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my headphones broke in october and i'd been too cheap/too lazy to buy new ones - until today when i popped into one of those phone repair shops today that have those big neon lights outside to let everyone know 'WE FIX PHONES!!!'
so i listened to music whilst on the go for the first time since october and it was... kinda overstimulating ?! i like how much more i notice in silence; even if that means feeling uncomfortable when the wind hurts my ears and having to endure incessant howl of my mental to-do list and also the cars honking. even visually i am able to notice more subtleties when my sense of sound isn't being overpowered by music. anyway, this post is an oldie but i got rethinking about it today
Jan 22, 2024
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I saw a quote somewhere that read āSilence is the language of God,ā and a couple of days later my AirPods finally stopped working. I interpreted this as divine intervention, and began experimenting with quiet in various scenarios and settings.
Iām typically the type of person who has some sort of music/podcast/video/voice in their ears at all times, and frankly I believe it was stunting my ability to think freely and withstand discomfort. I was beginning to feel that I was almost cheapening the media I consumed by multitasking, and I am hoping to renew my imagination and sense of mindfulness/presence by developing a better relationship to Quiet.
I am training myself to listen to the naturally occurring sounds of my own existence rather than drowning out the world all the time. So far so good.
Mar 16, 2025
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Iāve recently read a book about the concept of āsoundwalkingā and listening to the beauty of your surroundings exploring your city and neighborhood. I used to become pretty over stimulated by the sounds of the world and would used my headphones religiously to block any sounds of the outside world from getting in. But I started to wonder if the things I use to protect myself from the outside world also isolating me from experiencing it to its fullest potential. Maybe the sounds of construction and people talking and birds and busses arenāt just āsound pollutionā but a reverberation of society and life. An organic inprov performance just for me where I am right now in the world. it made me think that anything has the potential to be a work of art depending on your perspective. Iāve started walking with a tape recorder everywhere I go and I record the sounds around me as an auditory diary of sorts. itās fun to listen back and be reminded of the sounds of the bowling alley or the cafe or the sound check at the punk show. Since this perspective shift Iāve become allot less over stimulated by the world and become more creative with my greatest resource: the world around me.
Jan 10, 2025
like i understand why it would be helpful for like productivity and shit and i do use a pair (got gifted one for christmas) but beyond that and for overstimulation/sensory issues noise-cancelling headphones are a nuisance to our society...
the absence of noise genuinely drives me out and freaks me out sorry i can't fucking handle it....
why do we want to be disconnected from the humdrum noise of everyday life so much??? the background noise of life is what keeps us grounded and honestly something we take from granted...
leaves rustling, bird chirping, train sounds, background conversations, the sound of walking??? and the most ordinary shit you know???? feel alive goddammit!!!
Mar 21, 2025
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it's been a week since i'm rid of it and tbh i don't really miss it; i just buy cd's from the charity shop and listen on my cd player when home. if i REALLY crave a certain song whilst out and about then i'll just go on youtube. so far it's nice to not have the decision paralysis of what music i want to listen to and i feel like i'm getting to experience music as more of a whole thing bc i can't just keep flicking between artists. and i'm not ashamed that i did enjoy coldplay's parachutes album on a soft and fading thursday evening!
Feb 9, 2024
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man, libraries ROCK !!!! what do you mean i can just chill here in this chair... in this warm building with high ceilings... all of these shelves full of delights like graphic novels and how to speak another language... and then i can take my favourite books home... FOR FREE ?!?! i am so happy i left the house to go to the library today
Jan 23, 2024
every year i make a new video to mark a theme that has defined the past year: this year it was all about addiction to the internet and subsequent feelings that time spent online takes me away from my sense of self !!!!
Oct 19, 2024