Sounding Out The City Analysis

This article was an interesting read but I felt it diverged too deeply into the world of personal audio, at least relating back to my own use of an Ipod. I am a concert-goer and prefer music live, number one. After that, I love a good stereo system, vinyl preferred. I am a purist when it comes to music, or as some like to say, an asshole. I like music to effect the entire environment I am in, whether alone or not. When listening to music, and not using a personal player, I do chose music specific for my mood or music specific for changing my mood. I know music can be used as a tool, effecting behavior and mood. But again…

My Ipod retains little use in my own life. I find myself often forgetting it, or I guess, just not wanting to bring it along. But when I do have it, it is often used to distract. As in, kill time. When I do use my Ipod, it is for walking around campus, getting from class to class, making the walk go by a little more quickly. If not for this purpose, I use it for the gym, when I am not too lazy to go, again to lose track of time and distract. It does not necessarily make the event more enjoyable or less enjoyable. It doesn’t change the fact that I hate walking across campus to get from class to class or the fact that I hate running on a treadmill for 45 minutes, feeling like a hamster in a wheel. I truly could live without it, as I didn’t even purchase it for myself. It was a gift.

As far as specific music goes… I don’t have playlists on my Ipod for different purposes. In fact, I don’t have playlists on the thing what so ever. If I am using it, I often just put it on random, not really caring what is playing, as I have a very eccentric collection of music from all eras and all parts of the world. So, again, personally, this “personal space” that is talked about in the article is not relative to my own use, but I do understand how one could use a personal audio device to create this; to evade the real world, creating your own, as I do this with my other music listening habits. I have friends that use their Ipods in this way; for meditation, escapism, etc… So I am not saying this isn’t legitimate. They have playlists for different occasions, moods, and events; All relative to the article.

As far as the gaze being affected by it, I personally don’t really notice it. I have to admit, I’m not the most self-confident of fellow, so I am often looking at the ground when walking, whether I have an Ipod or not. I shelter myself from the real world as much as I can in all circumstances as I am an introvert, using my own mind as the main tool of escapism.

So again, an interesting read ,but not really relative to my life personally. I know people who would relate more to this article more than myself.