Hear no Evil

My class yesterday got out a little early and as I was closing down the room a cacophonous cheer rose up from the Santa Barbara Bowl. Radiohead had just walked on stage. The reception was astounding. What impressed me even more, however, was the clarity with which the music drifted in through my window and washed over me as if they were not a hundred yards away.

I turned off the lights, locked and closed the door, and sat with my feet up just listening. Being married to an acoustical engineer, I am well aware of how important the sound mixer at a concert is. He actually complimented the sound board operator at the Muse concert because it was flawless. It was loud, but not abrasive; clean and vital. I imagine that the sound board operator from that night would have wept at how beautiful the mix was for this concert, for the music radiated from the Bowl with supreme clarity.

That is until a voice in the parking lot cut into my euphoria. A security guard from the bowl was shooing away the accumulating listeners. It turns out the the bowl is directly below the parking lot of the campus and that, apparently, they feel that they have the authority to tell people to stop listening. To stop appreciating.

My heart fell a little. When did we become so greedy that we need to control not only who can see the band, but who can hear them, experience them as they open their talent freely. Why is it so terrible that people who can't see the band can hear them? How does anyone have the right to tell you not to listen? Where does it go from here? I envision giant sound barriers, massive pulses of sound cancellation vibrations to prevent those who cannot pay from experiencing anything. What is wrong with us? Why must everything be controlled and someone always make a profit? Why should experience, the shared human experience, be limited and cut off? Haven't we blocked ourselves off from each other enough in this world?

I listened to a few more songs, but the oppression continued. The fluid lyrics were constantly interrupted with barked orders or the cackle of a two-way radio inquiring "what's happening up there?" Indeed.

I drove home and watched more Avatar on DVD before the flashlight was shined in my window and an angry voice directed at me. At least someone in this world has a positive viewpoint left. I would elect Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko to run the world. We need some leadership that is playful, intelligent, positive, and effective. They would provide solutions that no one has thought of yet, I can guarantee you that.