Matt Alt and Damon Krukowski discuss the ways technology has shaped our experiences with music, particularly in our engagements with the public and public spaces. Think about your own experiences with musical devices–the walkman, the boombox, the iPod, or some other gadget you use to make, manipulate, and listen to music–and compare these experiences to ideas discussed by Alt and Krukowski.
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I still remember the time when the only way that I could listen to music on my own way using my old walkman. It was a big blue device that I was carrying with me all the time. I was able to listen to one album at the time and I had to constantly change the batteries cause it wouldn’t last long. The music quality wasn’t even anything that would go through my mind. I was just simply enjoying the fact that there is a way in which I can have my music with me at all times. As years were passing by I exchanged my device for some equally not technologically advanced devices that were on the market. When eventually I discovered that I could use my phone to stream music, I knew that my life has changes forever. I think that was the biggest change that I have ever experienced when it comes to music. I started paying attention to different things when I was listening to it. It was easier, faster and the sounds that were going to my ears were just amazing. It is hard to believe that in only a decade my experience with music has changed so much. I am looking forward to seeing what else is possible when it comes to streaming music in the next ten years.
I got my first mp3 player at thirteen, and it changed the way I listen to music. Before then, I had very few CDs that I shared with my sisters and played from a boombox. My little Sansa Fuse was the start of my music discovery once I learn out how to download music using LimeWire. By discovering new music that I could listen to privately, I felt like I had so much more freedom. Even now, I usually only listen to music from a speaker if I’m home alone. Using headphones creates more of a private space for both myself and my roommates in our small apartment.
Krukowski uses the New York subway as an example of how we share the same physical space, yet we are ”plugged into a place other that the one we are in”, not including the few people who sit in silence. Most are looking down at their phones, paying no mind to the others around them in the small, shared space. I often have my earphones in with the volume turned up, especially while in a crowded subway car. It is an attempt to create space between myself and others while they are physically to close for comfort. By listening to music that only I can hear, it feels like I have some privacy while also making the commute seem to go by faster.
In his article, Matt Alt discusses the huge impact that the Sony Walkman had on the way music is consumed by the listener. The smallest portable tape deck of its time, it was a very convenient device which allowed users to listen to music privately anytime, anywhere. Now forty years later with wireless earbuds as the norm, people don’t necessarily need to have the device on them as long as it’s within range. New technologies such as this, virtual assistants, and other smart devices are based on the same thing: convenience. Although I’m not one to get ahold of new devices as soon as they debut, I’m curious what new technologies will come next.
DJs listen differently. Krukowski examines the difference between between the 20th century cultural practice of listening together verses the 21st century norm of listening alone, represented by the iconic iPod silhouette ads. DJ’s like myself, however, are listening alone in anticipation of listening together. An even better scenario is one where I am listening with another raver in anticipation of the ultimate share in the form of a full dancefloor.
The article also examines Brian Wilson’s ability to produce such technically perfect recordings, despite only having hearing in one ear. As musical artists we hear music not only as our own experience, but as many possible different experiences others might have. When I listen to new music, or revisit old favorites, I am always hearing it as many future possible sounds and experiences I can create. I do this through manipulation, and juxtaposition with other songs and even the environments I play in.
Something I found particularly interesting was the examination of listening with only one ear because during a DJ set, this is often done to cue the upcoming track. We hold the headphones up to one ear while leaving the other ear exposed to the sound that the dancers are hearing. It is this unique moment that Krukowski has given me a special appreciation of. It is an honor to curate and share sound.