an romanticised anecdote (late last spring):
we were driving through wyoming. we had just entered yellowstone national
park and i had Aphex SAW II on at a comfortable listening level. it
struck me at that moment how amazing it was that the music seemed to have
the ability to seemlessly absorb its surroundings. the variegated hum of
the engine, the wind around the car, the smell of sulphur, the fluffy
big clouds... i felt the need to awaken my friend, asleep in the passenger
seat, so she could experience the way the turning of the car on the road
seemed to perfectly accompany the rhythm of the music, but i didn't
because the slow sound of her breathing was such a perfect counterpoint to
the tightening of the brakes as we rolled into the valley.
resonance, my friends, is why we listen, right? we are more than playback
engineers, music is bigger than we are.