Screens are integral to work, to play, but never before have they been integral to connections. Just as we were all trying to learn a balance between screen-time and face-time, our options became greatly limited. Although Tayler Buono’s most recent single, “Screen,” harmonizes with the problems of social media and constant contact, it has also created a new sort of bridge between her and her fans.
Buono had always planned on releasing “Screen,” early this year, but when the pandemic hit she found it more prudent than ever. “The whole world is living through a screen. I just hope that, if anything, to just start a conversation about it. That’s why I wanted to release it, just to start a conversation about feeling not alone, and to talk about mental health and to feel vulnerable on social media or however we’re having to connect virtually,” said Buono.
Not only were we all struggling with some form of isolation during the pandemic, but also, Buono’s inspiration for the song is pretty universal. Buono said, “I remember laying in bed one day for hours, just scrolling through Instagram, and I was just feeling, getting more and more insecure. I think I was embarrassed and shameful to tell my friends that. Then I realized, I’m sure more, so many people are going through this, that feel this way, so I should try and write a song about it.”
Thus came “Screen,” a song conceived from normality and born in unique circumstances. Not only was the filming of the music video unique—shot on an iPhone with quarantine production options—but the community revolving it was too. In most cases, more normal cases, an artist releases music before a large tour: performances around the nation, meet-and-greats, encores, busses, even marketing ploys. But these days, that not at all possible.
So Buono has created today’s version of the meet-and-greet, a greet-but-no-meet. “A lot of people reached out,” after “Screen was released, “and told me it’s very relatable. It’s been cool though, cause I’ve been doing these, every week, these small Zoom calls with fans, and I’ve never felt more connected to [them], I didn’t know I could connect so much through a screen to fans. So that’s been a really inspiring experience for me and really motivates me to keep going,” said Buono. And whilst the rest of us are losing track of time and days, some motivation or scheduled hope is never a bad idea.
Not only that, do we have to look forward to, but the release of “Bedroom Sessions” is going to be a regular occurrence, said Buono. For those of you that do now know about “Bedroom Sessions,” they are intimate, stripped down recordings of Buono’s singles. So far we have the “Bedroom Session” for “Screen.” But, Buono said, “I’m thinking, after every release, every single I put out, I’m going to put, my goal is to put a “Bedroom Session,” two weeks out, two weeks after the release to put it out. That’s my goal, so we’ll see.”
And if that doesn’t sound promising enough, Buono also said that she has about twelve songs she’s in the midst of finishing production on for us. However, if you can’t wait that long, nor make a Zoom call, Buono is open to however you choose to contact her.
She wanted to say, “Just thank you for supporting me and listening to my music. I really appreciate you. And I would love, I would always love, if you can ever relate to my music, I would love to hear your story and love for you to reach out on Instagram or whatever your social media preference is.”
Art in Your World 