{ "schemaVersion": "v1", "slug": "get-in-the-flow-a-tiktok-state-of-mind", "title": "Get in the Flow (A TikTok State of Mind)", "kind": "solo", "listenUrl": "https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lovemusicmore/episodes/Get-in-the-Flow-A-TikTok-State-of-Mind-e2v8658", "contentStartSec": 94.11, "publishedAt": "2026-10-14", "source": { "provider": "whisper", "model": "faster-whisper:base", "normalizedSchema": "v1", "transcribedAt": "2026-06-09T09:04:25.030Z" }, "paragraphs": [ { "startSec": 94.11, "endSec": 120.11, "text": "What's good, everybody?Scoobert Doobert here.Welcome back to love, music, more.I'm so excited to talk about one of my favorite subjects and that's the flow state.Getting into the flow, making things happen, but also ways that the world around us andcompanies are hijacking the flow state and ways that you might identify it in your ownlife, particularly with social media.I know I do in mine." }, { "startSec": 120.11, "endSec": 143.27, "text": "So quasi, self-help, quasi mysticism, quasi creative strategies in this pod.So what is the flow state?For me, the flow state is that moment where you lose the moment.You become so absorbed with the task that you are doing that when you come out of theflow state, that's when you know you were in one." }, { "startSec": 143.27, "endSec": 169.79, "text": "It's the thing that you lose yourself so fully within that you forget about your basichuman needs.You're like, oh, I didn't drink enough water.Whoa, I'm hungry.Oh my God, I'm so sleepy.I have to use the restroom.I gotta go for a walk.I haven't seen the sun all day.All of those kinds of things that I think are so tied up with musical greatness.But it's also a state that you can reach in a bunch of different ways." }, { "startSec": 169.79, "endSec": 190.67, "text": "You can reach it pretty much in whatever task that you are doing.You can reach the flow state when you're driving.You can reach the flow state when you are cleaning, when you are doing corporate work,spreadsheet work, like video games.All of these different places, they can take you to that same destination." }, { "startSec": 190.67, "endSec": 219.07, "text": "But I find the flow state to be the most satisfying when it is directed towards something creative.That to me is the difference between being used and put into a trance or using the tranceto your own benefit and to the benefit of the world.Just with all things, I don't know if you've ever heard the concept of the shadow self,but there's this sense of subconscious conscious." }, { "startSec": 219.07, "endSec": 249.11, "text": "It's very, I don't know how real this is, but it's at least pointing towards somethingthat I've felt in my life of your very aware self and your very unaware self, the lightand the dark.The flow state exists more in that dark.It exists in a place that, like I was saying, it's like trance.It's something that's tapped into that is not always accessible and can transport yourabilities to a higher plane." }, { "startSec": 249.11, "endSec": 278.15, "text": "It can take it to that next level.The same way that live music can put the audience and the performer into a state of flow.It can yield these results where the performer might hit a note singing that they never havebefore or might play a lick on a guitar solo that they've never conceived of before.Or use the scale that they've never practiced.Or make a mistake that ends up inspiring the rest of musical history." }, { "startSec": 278.15, "endSec": 305.53, "text": "Something that is the highest reaches of human ability, but that can be hijacked.I think that social media, particularly TikTok, is kind of engineered to do that.I've seen it happen to me where you get lost in the scroll.It's so perfectly tailored to this algorithmic self." }, { "startSec": 305.53, "endSec": 333.47, "text": "This shadow self that is being trained through reinforcement learning with every single tap,every single swipe, every single linger.Or it starts to know what you want more than you know what you want.And then you can worship it, fall prey to it, fall into its flow state." }, { "startSec": 333.47, "endSec": 358.75, "text": "And every time that I've done that, where I feel like I've slipped into the rabbit holeof TikTok or YouTube shorts, or Instagram Reels doesn't do this to me as much for somereason.I'm able to snap out more of it.Maybe that's just because it's an inferior product, but TikTok does this the most YouTubeshorts the next most of you go, oh, where was I?What was I doing?How much time has passed?" }, { "startSec": 358.75, "endSec": 381.55, "text": "But you don't feel it in the way that I do with music.Or it's like, I got to get back there in a positive way.It's like, oh, that's dangerous in the negative way.And I don't know if you ever witness somebody go into that, like have you ever been hangingout with somebody and they're scrolling TikTok?Maybe it's like before bed or you're in transit or something like that." }, { "startSec": 381.55, "endSec": 398.75, "text": "And you watch them fall into this disassociative trance where it doesn't actually seem likethey're enjoying any of the content.They just have become one with the machine.They're staring into their own soul.I think that's the flow state being hijacked against you." }, { "startSec": 398.75, "endSec": 423.22, "text": "The thing that I find the most religious experience is flipped into this anti-religious experience.This isn't just me trying to shade social media.This is me trying to place it in a continuum because that's like, you know, a very human thingto do right is try to sort things." }, { "startSec": 423.22, "endSec": 455.28, "text": "I believe that trying to reach your highest self is addictive in a positive manner.These other things are the exact opposite.But it also makes me think about all the stuff because I'm totally obsessed with all theartificial intelligence things.I haven't been talking about it quite as much on the pod recently because I don't hype.I've been learning it, playing with it every single day, literally." }, { "startSec": 455.28, "endSec": 479.08, "text": "And some of this is really cool.But a lot of it, the shine is worn off or it's become more of a tool like I was talkingabout a long time ago about how it's kind of hoping that it would be more of a toollike a multiplier rather than a replacement.But then I started to think about why.Why is it not making it as a replacement for myself?" }, { "startSec": 479.08, "endSec": 507.24, "text": "Why do I not feel like I can just train an AI and have it go make music and it's satisfying?Why is every time I hear an AI song so deeply unsettling sometimes in a cool way?But in a very femoral way, it doesn't have any sticking power at least yet.And namely in lyrics, the best AI songs that I've heard have very intentional and humanderived lyrics because and they're usually jokes like those are the best ones." }, { "startSec": 507.24, "endSec": 541.96, "text": "But even still, they're like short, short lifespan for these jokes.All listen to the song once, smile, be like, that was neat and then move on.I think it's all part and parcel.The stuff that I'm talking about with the flow state, with the algorithmic self andwith AI missing the mark on creativity, I think it's all pointing towards the same generalanswer of embodied knowledge and the mysticism of art." }, { "startSec": 541.96, "endSec": 576.07, "text": "But I don't necessarily mean this is something that's not able to be quantified.Maybe this is a problem that AI researchers are whatever can solve, but I don't thinkit's high enough on their list of things because it's the space in between notes.It's the thing that isn't the music theory.It's the emergence of something greater out of the things that you learn.It's consciousness and it's metaconsciousness." }, { "startSec": 576.07, "endSec": 599.91, "text": "It's that rarefied air that I'm talking about where you play a solo and you go wheredid that come from.It's the stuff that like when John Lennon was asked about writing his songs, he's like,I don't really write my songs.They just kind of come in a weird way like they just appear.And it creates a humility.There's some Jimi Hendrix interviews where it's a similar thing where he's like, you" }, { "startSec": 599.91, "endSec": 628.8, "text": "know, I just play and it's a little bit less like the artist is the master and it'smore like the artist is the lightning rod, they're the diviner, they're the medium throughwhich the spirit speaks, the vessel.All of those things feel more aligned with my musical experience." }, { "startSec": 628.8, "endSec": 650.36, "text": "And sometimes my biggest thing that I'm trying to practice is to become a better vessel.Like, scales can only get you so far, like I can play so fast but it's just boring, doesn'treally do anything for me, but like figuring out a way that can be like, I've never heardthat before.I've never done that before.I've never thought that before.I've never, that's just outside of the scope of my reality and my expectation." }, { "startSec": 650.36, "endSec": 671.28, "text": "That's what I'm trying to optimize, all of my musical and creative time.And honestly, like a lot of what I'm trying to do just on this earth and experiences andconversations, everything is to try to grow that little nugget because I, you know, morethan being successful or famous or whatever, like I don't, like obviously that'd be great.Because then it gets me and I can do this full time." }, { "startSec": 671.28, "endSec": 693.32, "text": "But I can full time try to grow that little seed of consciousness and metacognition sothat I have a purpose as a musician and that purpose is making my little thing.And maybe it'll inspire other people to make their little thing.And maybe this podcast will inspire other people to have conversations about their littlething." }, { "startSec": 693.32, "endSec": 715.6, "text": "Like, how do you have any sort of impact that is that makes your existence as an artist,you know, like worthwhile, not just a person that's perfectly separate, but just like,I've taken a lot from music.How do I contribute in an equal or greater amount back to it and or art just in general?Like, how do you inspire the next thing?" }, { "startSec": 715.6, "endSec": 739.34, "text": "And that for me is this conversation is thinking about if you're studying music or if you'remaking art, how do you access those upper reaches of what you're capable of and howdo you expand your capabilities so that when you go there, it goes even higher.So like this, I like, I like Dragon Ball Z, okay?So Dragon Ball Z, there's this whole idea of like transformations, right?" }, { "startSec": 739.34, "endSec": 763.5, "text": "There's a base form of like Goku and then he becomes Super Saiyan and it's like his baseform time 10 times 10.I honestly, I feel like that's, that feels the same way with flow state for me.You can train your base form.You can train yourself to learn the scales and learn the programs and clear out roadblocksmake it so that it's easier for when you do have an idea to get to the idea and actuallyplay it." }, { "startSec": 763.5, "endSec": 788.22, "text": "Like, that is the mastery, quote unquote.And that's what the AIs have been learning, right?It's like the same thing of I understand scales and now I understand music theory.I'm going to learn a million songs, I'm going to learn all of the math behind thosesongs.I am going to analyze all of the math behind all of these frequencies and know like thisis what a kick drum supposed to sound like, great." }, { "startSec": 788.22, "endSec": 807.06, "text": "That is like 10% of the work.You need to now go Super Saiyan.You need to 10x yourself and go into the flow state.You need to find that extra upper echelon and it's really special when you can go inthat flow state together.Like that's like that live performance because this huge thing, the audience is in it.The performers are in it with each other.Everybody's communicating." }, { "startSec": 807.06, "endSec": 827.54, "text": "Sometimes tracks really get in the way of that because it creates too much structure.Sometimes it aids it because then it has a structure that you can jump off of.It's like navigating that fine delicate balance and sometimes it's there for a momentand it disappears.That's why some of the best solos are followed up by some of the worst solos because you haveto be out on the branch.Like you're on this big tree." }, { "startSec": 827.54, "endSec": 854.06, "text": "You have to be out on the farthest branch and sometimes that branch is going to snapoff and you're going to plummet to the earth.But you're not going to reach anything of value until you're way out there.But it's weird to me to see AI, which is kind of like bastardizing the sense of learningand mastery without the emergent factor.It is all of the things without the destination." }, { "startSec": 854.06, "endSec": 884.1, "text": "And then also seeing the inverted flow state of social media go to the furthest extentwhere it is the most self-congratulatory self-designed version of yourself, a shadowself that you're communing with in a way that doesn't make you feel better.It gives you just enough, just enough education or at least a parent education that you feela little bit like what you did wasn't a waste." }, { "startSec": 884.1, "endSec": 906.45, "text": "But it's like I know a lot of people that, and I've done this, want to be motivated.So you watch a lot of motivational videos.And sometimes you'll feel a little bit more motivated.But if you would have just spent those hours that you spent listening to that motivationalcontent doing the thing, you would have gotten better at the thing." }, { "startSec": 906.45, "endSec": 933.25, "text": "The key is doing it when you don't want to, doing it every day, flexing that muscle andopening yourself up to be a vessel, pointing your ship in the direction that you reallywant to go and training that base form.So then when you do have those brief moments where you get to go Super Saiyan, you are readyfor it and you have something to multiply off of." }, { "startSec": 933.25, "endSec": 959.21, "text": "It's like, and it's also finding yourself as a person and trying to be like, how canI be more interesting?How can I develop?How can I think deeper?What can I read?Who can I talk to?What can I listen to?That isn't self-congratulatory and isn't that rabbit hole of flow, fake flow, but is insteadanother building block, another brick, another thing to write about.I like to also collect things." }, { "startSec": 959.21, "endSec": 984.05, "text": "I've been doing a ton of this, I've just, I got a new iPhone, which I'm really happy about.Going into the rabbit hole helps me do that.But it also has a new little action button, and I click on that action button and it'sinstantly recording a voice note.So I am one long press away from recording a voice note at any given moment, and it'sso cool because I've been recording so many more." }, { "startSec": 984.05, "endSec": 1003.21, "text": "I've just the littlest things, like, wow, this is a really interesting ambience in thisTokyo subway station, captured.Wow, that's a really cool bird, captured.I have a really dumb idea on my commute to my day job, captured, over and over and overagain.It's not even necessarily that I'm going to use them all, but I am generating hundreds," }, { "startSec": 1003.21, "endSec": 1021.97, "text": "literally hundreds every month of these little voice memos of just interesting sonic textures,interesting little melodies or lyrics or stupid wraps that pop into my head.Now they are captured, they're real, they're there, and then the moment that I get lost,maybe one of those can be a nugget for me to launch into my next flow state." }, { "startSec": 1021.97, "endSec": 1047.21, "text": "It's using technology in that manner to keep your antenna up, rather than put your antennadown.That, to me, is like the artist journey with technology, and that's what I'm trying todo with AI too, is like, how do I get that thing integrated into my world without it becomingmy world?How do I get it?How do I use it rather than it uses me like the social media stuff?I can't figure that out." }, { "startSec": 1047.21, "endSec": 1068.05, "text": "So the social media thing is like kind of a real, real bummer to me.If I wasn't a musician, I wouldn't be on it probably.I'm mostly on it so that I can see what's actually going in the world because I don't wantto be cut off.Every week there's a new thing, and if I miss that new thing, I'm now on behind aweek, and I'm trying to write about what it's like to be alive in the world right now," }, { "startSec": 1068.05, "endSec": 1089.93, "text": "so because that's the only thing I've got.I can't compete with the Beatles on their own ground, but they can't write a song aboutwhat it feels like to be alive in 2025.I can.So there you go.That's all I got.That's my competitive advantage.Against them.So like, and I'm competing against them because any second that somebody chooses to listento my silly music versus their great music, I won." }, { "startSec": 1089.93, "endSec": 1114.05, "text": "I don't win very often, but like, that's the reality.It's like a zero sum.Either people listen to my stuff or somebody else's stuff.You got to give them a reason to listen to your stuff.So I have to be on social media and like constantly dealing with that because, and I haveto put myself through the negative flow as much as it hurts me, as much as I realizelike, oh, that wasn't good for me.It's part of living." }, { "startSec": 1114.05, "endSec": 1137.22, "text": "And so I'm not advocating for turning it off necessarily.I'm just advocating for trying to like contextualize and put it in this place and put yourselfin the place you want to be.And I don't know.That's just stuff that's been on my mind.I hope it's somewhat valuable or at least charges an interesting conversation.If you'd like to have that conversation with me, we've got comments on Spotify now.I read them." }, { "startSec": 1137.22, "endSec": 1162.7, "text": "I appreciate them.They're really fun.So yeah, drop me one on here on YouTube or whatever.You know, hit me up on my DMs so that when I'm doom scrolling, I'll get a DM and insteadI'll talk to you instead of watch my 15th reel.If you enjoyed this content, just straight content.You might enjoy my other content at scoobertdoobert.pizza.That is my website scoobertdoobert.pizza." }, { "startSec": 1162.7, "endSec": 1182.94, "text": "It's also my Instagram handle, scoobertdoobert.pizza.I'd like to also invite you to subscribe, share the show and rate it five stars.If you so please, it really helps the pod, helps it grow, helps get these little musingsout there in the world.And I'm really excited to extend these conversations with the awesome guests that I've got comingup." }, { "startSec": 1182.94, "endSec": 1204.86, "text": "And if you haven't listened to the last few guest episodes, they've been awesome.Nolan Lem, who is an art auditory artist, like literally coolest post post modern auditoryand visual art in museums, talking to him and he's so down to earth too, which is sonice because sometimes those museum experiences, like I don't understand or I don't get it" }, { "startSec": 1204.86, "endSec": 1231.32, "text": "or it's beyond me, he really takes you there and also his work is very visceral.And it's just so cool to hear what's going on in the museum kind of academic but alsopractical world and he's also doing acoustic research, absolutely fantastic.Also talked with Sam Fischmann who designs audio plugins, software development in audio isreally fascinating." }, { "startSec": 1231.32, "endSec": 1251.34, "text": "We talk about how digital signal processing has to be so, so fast because latency, the speedat which you play the note and then you hear the note back to you from your computer isso important to be able to do a proper performance that digital, just digital processing is justa really fascinating, difficult subject and we dug into it really deep." }, { "startSec": 1251.34, "endSec": 1270.78, "text": "And in a way that I don't think you need to be a music pro or whatever to get it.And then finally Serena Sun, Serena, a really great look at what it's like to be a modernup and coming artist, all of the challenges, all of the opportunities and everythingwithin that.So definitely check out those episodes.Thank you for listening to this one and I'll see you next week." } ], "correctionsApplied": [ { "id": "scoobart-alone", "count": 1, "note": "Partial host first name ASR typo" }, { "id": "scoobert-url", "count": 3, "note": "Outro URL ASR typo" } ] }