But not necessarily a disc.


I tend to view radio as an equal-opportunity distraction - sometimes I'll hear something that interests me, that compels me to actually pay some attention, but more often than not it's simply background music. And background music is, for me, usually preferable - something on which I can temporarily focus, but almost just as easily disregard. Music that I've chosen to hear, on the other hand, forces me to listen - and listening goes well beyond being a distraction. Hearing is a pleasant, short-term, distraction. Listening is a purposeful activity. I can't work when I'm listening to music, because the work becomes the distraction from the central activity of listening, and when that happens, I find that I've stopped listening, causing music which I love to become background music.



Go to: It's too quiet here - I can't think.