May 27th Walk 4: Cocooned vs. Engaged

Cocooned

For this walk, I chose to walk down High St., a very crowded, high foot traffic street on the campus of the Ohio State University. Using my Ipod to "cocoon" myself, I walked for a bit over an hour; for the first half listening to a "Music I Love" playlist and for the second half, listening to a "Music I Hate" playlist, documenting my observations, thoughts, etc... on a notepad as the batteries for my voice recorder ran out.

The music for my playlist was chosen very specifically to see what changes in observation were made from changing songs; whether positive or negative.



"Music I Love" Playlist:

1. Ohio - Modest Mouse
2. Kinky Afro - Happy Mondays
3. Get Up Sex Machine - James Brown
4. Changes - Blind Melon
5. The Thrill Is Gone - B.B. King
6. Mannish Boy - Muddy Waters
7. Cut My Wings - Seasick Steve
8. The Crystal Ship - The Doors
9. Black Door - The Black Keys
10. Purple Rain - Prince

Having experienced this type of walk before, just being a college student with an Ipod, I had expectations of what was going to happen. My "Music I Love" playlist affected my mood positively and the "Music I Hate" playlist pissed me off. What I noticed most when listening to the music that I actually liked was that I was more intune with myself, ignoring the outside world, focusing on my own emotion. Modest Mouse always makes me feel settled, and comfortable with my state of mind, no matter what it is that day, as I feel there is a hint of psychosis to their music that is comforting. I chose them first for this reason; to set the mood for a good half of the walk and chose the song Ohio, well, because I am in Ohio. Next up was Happy Mondays, another group I associate with psychosis, yet a little more funky and dancey. My foot pace increased when this came on and a smile took over my face. I had a new rhythm that was not previously there. Continuing with the funky feeling, the Godfather of Soul, James Brown took over. At this point, I was completely zoned out, focusing solely on the music, the groove, the beat, the bass; closing my eyes often, becoming enthralled in the funk. Keeping the uplifting theme, I moved to one of my favorite songs of all time, "Changes" by Blind Melon. This song makes me shutter every time it comes on, and it did not fail to do so this time. The lyrics of the song are simple, essentially saying, don't be depressed. If you don't like what is going on, change it; a lesson that seems simple but was very hard for myself to learn. So, as the song ended, I ended up feeling a little sentimental. Thus, I transitioned to the blues; my heart and soul. For some reason, the Blues and Matt Shifrin go hand in hand. I feel I relate to these 70 year old black men more than my own age group and peers. "The Thrill is Gone" is a classic B.B. King hit, filled with emotion, giving me the chills every time B.B. hit a string. Next was Muddy Waters, essentially the same happenings as B.B. The blues always make me feel like it is me against the world, so at this point, I opened my eyes and started to observe the people a little more, but still ignoring them as I passed by with my blues. I had a "fuck you, I'm dealing with my own shit" kind of feeling; very empowering. Next was "Cut My Wings" by Seasick Steve, a not very known older White blues artist, who happens to sound like an older Black man. The simplicity of his music had me zoning out again, focusing on the rhythm, the beat, the tone, the emotion. After Seasick, I moved onto my favorite band and another one of my favorite songs of all time, "The Crystal Ship" by The Doors. Jim Morrison is a poet, thus emotion is assumed in all of The Door's music. This song makes me sway a certain way as I walk, it is hard to describe. It has its own flow and haunting weirdness that just gets to me. I can't say I was in a happy mood while listening to this song, as it isn't that type of song. It isn't meant to be. This returned me to the psychosis mood, but obviously a little more psychedelic, bringing me back to memories of psychedelic trips I've had my own self. You can't help it with Jim. He'll turn anyone crazy. Next, I brought it back to the Ohio theme with "Black Door" by The Black Keys, a newer blues rock group from Akron. This song just made me feel happy to be home finally. It was a settling point and realization that I was no longer in Arizona, and that summer was actually here. It put a big smile on my face and had me rocking the fuck out. To end this playlist, but to continue with the epic rocking out, I chose "Purple Rain" by Prince, one of the greatest songs of all time, hands down. With this song playing, there is no outer world, there is only Prince and there is only Purple Rain. My eyes were closed, luckily walking in an area with no stop lights at this point and a straight side walk. I went into a meditative state and had my own personal super rock out, not caring who the fuck was watching, or what was going on around me. When this song ended, I became very sad, as I knew what was too come... My "Music I Hate" playlist...




"Music I Hate" Playlist:

1. What Hurts The Most - Rascal Flatts
2. Baby Hold On - The Dixie Chicks
3. Nemo - Nightwish
4. Temporary Home - Carrie Underwood
5. I Will Do Anything For Love - Meatloaf
6. The Electric Slide - Wildlife
7. We Built This City - Jefferson Starship
8. Jack and Diane - John Mellencamp

To get this playlist, I went through my families Itunes and picked the most horrific songs I could find. It is not that I hate my family, it is just that I know they listen to some shitty music and also often download some random shit; especially my sister with her Ohioan love for country music (random fact: this did not develop until we moved to Ohio, as my family is originally from Chicago). With this playlist, I was thoroughly annoyed the entire time, often skipping songs, but then having to come back, so I could walk the rest of the time. My emotions did not change throughout the playlist, as each song is just as bad as the next. I felt bored and pissed off walking, looking down at my feet, embarrassed that I was listening to this shit. It was hard to focus on anything other than I wanted the walk to be done. I didn't pay attention to anyone but definitely for different reasons than the first playlist. After taking off my headphones, I felt a sense of relief, entered my car, and drove home, blasting songs from the first playlist to put me in a better mood.