music junkies
Have a good night guys a coworker said as he gave the corporate wave and nod and left the office. Five minutes later he was back. I gave him a puzzled look. I need to charge my earbuds because I can't go on the train without music. He walked out of the building and came back up to the 36th floor, adding a net 20 minutes to his commute so he could have music.
I have to do it with music, a friend said as the Netflix ‘are you still watching?’ screen loomed on her TV. Later she told me she listens to music whenever she can: when brushing her teeth, getting ready in the morning, walking anywhere, even reading. I called her a music addict and she waveringly agreed.
To my city readers: When was the last time you raw-dogged the soundscape on the subway? With no music or screen drowning out reality, you notice things you otherwise wouldn't: The creative + innocent comment from a child to her dad, the fitful but assuring roar of the train, the faint music from the headphones of the person sitting next to you.
Think about how rare is it to see someone on the subway without earbuds in? (If you don’t live in NYC, 90% of train riders have earbuds or headphones in). There's the occasional reader (respect), but this is rare. It’s even rarer to see someone with zero form of stimulation.
I think there's a bit of escapism at play here. I know that's a strong word and there are definitely worse cases of escapism, but I would consider this a light case if your music addiction is chronic.
Listening to music influences your thoughts. What’s wrong with letting them bubble up as they are without artificial influence every once and a while? What’s wrong with experiencing the world around you as it is? Why do you need this constant stimulation?
Experiencing the world as it is primal and beautiful. I also learned recently that our brain’s default state (without any stimulation) is to be creative!
I'm not going to make some sweeping claim about how if you listen to 2+ hours of music a day to make mundane tasks more enjoyable you deserve to be executed. I just think if you find yourself needing or craving music you should ask yourself why.
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End notes:
-I enjoy music a lot. It enhances my life. It has the power to change the mood of anything I’m doing. It inspires me.
-I notice music has less of an effect the more I use it in the short term. It functions like most with ‘tolerance’.