I'm so happy to finally get this new video out to you! I'd love it if you would take a few minutes and watch the new video - we put a lot into it, had such a great time with it, and it contains a message I think many of us our thinking and vexed by. After you take a peek, if you could share it with friends and family who might need/want to hear this as well. Any and all shares are appreciated - YouTube, Facebook, personal emails. THANK YOU in advance! Here's the link: https://youtu.be/jW1_Fj8Vzfw And you can see it on my facebook page at www.facebook.com/MichaelTiernanMusic ____________________________________ About the song and the video, "Your Attention" - Funny thing - I used to rail on cell-phone society. I used to swear I would never get one. That was way back - when I had perspective and when I was focusing my attention on being 'spiritual' and 'present', it was easy to see the dangers of the new technology. It was circa 1999 and I was studying in the seminary in Rome, and the cell phone craze hit Italy long before it hit the States. I would frequently marvel how a lovely looking couple would be sitting out in the most beautiful of settings, a 700-year old piazza, surrounded by history, sunshine, the incredible aromas of espresso and bread and sauce - and there they would sitting, not hand-in-hand or staring into each other’s eyes and soaking in the magic of the place and each other, but back to back, huddled down over their now-primitive but at the time cutting edge devices. Lost somewhere other than where they were. Flash-forward to our culture today (me included!) - noses buried, necks craned and trained downwards, the blue light of the display illuminating staring faces, many impervious to whatever beauty or chaos actually surrounds. Of course, it would be incredibly ignorant and disgustingly judgmental to assume that everyone is up to no-good or doesn't have their own value-set or discipline in using their devices. I absolutely appreciate the connections and interconnected-ness we can achieve on our devices - there are so many beautiful things and experiences to be had and instantaneous information to be gained from having that voluminous helpmate in our pockets. I resisted getting a phone as long as I could. Now I'm as addicted as they come. I'm as attached to my 'smart' phone just as much, if not more, than the next person. Always checking my damn phone. "I need to get back to this client. I need to check my Facebook comments. What if I don't respond to this gig request in time, they'll give it to someone else. I need to make sure I remember to send this email. I need to take a picture of this sunset so I can post it on Instagram". And on and on. Insanity. If you have avoided even the slightest hints of device-addiction, I applaud you! I began writing the song a couple years back, spurred on by my frustration at people's rudeness as to when they chose to use their cell phones - at a show, at the supermarket, while dealing with actual real-live humans right in front of them. I found it assaulting. Insulting. Then I realized I wasn't writing the song for anyone out there - I was writing it as an admonishment to myself. Although I don't take it to such extremes and I try to be courteous of those in my presence, I am the worst offender when it comes to the phone taking away my attention on where it should be. And all in the name of progress and facility of work, right? Many times it has made me less productive, more scattered, and less able to truly be present - to sit with the sunrise, to be silent, to appreciate and breath in what-is. And it's not the damn cell phone's fault. And it's no body's fault but my own - perspective, self-control, respect. So this song began as I pictured me chewing out some kid who was paying attention to his cell phone versus his teacher or family, and it quickly turned into a song really meant to be directed back at me. Now to the video - I was lucky enough to partner with the Emmy-Award winning producer and cinematographer Graham Ehlers Sheldon and his amazing director wife, Rin Ehlers Sheldon, who took some of the cell-phone offense ideas to big screen. It's wonderfully shot, fully of their vision and talent, and I'm hoping you enjoy (possibly, on your cell phone!). Ah, the irony:) Thanks for Your Attention. It's priceless. Michael www.tiernantunes.com
