Back in 2015 after posting a video on YouTube, I noticed that somebody gave it a “thumbs down.” I know this is standard practice on social media, but it annoyed me anyway.
Who was it that hit the “thumbs down” icon? Couldn’t they have watched it, made a face and moved onto another video? Maybe they could have left a civil comment explaining their distaste? Why anonymously throw some negativity into the world?
This whole aspect of social media annoys me, where people say negative things and attack people who don’t agree with them. It’s OK to disagree and have a civil conversation about different issues, but the nature of social media today is so hateful, I try to avoid reading the comments whenever I can. People say things online that they would never (I think) dare say to somebody’s face. It’s unbelievable how many people have no filters when they’re online, they just respond with whatever comes to their mind as if they are an expert on every subject and have a duty to inform others of the truth.
I do admit that sometimes when I’m hearing somebody speak in real life, like if I’m listening to a lecture, I have an instinct to click a “like” or laugh emoji if they say something clever, but I refrain from shouting “LIKE!!!!!” because that would just be weird.
This idea of people needing to always express their opinion about something is where this next song comes from, “Thumbs-down Mentality.”
Everyone’s a critic, a thumbs-down mentality
Can’t keep it to themselves, they need the whole world to see
You’re king of your keyboard, you’re ruler of your room
A tyrant typing madly spreading anonymous doom
This song doesn’t have a standard chorus, but this line is repeated so this may be the chorus?
Why do we have to be this way?
Why can’t we think of something nice to say?
I think this next verse was written on a day when everybody seemed to be complaining about insignificant things at the same time when really big, horrible things were happening in the world that nobody seemed to care about.
So much whining and complaining about trivial troubles
Ignoring pandemonium unleashed outside their bubbles
Every thought you think of does not need to be expressed
Trampling on good intentions with no one to clean the mess
Of course I am not immune to this complaining, I’m sure I do it, too. (As in this blog post, perhaps?)
I’m not saying I’m not guilty, I’m not claiming to be right
I’m just sick of the viciousness on my screen each night
I believe we could do better or maybe I’m naive
But don’t you want to improve the world at least once before you leave?
I realize now that the song uses far from the ideal song structure, with three verses, including one that repeats and no clear chorus and, like most of my songs from that year, I use the same three chords and a similar strum. But I still do find occasionally myself singing parts of it.
My Songwriting Journey 