Emery Marc Petchauer

What a fun little article on listening to music (and beyond) in The Paris Review.

Listening, for most of us, doesn’t feel like doing anything. It’s more of a sensation than activity, a dreamy, ill-defined feeling stretching through us. We’re often not aware we are doing it, or even fully conscious. We literally—when we forget to shut off the television or our Spotify playlists—do it in our sleep.

But sometimes I wonder what would happen if we listened harder, or better, or more rigorously. This might seem exhausting. Am I incapable of relaxing? Probably. But music scholars insist that if we listened to music the way a musician would, understanding how notes trigger feelings, how tones take on their own textures and meanings, then we might experience something more visceral and expansive. We could push deeper into every song.

Made this mix today. Hard techno records up front. Grooves on the backside.

Listening as I work to this new purchase on Bandcamp: An Insight to All Minds by Kaidi Tatham. Broken beat, jazzy house, etc. – some raps and singing here and there. Colossally good.

Current listening, right in the groove: Stylin’ 900 mix by Ennio Styles