I’ll take my time as I explain this:

I have big ears. Yes, this story will begin with the statement that I have big ears.
Now, there are (at least) two ways in which ears can be big: internally or externally. With externally I mean the exterior of the ear; the part you actually see; the part sticking out from the head. With internally I mean the inside of the ear; the part you clean with a cotton tip, get water in etc. (Technically this is also an exterior part of the ear but since I’ve made it clear on how I make the internal/external ear distinction I will dwell on it no further!)

To qualify my initial statement, with the distinction above, I have big ears internally. (Just to be clear, it may also be the case that I have big ears externally but that is, for this post, irrelevant.) This had led me to not listening to music, while on the go, and this has, in its turn, led to me having a duller city experience. Or so I learned today.

I have, until today, not been listening much to my iPod (or, to be completely truthful, the iPod functionality in my iPhone). And before the days of the iPod, Mp3-Player’s, Walkman’s or freestyle’s did not get my attention either.
To sum up, I haven’t been listening to music on any form of portable music device (ever really). And this is because of the ear thing… and vanity and laziness.

When I was young(er) my hair had to be just right. All the time. Traditional headphones, hairstyle destroyers as the are, were then out of the question. The in-ears of the time never fitted my ears, they just popped out all the time. Now, the in-ears of now aren’t much better. Not the ones you get when you buy an iPhone. Same pop-out style.

So, a couple of days ago I dragged my lazy ass down to the store and bought some new ones. The fitted kind, with a little soft plastic tip. You know the kind: You press them in to your ear and the stay there, fitted. Man, the town has never looked better!

I walked around town today, I rode a tram today, listening to Grandaddy, Burial and Little Dragon. They, those artists and groups, became the soundtrack to my walking and riding. Oh, what a soundtrack. One would think that the one provided by the city itself would be the most suitable. The people, the traffic, the music, constructions and even the weather sounding: rain, wind and so on. It isn’t. My soundtrack was a whole lot better. At best altering my whole perspective on things, the things I saw.

I’ve many times questioned why so many people walk around, listening to music. I still do. I now, though, know why I will walk around, listening to music.

It’s like smelling an orange and at the same time eating chocolate.