Soundscape #5: Unplugged!

Roy Lichtenstein. Vicki, 1964.

I'll be the first to admit the (very) high possibility that I will die without my iPod. I simply cannot imagine going through an entire commute to and from hell work without something to comfort me or distract me along the way. It's really not so much the dread of work from which I need comfort/distraction but the incessant chatter of people along the way. I am highly suspicious of anyone who doesn't need some kind of protection from the chattering crowd. How do these people tune out like that? I realise I haven't actually tried that before, since I've never ever been without music for as long as I have to take public transport. I try to recall the conversations I have with friends during a commute but I don't think I'm objective enough to see my own inanity, so in the spirit of experimentation, I decided to unplug my ipod and plug into the collective.

To say it's deafening is a gross understatement. The sound of traffic--the engine revs, the honking and swerving--is already bad enough, but when you add to that cacophony the incessant schoolgirl giggles, or outright booming laughter, the highpitched bitchy whines about work or the droning baritones of someone's boring day, it's almost all I could bear.



Track Listing:
1. (0.00) Stephin Merritt - What A Fucking Lovely Day! (Buy Showtunes)
2. (1:22) Modest Mouse - The World At Large (Buy Good News For People Who Love Bad News)
3. (5:54) Rilo Kiley - It's A Hit (Buy More Adventurous)
4. (9:82) Kevin Devine - Buried By The Buzz (Buy Split The Country, Split The Street)
5. (13:21) Bloc Party - She's Hearing Voices (Buy Silent Alarm)
6. (16:49) Shout Out Louds - Very Loud (Buy Howl Howl Gaff Gaff)
7. (20:54) Okkervil River - Song Of Our So-Called Friend (Buy Black Sheep Boy)
8. (23:81) Nada Surf - Popular (Buy High/Low)
9. (27:29) We Are Scientists - This Scene Is Dead (Buy With Love And Squalor)
10. (30:72) Arab Strap - There Is No Ending (Buy The Last Romance)

You can also download the entire episode here.