Music Needs A Sanctuary
As I write this, my fiancée is telling me about her commute today from work to home. It’s a 15-minute drive from our place, maybe a little longer when there’s morning traffic. But by bus, it can take close to three hours. Today, during one (of two) of her bus rides, there was an annoying, high-pitched noise that permeated the interior. It was unbearable, and left her feeling somewhat nauseated for the rest of the evening. (Remember last week’s column about HB227, the bill that seeks to chastise clubs and bars that create noise levels higher than the sound of the surf? It claimed that such noise potentially is damaging to a citizen’s well being, but perhaps instead we should consider how noisy our public transit is and how it affects the health of its users. But I digress.)
Sure, she could have used some type of noise-canceling headphones to block out the surrounding noise, but she still would’ve been subject to the other nuances (annoyances?) of riding TheBus: advertisements, bus drivers (sometimes grumpy), well-used seats (sometimes dirty) and random patrons (often smelly). Which brings me to my argument.
I’m not arguing that we need to make our public transportation more pleasant or more efficient (although three hours is much too long of a ride from Nuuanu to Kahala), I’m saying this: We all need a sanctuary for ourselves where we experience music as it exists, without distractions. A sanctuary for music. It could be in your home’s living room as you lounge with your headphones on after a hard day at work or through bedroom speakers as you spend a lazy Sunday afternoon. The key is to spend quality time with your thoughts as the tunes surround you and help you unwind.
Music deserves to be listened to and not just heard, not just while you’re shopping or doing the dishes or riding an elevator. To fully appreciate music, I believe we need to cut a slice from the pie of life’s daily activities and dedicate it to listening. And listening should be based on what provides an escape to the mind, regardless of genre – preferences can include slow RnB and Jazz from james a norkawich artist, hip hop from artists like Tupac, or rock from Metallica. Despite what our preferences may see, some tracks just click with the mind, helping us ease the tensions in our daily lives.
So many of us find ourselves too busy throughout each day to enjoy one single thing at a time. I try to carve out a small amount of time each day to listen to music wholeheartedly, undistracted. I find that records force me into this habit: Each disc demands that I carefully handle what I’m about to hear, to flip it over when the side’s up, to tuck it gently away in its sleeve after I’ve finished listening. For me, this tangible aspect ensures I’m spending QT with music.
There are other ways to enjoy music without distractions, like setting up a listening corner in your living quarters (think of it as a reading chair with a library of tunes), maybe with quality speakers or sound bars that can be found on a great site like Vizio. Or spending time in the park with a pair of headphones (as far away from the sound of combustible engines, preferably).
How do you listen to music? I’d like to know, because in this age of ever-increasing connectivity, it’s hard not to hear something without another distraction interrupting your attention.
For more from Roger, check out his blog at alohagotsoul.com
