More and more I find people with ipods in the workplace. Sometimes people are on headphones connected to itunes, but for the most part, it’s iPods. More and more frequently, I’ve been seeing these people all over the place, from the cubicle to the supermarket, from maintenance workers to cable installers. Especially within my own workplace, personal music players are plentiful and out in plain view. The taboo that listening to music is mutually exclusive with getting work done is dissipating as more and more people have access to personalized music selection. I can’t possibly imagine that people hauled Walkmen or CD Players around the workplace with that level of comfort. Even at their peak, neither device was as ubiquitous as iPods are today. But what’s my point? I mean, we all know this.
My point is that with the acceptance of some portable music devices in the workplace, people are now able to label busywork for what it is. We’re able to say, “Ya know what boss and people who see me? This task requires almost no human intelligence or focus, and so I’m going to listen to some music while I do it.” It’s letting the world know that you’re not souped about what it is that you are doing, and you need a little assistance in getting through it. It’s not that you can’t, it’s that you don’t want to. And at work, that’s a very necessary distinction and usually hidden. Because the other statement being made is, “I’m not totally excited to be here doing what I’m doing right now, so I’m going to use this music as an escape—but don’t worry, I can be back very quickly if need be.” It says I can listen to punk and feel good about that, even if I don’t want to be filing alphabetically. It makes the workplace more honest. The music is a symbol that everyone can recognize and silently understand.
So what are my top five albums to listen to in the workplace? In no particular order:
-Eddie Veder – Into the Wild Soundtrack (for when you want to space out and feel free
-The Album Leaf – In A Safe Place (for when I need to focus and get work done)
-Atmosphere – Lucy Ford EP (hip hop is still a form of rebellion in the workplace—but I don’t wanna get fired listenin’ to Biggie…)
-Millencolin – Kingwood (great poppier punk to keep you moving)
-Elliott Smith – anything (when I’m not trying to improve my time, just consider ending it)
Better Pickz Are Comin’,
Witz
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1 comment:
15 years ago, my dad had a CD player in his office (like the sort with a door, not cubicle land) and kept a rotating selection of 15 or so CDs there. It was all classical music, so I feel like that would buy one some extra leeway. He'd just hit pause on the remote if a colleague came in.
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