“People here in 2025???”

I listen to music. Sometimes on YouTube (an odious yet indispensable entity).

Usually the advice to NEVER READ THE COMMENTS is pretty good advice.

On my tablet, I can’t hide the comments. A “top comment” bubbles up if I’m not in fullscreen mode.

Here are a few picked from among my playlist this morning. I listened to. maybe 30 songs so far.

I would like for you to read these comments and imagine how they came to be:

People here in 2025???

Who’s here in 2024? Or 2025? 💜

Whose here November 2024

Who’s still here on 2024

Anyone in 2024? …

Who’s still listening in 2024?

someone 2025?
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

This is the same, or at least related, to receiving a mixtape from a friend across the country.

This is like sharing an earbud, listening to the indispensable track while riding the subway together.

This was being in your favorite record store and that certain track comes on over the speakers and you make eye contact with a stranger, both soaking in the song’s wonderfulness.

So much of online space is miserable and hateful and these stand out as wishes for human connection.

Are you there, friend?

“THE ALGORITHM” — a mundane combination of interfaces and databases and math — bubbles comments to the top that people click “thumbs up” on.

And people click. Somehow answering that question with:

Yes, we’re here.

I’m overthinking it. But it sure feels real to me.

In hard times, we must connect with each other.

And music can do that.

Music is the best.