White Noise & Sound

Within Bull’s writing, he explains how the iPod acts as a tool to aestheticize urban space

and as a way to manage daily life. He states that it allows users to seamlessly create an

environment of privatized sound that is specific to the individual without being isolated from

its surroundings (Bull, 2012). I believe that both Bull and Hosowaka make similar points

when speaking about technological devices, however, I would like to frame them through

the lens of control. These devices can also be thought of as tools of autonomy for the

user who now has the power to take back their soundscape and determine what sounds

are to be heard. When we put our headphones in, we take control of what can be heard

and what cannot. Many will immediately think of the role that music plays in this scenario,

which is quite an evident one. Our carefully created playlists are something to be admired

as we curate them to certain moods that have the ability to transport us to a new

environment while walking down the street. However, I think we should also consider

those individuals who choose to listen to sounds other than music such as white noise and

podcasts.

When users listen to white noise, such as sound of rain, or podcasts, they are actively

choosing particular sounds that help to enhance the feeling of a mediated reality. As Bull (2012)

points out, iPod users experience unmediated spaces as a threat where they are prey to the

unmanageable world. While such users could choose to listen to music or the environment,

they rather listen to rain falling, possibly as a mechanism to create a soothing mood or as

background noise for studying. I think it's interesting here how there is a conscious need to

always fill the void of the urban soundscape. Even if it's a short walk or the silence of a library,

there is a constant need to fill the space with sound even if it is white noise. Below I have

attached a video clip that includes 10 hours of soothing music and rain falling. In this way,

white noise and various sounds can even be considered music so long that it fills the

hollowness of silence. it would be interesting to think further about how far humans will go to

create a mediated experience of sound so they do not have to face the realities of the urban

soudnscape.


Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw1Du5rl3Bg 




Bull, M. (2012). The Audio-Visual iPod. In J. Sterne (Ed.), The Sound Studies Reader (pp. 197-208).         essay, Routledge.


Comments

  1. Lucas_GiulekasOctober 13, 2021 at 7:22 PM

    Hey Anisha,

    I think the whole idea that we constantly need to fill in the sound is an interesting one. Why is it that we constantly desire noise? I know personally I had an experience where I lied down to go to bed a couple months ago and the lack of any noise whatsoever unnerved me. I think it's because of another thing Bull (2012) discusses and which is that music creates a personal utopia for us. We see the world differently playing different sounds and I think white noise is one of those things. Rain for one can make the world feel more romantic as we play those tropes in the rain in our head.

    ReplyDelete

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