Interference

On the way back from a run, I take my earbuds out and slip them into my pocket. It’s an unconscious motion. And then I wash them in the machine, still in there. I’ve done this more than a few times. After a run, there’s that open, slightly worn-out feeling from sweating, and I let my guard down. Once they’ve been through the wash, they’re broken more often than not.

I also tend to lose them whenever I go into town. I think I’ve put both in my pocket, but somewhere along the way I notice only one is left. Since I’m always breaking or losing them, lately I only buy cheap ones. Even if I buy an expensive pair, the lifespan is the same — short.

Maybe it’s because they’re cheap, but the sound gets crossed when I go into town. On my usual jogging route there’s no problem, they work fine, but around stations and busy streets the signal reliably crosses and the music starts cutting in and out. I like that cutting-in-and-out feeling. The music I always listen to starts to sound like something else.

The broken-up music sometimes feels like a new sound, a new rhythm. Music made flawlessly by professionals is wonderful too, but this crossed, interfered sound is, in a way, sound broken at random — not something you could ever make on purpose.
The moment the city’s signals interfere with my earbuds, I feel the presence of those waves through my ears. Catching, with my ears, something the eyes can’t see. Maybe that’s what feels new.