Stephen Mejias

Dancing On The Inside

Stephen Mejias  |  Jun 5, 2007

"I don't understand it," I said to John. "With all of these people out there listening to their iPods, how is it that the entire city isn't dancing like mad?"

The question comes from my rather new experience of listening to music (in this case, Dinosaur Jr.'s latest, the messy and powerful Beyond) through an iPod using Shure SE310 earphones. I have to imagine that all of these men, women, and children, plugged into their iPods, are listening to music that moves them — music they love, or, at the very least, like. So, why am I the only guy out there fighting against flipping out like a fool, possessed by the beauty?

And not just fighting, but desperately grappling, wrestling — all-out MMA-style Bas Rutten vs Ken Shamrock stuff — waging war against the urge to dance. This morning, again, I struggled. It took everything I had in me to keep from bouncing around on the PATH train. I would have stomped upon several shiny shoes and a few flip-flopped toes, too, I know, possibly sending many passengers to the dirty floor, but I nearly did it. I nearly broke. It's what my body wanted to do. How is it that the entire city isn't dancing like mad? Maybe it's because they're using those piece-of-crap stock earbuds. Maybe it's because they're listening to compressed files, music that's had the soul squeezed out of it.

I don't know.

"With all of these people out there listening to their iPods, how is it that the entire city isn't dancing like mad?" I asked.

"They are," JA said. "On the inside."

COMMENTS
Vinnie Rossi's picture
Submitted by Vinnie Rossi (not verified) on June 6, 2007 - 7:15am

You wrote: "Maybe it's because they're using those piece-of-crap stock earbuds. Maybe it's because they're listening to compressed files, music that's had the soul squeezed out of it."This has A LOT to do with it, Stephen! The stock earbuds sound terrible. Using much higher quality aftermarket headphones will not only sound so much better, but will make one appreciate the difference between 128kbps MP3 and Apple Lossless or WAV. BOTH the cheapo earbuds and the MP3s are sucking the soul out of the music... fo sho! :-)

Jeff Kalman's picture
Submitted by Jeff Kalman (not verified) on June 6, 2007 - 9:36am

Perhaps some Jeff Buckley Grace: "Too young to hold on and too old to just break free and run."Or, some Radiohead OK Computer or the Bends.

Ariel Bitran's picture
Submitted by Ariel Bitran (not verified) on June 6, 2007 - 9:44am

Although I'm usually not dancing, I will pull out the entire air instrument arsenal. Even thoughI know you don't like air guitar, I'll usually pull out my custom 57 red Fender Stratocaster out in the streets, occasionally a Fender Jazz bass, but my personal air instrument favorite is my 32 piece drumset when playing along to Mr. Neil Peart. I look funny, but I'm having fun and can think of no better way to express how I feel about the music I'm listening to than to play it...with oxygen.

Ariel Bitran's picture
Submitted by Ariel Bitran (not verified) on June 6, 2007 - 12:39pm

On a more serious note, on the issue of New Yorkers and public display of enjoyment---Essayist George Simmel writes about the city liver: "There is perhaps no psychic phenomenon which has been so unconditionally reserved to the metropolis as has the blas

Jeff Kalman's picture
Submitted by Jeff Kalman (not verified) on June 6, 2007 - 2:47pm

Bombard my liver with enough stimulus and I'll dance in Broadway traffic.

Christian's picture
Submitted by Christian (not verified) on June 7, 2007 - 2:44pm

I know exactly what you mean and it always seems to be in those public spaces where you are "supposed" to be behaved. One day coming home from work I was listening to the Dirtbombs completely digging it, and I just wanted to jump up and grab anyone around me. I love the isolating in-ear buds for that as well. I went with another brand other than Shure, but I love how with them you can hear the subtleties in a recording in a noisy place like a subway train. My iPod has become my soundtrack to everyday life

Stephen Mejias's picture
Submitted by Stephen Mejias (not verified) on June 7, 2007 - 3:15pm

>I love how with them you can hear the subtleties in a recording in a noisy place like a subway train. My iPod has become my soundtrack to everyday life

Christian's picture
Submitted by Christian (not verified) on June 8, 2007 - 6:31am

Have you had the experience yet of listening to a track that uses the sound of a train rolling over the tracks while you are on the subway. It is pretty freaky and I love the irony of hearing a train while wearing headphones that I use to sepcifically block out the sound of the train. It kind of reminds me of a George Carlin bit about getting high on a plane.

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