On 2006 Apr 30, at 9:03 AM, Ann Klefstad wrote:
Very interesting, yes! It presumes a kind of purposeful inquiring
search
that I mostly seem not to have. Radio survives, I think, because
we like
being ambushed by small bits of diverse things to hear. I have
boxed sets
too and seldom listen to them because somehow "I want to hear X"
occurs to
me much less than "I want to hear something. Surprise me."
More and more I feel that to surrender my own responsibility to
choose this
or that is what I want. I want the gift of others' choice.
Is this some disease of the will, or is it more common than I think?
Yup, Ann. I agree! If only the radio ambush was really so diverse tho...
I think the boxed set dilemma could be partially solved
by taking advantage of our new glorious (I think, anyway)
technology of the desktop audio player (iTunes, etc.)
and/or portable audio player (iPod, etc).
In my front room, I have a 400 disc changer that I haven't used in
at least 3 years. It used to be great for dumping the various boxed sets
onto, but now they get emptied into boxes the size of a pack o' cigs.
Definitely NOT a "disease of the will" - it's a surrender to the variety
of sound and ideas that surround you. You can't help but learn from
this.
I think the "want to hear something" attitude sometimes extends to
just the "sound"
or, maybe the audio aura that something creates. If I decide to put on
something from a 72 disc set of Oum Koulthoum, it's not because I'm
listening
to a story being told over the span of these discs, but, rather,
I'm becoming engulfed in the sound of her great Arabic singing and I
think
that the "meaning" takes care of itself - your brain recognizes the
intense
feelings of desire, jealousy, etc...
If we really don't have a central repository of all recorded music
readily
available to us, then I've long wished for everyone to have their own
personal radio station - which is possible now. Even if you only have
a dial-up connection of Crispin Webb quality, you can still broadcast -
well, actually "narrowcast" - right from your desktop and other's can
tune in
if they share your taste in music...'cause there's always people who
have things
that both the listener AND the 'caster don't have and can share.
Whether it's corporate rock or ambient field recordings,
it's always out there coming IN.
R~~
---
Now playing: Brian Eno - Passing Over
http://stasick.org
