Deaf Jam

In the Ted Talk posted above the speaker talks about how she listens to music through her whole body, through her cheekbones her hands, etc. This is almost directly contradicts how most people perceive music now. If you were to take a poll on what kind of speaker people listen to music, a large portion would be through head phones. Now apart from the problem of the loss of hearing, most people would consider this to be an inherently positive and  effective way of listening to music. Head phones block out the sound and helps us to focus solely on the music being played through our iPod or computer or whatever.
Now Im just going to put it out there that I don't generally listen to music through my headphones. One reason is because I'm mostly too cheap to actually go out and buy a quality pair, but the main reason for my lack of headphone use is because for me music is more than just the sounds coming from the speakers.   Professional DJ, DJ Browntown describes the music he plays as "soul music". When  he says "soul music" he is not talking about the "soul" genre, he is instead talking about the kind of music he plays. Music that makes you feel something; music that either makes you want to get up and dance or makes you want to sit back and relax on a beach. This kind of soul music is a total experience. To me music is not so much of an escape as much as it is a tone or mood that strikes us, something social. There is a reason we enjoy large concerts as opposed to a band playing in front of just us. I say music is social, but this is not a pro music piracy piece. I just feel like music should be felt outside of just the ears. Music can be expressed through dance, discussion, or just the mere act of listening with a friend. When we unplug our ears we can for example, experience the intensity of the bass of a song through our chest, or feel the serenading notes of the guitar through our fingers.


-Tim Brown
Follow me on twitter  @timbrown31