Went for a walk from Northern Liberties into Old City. Only recorded one way, spent the walk back listening to Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Soundproof, a radio program that was unceremoniously cancelled in 2015 or 2016 only after a couple years on the air. It had actually followed the Night Air, a sound collage program that was unceremoniously cancelled just before it. Soundproof was somewhat similar, but it focused on all sorts of sound art, rather than just original collage work. It also featured interviews, experiments, field recordings, obscure music, and radio plays (including a broadcast of the classic 70s rock 'n roll radio play What's Rangoon To You Is Grafton To Me).
A major theme throughout the program was always recordings of nature, usually incorporated into a larger narrative, but there were plenty of recordings of people boating, riding trains, or just walking around. I always found it strangely enjoyable listening to someone else walking somewhere else, at a different pace than me. I never found it as competitive as when I tried to walk listening to Alan Vega's final album, paced to match his stride as he skulked around NYC late at night in the midst of his own apparent twilight.
During this walk I was able to close a ring on my Apple Watch--the first in a while. I know we're both always being watched and monitored while also not at all. The watch uses whatever algorithms to determine when I'm doing something out of the ordinary and then times it, but I also like to believe there's someone in a large, mostly empty office space with a cup of coffee that's mildly excited to see I finally closed another ring.
No interruptions on this walk. Just me on my own. Lots of wind noise, though.
The image for this episode comes from one of the underpasses for 676. I always go out of my way to walk under them when I'm heading downtown. It's nice that the lights remain so warm and calm. So often we're assaulted by new, impossibly bright LED bulbs inexplicably daylight balanced, making everything look cold and uninviting. They not only upset our circadian rhythms, but upset the brains and routines of nocturnal animals. They're a blight on modern society. By all means, replace the inefficient bulbs, but LED bulbs can be any fucking color, so why not make them something pleasant?
