.
I
certainly agree with Sean phones are convenient and yes I am like
other people who want their information here and now. I use my phone for
listening to music, reading digital books and researching. But I don’t
spend as much time as I use to on my phone since I closed all of my social media
accounts. I don’t take my phone out with me and certainly not to social
occasions with friends and family. It is an odd feeling being the only person not
checking out what the rest of their friends and family are doing somewhere
else rather than being with the people they are. But that just seems acceptable
conduct for people these days and in particular for younger people.
When
I was recently in Canada and St. John’s, Newfoundland there is so much free Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is everywhere including hotels, public transport, restaurants, shopping centres
and food chains. As a consequence I spent a lot of time
on my phone taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi. Compared
to where I live in Australia, there is virtual none and if there is the usage
is capped.
Sean
makes some interesting comments about the challenges of being a do it yourself
musician. I love the way he is releasing his new music week by week and with a
short video clip to accompany it. I certainly love the first song of the album
“You Know I Love You” and the fantastic black and white video. As a technological
illiterate person I am having a bit of trouble locating where to buy the song
and get it from the webpage onto my phone. But like Sean I will rise to the
challenge.
