21/02/2005

Dr. Michael Bull talks about the social and cultural impact of the personal stereo in a Wired Magazine interview from last year, raising some questions on the privatization of public space.

One of the interesting things is that with vinyl, the aesthetic was in the cover of the record. You had the sleeve, the artwork, the liner notes. With the rise of digital, the aesthetic has left the object — the record sleeve — and now the aesthetic is in the artifact: the iPod, not the music. The aesthetic has moved from the disc to what you play it on.

It’s kind of a pity that this diverse aesthetic is being lost and there’s a general homogenization of what music listeners appear to be. The Rolling Stones formed when Keith saw Mick’s blues record collection under his arm on a train platform and started talking to him - is the potential for this type of interaction being lost?

Then again, if everyone’s external aesthetic becomes generic, maybe the individual’s relationship with the music they take with them becomes liberated. Do you ever wonder what someone’s listening to when you see them with headphones on? They seem to be completely unapproachable. I think the widespread uptake of iPods in urban spaces is a result of people trying to find a private comfort zone in a very alien and impersonal situation, like the Underground.

So, for example, music allows people to use their eyes when they’re listening in public. I call it nonreciprocal looking. Listening to music lets you look at someone but don’t look at them when they look back. The earplugs tell them you’re otherwise engaged. It’s a great urban strategy for controlling interaction.

See also NYT article The World at Ears’ Length

---