tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post264064383604613148..comments2024-03-28T21:56:51.675-04:00Comments on Face to Face: Playing music in public spaces again, as "don't disturb me" refractory phase wears offagnostichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-72422077311831186312020-07-25T21:17:29.948-04:002020-07-25T21:17:29.948-04:00That didn't take long! Amazing reactions from ...That didn't take long! Amazing reactions from girls the first time I played the Miley CD.<br /><br />One was in her late 20s, walking her dog and talking on her phone. When she heard "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," in Miley Cyrus' voice, she spun around with a surprised smile, and I smiled back at her. No masks on either of us -- the great thing about public spaces under a pandemic, as opposed to flirting indoors.<br /><br />Basically any group of girls got pepped up when they heard that one.<br /><br />By far the most hormonal response, though, was when "7 Things" was on, and there was a pair of teenage girls up ahead going the same direction I was, riding bikes at a leisurely pace on a cozy residential street (effectively one lane, with cars parked on both sides).<br /><br />One was already on the right side, and I figured the one on the left side would move over to get the car behind her out of the way. But nope! She wanted to hear that song as long as possible, so she stayed in the middle of the road. Once the chorus started, she stood her tan lithe legs up off of the seat and started doing a pogo dance on the pedals to the beat, bouncing her cute little butt at the driver to thank him for playing a sensitive yet hard-edged soundtrack to her summertime evening bike ride.<br /><br />How did she know it wasn't a girl playing Miley Cyrus? Her friend turned around to see who I was, and she must've said "No, it's a guy -- and he's hot."<br /><br />Seriously guys, this album is chick catnip. Nothing better to ease them back into the frisky mood that they want so desperately to return to.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-25994781404692911672020-07-25T18:47:17.916-04:002020-07-25T18:47:17.916-04:00Got Miley Cyrus' Breakaway on CD, sadly no MyS...Got Miley Cyrus' Breakaway on CD, sadly no MySpace URL, but she does thank "God" up front in the liner notes -- just like Katy Perry in the liner notes for One of the Boys, btw. Also adds to the late 2000s vibes.<br /><br />Ah, back when the culture war was only between being a nondescript Christian or a new atheist...<br /><br />Nothing like driving around with the windows down, the A/C shut off in 90+ degree heat, blasting "Waking Up in Vegas" and "7 Things".<br /><br />The hard rock revival of the time really touched on every genre. There's even a bonus "rock mix" of "I Kissed a Girl" on the Katy Perry CD, with less gay-friendly hard-rock instrumentation. We just couldn't get enough hard-edged, edgy, rocker, rockstar vibes in the late 2000s.<br /><br />I should find some place where girls in their late 20s hang out, and roll up playing the Miley Cyrus CD. It's tailor-made for re-activating their teenage turbulence of yearning and horniness. And not (necessarily) to pick them up -- just to get everyone's juices flowing again, now that the vulnerable emo phase is over.<br /><br />If you're an early '90s girl yourself, add that to your playlist while cruising around. There's no time like the pandemic present to revive the turbo-feels of the summer of 2008.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-73399816468350623832020-07-25T00:11:49.653-04:002020-07-25T00:11:49.653-04:00Picked up One of the Boys on CD, and it says www.m...Picked up One of the Boys on CD, and it says www.myspace.com/KatyPerry on the back and the liner. I usually hate URLs displayed on anything, but that domain name brings back the late 2000s vibes almost as much as the music itself.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19346366.post-63166276832951061152020-07-19T02:46:00.385-04:002020-07-19T02:46:00.385-04:00It's so cool hearing new music on an old devic...It's so cool hearing new music on an old device, one that's linked to such a narrow period of time.<br /><br />Maybe it's just because I grew up with walkmans, so I associate them only with music from the '90s and earlier. Perhaps a Millennial or Zoomer, who didn't experience them when they were popular, would not have such a strong expectation of hearing '90s music or earlier coming from the speakers. For them it may be only a different format or form factor, without any link to the "content" it would be playing.<br /><br />Most of the contempo stations were playing bland emo music from the past 5 years, but I did get to enjoy a few recent hits -- over a walkman. "Style" by Taylor Swift, "Delicate" by Taylor Swift, and a dance remix of "Break My Heart" by Dua Lipa, which just came out this year (my fave of the nascent neo-neo-neo-disco era).<br /><br />In a way, it surprised me more than the young girl to hear "Delicate" being played on a walkman. Like, am I hallucinating hearing post-'90s music coming out of a walkman?<br /><br />Old content on new devices is not surprising -- we expect new things to play the old stuff. But new content on an old device makes it seem like it had uncanny foresight. Like if you could play Fortnite on an Apple II.<br /><br />But really it's just that radio has transcended the format wars in consumer-owned music. Many decades since the first portable radio player was adopted, analog FM radio transmissions are still being broadcast by big physical towers.<br /><br />Turns out you don't need an internet connection to "stream" music, old or contempo. Just dial in a station on the radio.<br /><br />I recommend this even more for those of you who do debase your humanity by carrying internet-capable devices wherever you go outside the home. You need to cut down on your internet time, and FM radio is perfect. Change the station if you don't want to hear ads.<br /><br />There are mp3 players with a built-in FM tuner, and no internet access -- listen to your own music, or the radio, and not have to sell your soul to the online demons to meet basic human needs like playing music.agnostichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12967177967469961883noreply@blogger.com