<aside> 💭 Prompt: With our movement restricted, we’re experiencing a shift in our soundscapes. Normally, we move from place to place. Coffee shops, offices, waterparks, home — each with a particular auditory environment. With this variety narrowed comes a new appreciation of the sounds around us.

Write about the sounds in your life. Maybe you’re hearing more birdsong, or noticing the sounds of your housemate shuffling to the kitchen in slippers, or listening in on your neighbor Georgio gabbing with Michelle, the human megaphone.

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📣 Soundscapin'

By Dave Gorum

On my morning stomp around the neighborhood I typically listen to a binaural beat. The droning hum promising a “creativity boost” or “theta mediation”. Today I ditched the possibilities of meditating my thetas to try my hand as a human field recorder. Here’s what I noted:

• The frantic whir of bikes freewheeling downhill. Cyclists returning spent from their ride up into the Oakland hills. A touch of the brakes, friction offloaded in a squeal.
• Birds tweeting out their morning cacophony. A soothing blanket of cheeps and tweerps.
• A pair of crows yelling at each other across the street. Clearly making light of the human doofus staring at them in slack-jawed confusion.
• The chatter of runners, voices strained by the added effort of shouting their conversation across six feet of separation.
• A sales bro, dressed in capri pants and sneakerhead kicks, yelling loudly on his patio. “There’s no reason — from our perspective — they should be taking an extraordinary amount of time on this…” Bloviating shot through with anxiety.
• A bush in bloom, thrumming contentedly, its volume mostly bees.
• The rustle of new weather-resistant hiking pants, operated by a woman new to the whole neighborhood walkabout scene.
• A bark of a laugh from an open window. One half of a video chat. “Yeah, that’s not how I thought that’d turn out. Anyway. How are…”
• Two women blowing off steam about close quartering. W1: where are you doing your work? W2: wherever I can find free space! mostly the dining room table and the kitchen counter. all the other rooms are full of people. W1: yeah, it's hard to breathe sometimes with everyone right there. W2: yeah.
• Kristen asking me, as she does on my return from walks, “How’d it go?” a warbling dancey beat coming from the speakers in the background.

🗣 Snippets of conversation and lots of kid insanity

By Kristen Pavle