"Thanks to the failure of the Luddite movement," I am listening to Luke Norton's radio programme, "This Week in Braille" via cklu.ca (link to your right). It has been so long since I enjoyed listening to the radio this much.
This Monday I had the idea to apply for a show on the local university radio station, Trent Radio, 92.7 (strikingly similar to CKLU's 96.7!) with a show format similar to my old show, "Sleepwalking," but with a little more (much needed) structure and discipline. Just a little more. Possibly some forethought. Sadly, the applications had to be in by Friday (ie/ today... or rather, yesterday. Geez, it's late!), and also new members of the Trent Radio broadcasting community are only allowed on the air from 10am - 10pm, which, thanks to work, I am not available for. So that will have to go on the back burner for the time being.
But listening to Mr. Norton's fine and eclectic program has re-sparked a low simmering enjoyment in music I've been working with for the last few days. I'm currently exploring the Wolf Parade matrix (ie/ Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes, Sunset Rubdown, & Handsome Furs), four projects, side-projects, "solo albums," and general experimenting which equals out to the musical sensation of walking through a dripping bramble-lined thicket with soft, wet moss underfoot. Throw in a little TV on the Radio, and you're in for a treat! Walking across a misty bridge to work this morning listening to "Random Spirit Lover" in the early morning rain felt so damn appropriate that I wanted to retreat to the woods and live in a cave. That feeling is generally in the background of my consciousness, but this morning it was thrown fully against the windshield of my eyes. Makes working in an office difficult.
As a person who likes their music, but who also likes respecting that his music may not be the cup of tea of those around him, headphones are important. I have two sets currently. This first looks like this:
These are great (or they were before the jack end started to crack and now you have to hold them at a very specific angle if you want stereo) for a couple of reasons. Many earphones have the tendency to play very loudly, so much so that it's questionable whether or not they need be in the ear at all. These are completely silent once they're four inches from your ear. Also, they block out background noise almost completely. I can't hear cars go by on a busy street when I've got these things in. I can completely lose myself in the music, which is kind of the point of music, isn't it? I don't have to listen to anything I don't want to!
The second pair looks like this:
I think this type of headphone might be labeled the "Music Geek." Nerdy as it sounds, I feel a bit like Rob Gordon when I wear these things. And if you enjoy that feeling, well something may be out of place in your life, but the music is amazing. Rob Gordon is the hipster's Jeff Gordon. These headphones ensure worry-free late-night enjoyment of music and film while living at home. They are my escape to all those good things I've been talking about. I love these headphones.
It's now much later than I have been going to bed lately. I'm kind of on a "screen high," which means that the second I turn away from the computer I will begin that downhill slide which starts with a vague feeling of nausea. But how can I do that when Mr. Luke Norton just put on a song featuring cello, acoustic guitar, and a female French singer?
Long live late night music!
