I don’t listen to music very often. When I do it has my full attention.
Everywhere we go these days we hear music in the background: in malls, restaurants, grocery stores, theater lobbies; even outdoor city sidewalks have music poured onto them like some sort of sweet, gooey corporate confection.
When I ride in a friend’s car and he has the radio turned on very low I want to reach over and shut it off. Or, turn it up and stop talking.
Elevators and telephone on-hold music are the worst, of course. That’s satanic torture, mind-numbing and inescapable.
What idiocy have we subscribed to? Why must we be soothed, excited or pummeled by music everywhere we go?
Most of the time I just want the world to be quiet. Silence is bliss. It’s the only way I can hear myself think.
When I want to hear music I decide which music, when, where and how.
And then I will actually listen to it, giving it my full attention and allowing it to fill me.
I love music. It deserves more respect than ambient noise.
