268) Music as Silence

I walk around NYC with music in my ears. Music that flows through my earbuds provides several things. It shields me from hearing unwanted cat calls (if I didn't hear it, it's like it didn't happen). Once in awhile, the right mood-appropriate song will come on, and it feels like I'm in a movie (my favorite walking soundtrack - Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve and Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap). And finally, it allows me to zone out, often making long distances pass more quickly (handy in chilly weather).



While I'm getting ready in the morning, I turn on Pandora. The music fills the silence, provides a sense of company. It wakes me up and makes me feel productive. When I'm at the gym, music gives me a rhythm to match, and again makes the time pass faster.

Here's where I can't do music. One - when I'm working or writing this blog. I can't think when someone else's words are present. Two - while I'm falling asleep. I have a friend who's the opposite, and has a pre-selected sleepy time playlist.

In 2009, Marc Prensky declared that music is the new silence for those under 30. You can watch the clip here (PBS, while often wonderful, is unable to get their embed code to work). The idea that the "resting" state of our brains now includes music is so fascinating. It's almost as if technology is causing this uber-fast evolutionary shift.