Three Is a Magic Number – Bluesky, Eighth Street, and the real Deal
Each week, Augusta Today editor-in-chief Steven Uhles spotlights three things – one local, one national, and one in the arena of arts and entertainment – that have crossed his desk and crossed his mind. The goal, to provide a snapshot of life, culture and the current zeitgeist affecting both our community and the world. We call it Three Is a Magic Number. Here is this week’s Magic Three:
Bluesky will not be smiling at me
In the beginning there was Facebook – and Facebook was fine. Later came Twitter, which was probably also fine. Then came Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, X, Threads, Truth Social and a host of other social media entities determined to make connection, and collection, easier. They, generally speaking, succeeded – but at what cost?
Today, social media has become an inextricable, and probably essential, component to everyday life. Over the past 20 years, it has become a quick-hit replacement for telephone conversations, letter writing, scrapbooks, news sources and barstool debates. It has, for better and worse, freed up free speech and given everyone willing to open an account access to everything everywhere all at once. It’s a powerful tool that, like so many powerful tools, comes with a litany of blessings and curses.
Over the years, I’ve dipped my toes in most of them to some extent. Facebook has been the Alpha, but I’ve Snapped the occasional chat, crafted an Instagram or two and was, for a time, a Tweeter on Twitter. Now there’s Bluesky and, quite frankly, I don’t know that I have it in me to make the commitment. I may, however, be the exception and not the rule. Suddenly hot – some say in response to the toxicity of Twitter-now-X – the service has, in recent weeks, grown by almost a million users a day.
For me, it comes down to both a question of need and a concern over the effect of social media discourse. I feel like my existing digital connections will suffice and, more significantly, are curated just enough to keep the trolls, villains, and other disreputable keyboard bullies off my feeds – a place that has required a lot of careful culling to arrive at. It makes me question whether engaging with Bluesky is worth the risk of reentering the fray.
That said, I am a person that likes connecting with people. I crave their stories and experiences. It’s what bonds and binds us. Can I resist the Bluesky call or will my fear of missing out get the better of me? Twitter made me bitter, so I believe I’ll remain outside that particular digital corral for a while, but the future is always unwritten.
8th Street Confidential
There are very few traffic issues on Eighth Street, particularly on the block between Ellis and Greene. That’s because there is very little traffic – and it has been that way for some time. Eternal roadworks and other assorted civic construction projects have turned this little pocket of downtown into something of a land of the lost. It’s hard to park. Impulse traffic has slowed. Window shoppers have relocated to more hospitable climes. For a small business – the sort of business that inhabits this block – it is a real buzz kill. There have, as expected, been missives fired off on Facebook, denouncing the city for valuing progress over the prosperity of the Eighth Street Entrepreneurs. And while I certainly sympathize with their plight, I’m not sure skipping out on essential infrastructure is the answer. These projects represent responsible management of essential systems. That does not, however, mean that these businesses need to suffer or close.
So, what is the answer?
I think instead of looking toward the government, those affected, and their allies should look toward a much bigger and broader target.
You. Me. Us. All of us.
Because here is the painful truth. We cannot, and should not, try to slow the wheels of progress and/or preservation. Roads, waste management, utilities – these are essentials that should not be given short shrift in the name of commercial interests. But if those interests are something we care about – which is the case with so many of the Eighth Street Entrepreneurs – it is our job as concerned citizens to ensure that we make that small extra effort to support these businesses. Might that be inconvenient? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Without a doubt.
The real Deal feel
Best known for the bands she has either led or played an important supporting role in (Pixies, The Breeders, Amps), Kim Deal has developed a reputation for being the kind of artist that plays well with others. So, I was curious, and perhaps a little fanboy anxious, when I heard she was eschewing the safety of working with a group in favor of a solo record. Would it be good/self-indulgent? Could she shake 35 years of being-in-a-band habits and ensure her pure creative voice was heard?
Absolutely.
The album, recorded by the late Steve Albini and entitled ‘Nobody Loves You More’, feels very much like both a reflection and expansion on the sort of rattling rock that has been her trademark. Filled with the sort of subtle and quirky hooks and wordplay that have become identifiers of the Deal sound, ‘Loves You’ is undeniably built on the foundation laid by classic songs such as ‘Cannonball’ and ‘Gigantic.’ But there’s a sort of woozy romanticism at work as well, with the title track feeling like a track from the Breeders’ debut ‘Pod’ filtered through Burt Bacharach and ‘Coast’ providing a soundtrack for the kind of beachcomber that finds sand slightly irritating.
For those looking for something that feels like what longtime fans might consider the real Deal, both ‘Disobedience’ and ‘Big Ben Beat’ offer the sort of punky beat poetry she is best known for.
The result is a record, unexpected and decades in the making, which offers manifest surprises while still feeling, to fans, like home.