Idealogian

Life Without Music

During the Nine Days, most of my friends long for meat. My starvation is of a slightly different nature (since I don't eat meat during the rest of the year anyway): I crave music. I find myself counting down the hours (only 48 to go!) until I'll be able to don my headphones once again and fill my mind with the beautiful melodies, harmonies and rhythms that I'm so used to hearing.

Until then, however, I find myself grateful for whatever scraps I can pick up over the course of my daily routine. Against my will, I find myself humming along to the music playing in Key Food (the local supermarket). Out to dinner last night, the jazz playing gently in the background was, for lack of a non-punny term, music to my ears (in the figurative sense).

And just now, I found myself hitting a new low of desperation. I was on hold with Citibank and actually found myself tapping my foot to a muzak rendition of "You Make My Dreams [Come True]" by Hall & Oates. In my defense, it was quite a snappy arrangement of a snappy song, but I feel almost... ashamed for actually enjoying muzak (especially during the Nine Days).

I can almost imagine what it must feel like to be a junkie, eagerly awaiting that next "fix." For me, it won't come soon enough.