Soundscape #6: And If You Gaze Long Into An Abyss, The Abyss Also Gazes Into You.

Richard Stine. The Roads Between, (date unknown)

There are many laws that govern our existence here on earth. Perhaps subtler than the laws of causality, gravity and time, the law of space manifests both postitively and negatively, as well as mentally and physically. For someone who's quite painfully aware of (the lack of) space (I'm claustrophobic), I think that there is a strong relationship between space and its various constructs/confines and one's state of mind. I breathe easier in open spaces and I think clearer too when there aren't hordes of people bearing down on me. Space conjures up so many ideas and their antitheses--we think of freedom but also chaos, endless possibilities but also the paralyzing abyss-- they all attempt to describe the notion of space, but never succeeding to define it.

Space transcends even one's personal state of mind; it dictates the nature of the relationships among people as well. Ever wondered how two people at opposite ends of the earth can claim to look up at the skies and know that they are looking at the same star? Or how a couple can sit right next to each other and feel a world apart?



Track Listing:
1. (0:00) Badly Drawn Boy - The Shining (Buy The Hour Of The Bewilderbeast)
2. (5:18) Dave Matthews Band - The Space Between (Buy Everyday)
3. (9:21) Spiritualized - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space (Buy Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space)
4. (12:62) Sigur Rós - Glósóli (Buy Takk)
5. (18:78) The Postal Service - Such Great Heights (Buy Give Up)
6. (23:04) Luna - Lost In Space (Buy Best Of Luna)
7. (26:48) M83 - Don't Save Us From The Flames (Buy Before The Dawn Heals Us)
8. (30:63) Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place (Buy Kid A)
9. (34:74) My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes (Buy Loveless)
10. (39:93) Mogwai - Helicon 1 (Buy Ten Rapid)

You can also download the episode here.