Ear-Blaster Mindfulness

It occurrs to me we don't actually allow much time for listening to music. It's bizarre, but music seems to have become this accompanying element in our lives. We listen to music while working out, or while walking somewhere. You don't often hear people tell you "I'm listening to a song now", much less an entire album, and doing nothing else.

It seems like a waste of time. If only your ears are occupied, why shouldn't you be productive? That's because our focus seems to be increasingly on monetizing and turning each minute into something productive.

It's not the same with podcasts. For me, at least, it's much easier to focus on a podcast while doing something else. But with music, it's like we need permission to just sit back and enjoy it. Or maybe that's just me, though seeing the intense focus on productivty that seems to be endemic in our society, I doubt it.

I'm finding it harder and harder to listen to music while doing things. I used to be able to listen while reading and writing, but that's out the window now. I can't focus. And if it's a song I like, I feel it's a waste. Either I skip through what I'm reading (writing's not even a question), or else I tune out the song which is a shame. So while I have been listening to music while working, it's mostly wordless stuff like Ry X or Miles Davis, or this.

It's become its own little mindfulness practice. If I can't listen (only with half an ear) to a song or album, that means I need to give it my full attention. Last week, I spent an hour over coffee just staring out the window, listening to a Motorhead album. Really letting myself take in the words, the message, the riffs. Not just putting it on in the background to speed through life.

It's unexpectedly fun and rewarding.

Once work is done or a class is finished, I will put on a song and just pace or just sit back and pay attention to it. That becomes the purpose of the moment, the productivity of the moment. It's interesting to me since it feels like a reframe of the same basic activity. If I no longer consider it a waste of time or something that needs to be done while also doing something productive, it opens up endless more opportunity for enjoyment.

Which isn't to say I don't enjoy my wordless listens, but for now, I can enjoy Miles Davis as conductive of writing and flow state, not as an impedance.

My favorite person to sit and listen to is Jack White who is, by my humble standard, possibly the greatest musician of my time. He's prodigious and insanely creative. Here's one of my favorite offerings off his new album, "No Name":

DEAR FRIEND
IF YOU WANT TO FEEL BETTER
DON’T LET THE DEVIL MAKE YOU TOSS THIS LETTER.

Just start a song like that.
His music's always very personal and reflects this very vivid imagination that this man clearly has, which is one of my favorite things about him. He's very strange. He was strange when he was running White Stripes, and he's no less strange now, despite pushing 50 (not an age-ism, rather inference from other artists' account of the creative process as you age).

PREACHER, PRIEST OR PARSON
ROBBERY, MURDER OR ARSON
IS THERE ANY PLACE FOR ME THERE?

Jack's new album seems extensively concerned with religious matters which seems like an interesting new take for him. Obviously, there are religious overtones to other works, but this definitely feels like a shift to me.

SURE MUST BE ROUGH ON RATS
IF WE’RE NOT EATING
THEN THEY MUST HAVE IT ROUGHER THAN US,

I’VE GOT A FEELING THAT THE TRUTH’S BECOME OPINION THESE DAYS
THAT TRAIN HAS LEFT THE STATION, BUT OUR LOVE WILL GROW
IT’S FLOOR TO CEILING, UNAPPEALING
BUT WHO CARES WHAT THEY SAY?
CAUSE IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO
IT ONLY MATTERS WHAT YOU KNOW

There's something terrifying about the very concept of truth beginning to fade and morph into a pallid shadow, like opinion. Jack's a bizarre guy. Following him on social media in the past, I was often conflicted over deeply emotional outbursts (often against Trump). At the same time, there's no denying he's got an acute, extremely sharp perception of our reality. Time and again, his songs prove he's got his finger on the pulse. Be a fool not to listen. I stopped using social instead.

But most fascinating of all is his work ethic, which doubles as a great marketing campaign because he's unusual and unusual sells. For a long time, he's been known for his shunning of the Internet-sphere, for not owning a traditional smartphone, last I remember. He bans them from his concerts, asking people to lock them up in those soft little pouches so they can't record or photograph or be on their phones. He forces you to be in the moment. I gotta say, after seeing him in concert, I wished everyone would do that. It's refreshing as hell to be at a live music show and be able to see the stage without having to dodge through a sea of screens.

More recently, he posted something criticizing people for demanding a tour to promote this new album. He said, we're already on tour, we're gonna show up as near to on the day as possible and play small gigs. And that he was gonna enjoy his life, and feel the breeze and not bow to the desire of the mass, aka his fans. Which was tongue-in-cheek certainly, and again maybe a strong marketing play, but I'm pretty sure he was being genuine there (though he's clearly very skilled at building a brand for himself).

I like that. There's not a lot of genuine people around.

So yeah. For #threetunetuesday, I could've easily linked the entire album, as it's a phenomenal listen, especially if you just sit back and hear it. But that's my three for now. Cheers @ablaze for making cool things.