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- Revoking My Citizenship to iPod Nation
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- Meghna Chakrabarti
We are everywhere. The citizens of iPod Nation. White ear buds, distant gaze, well exercised thumbs twirling the scroll wheels.
And after years of unfulfilled desire, I finally got one. A little iPod Shuffle, and a ticket to the promised bliss of listening to the soundtrack of my life on continuous play.
But it came at a cost and a shock. In wearing the iPod, I missed out on more than I gained.
This diary piece documents these heretical, contrarian thoughts on one of my now disturbed walks to work.
Perfect for a show, segment, or theme about the downside of modern individualized media, the continued explosive growth of Apple, the ubiquity of the iPod, or any piece that needs the surprising sound of the Clash juxtaposed against the twittering of a voluble catbird.
NB1: Vox out for this piece at 04:46 + 2min music for backtag of any sort.
NB2: Abridged version of this piece aired on WBUR's "On Point", 3/13/05
Related Pieces
Piece Description
We are everywhere. The citizens of iPod Nation. White ear buds, distant gaze, well exercised thumbs twirling the scroll wheels. And after years of unfulfilled desire, I finally got one. A little iPod Shuffle, and a ticket to the promised bliss of listening to the soundtrack of my life on continuous play. But it came at a cost and a shock. In wearing the iPod, I missed out on more than I gained. This diary piece documents these heretical, contrarian thoughts on one of my now disturbed walks to work. Perfect for a show, segment, or theme about the downside of modern individualized media, the continued explosive growth of Apple, the ubiquity of the iPod, or any piece that needs the surprising sound of the Clash juxtaposed against the twittering of a voluble catbird. NB1: Vox out for this piece at 04:46 + 2min music for backtag of any sort. NB2: Abridged version of this piece aired on WBUR's "On Point", 3/13/05
2 Comments
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Review of Revoking My Citizenship to iPod NationWith this short, but successful, piece the author makes us realize..."We are gradually not listening anymore...to one another, to our surroundings, and maybe even to ourselves".
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Timing and Cues
NOTE: VOX OUT is at 04:47 ("...feels really beautiful."), with 02:00min music following for backtag.
Musical Works
"Union of the Snake", Duran Duran
"Career Opportunities", The Clash
"No Time This Time", The Police
"To the Roof", Vanilla Sky Soundtrack
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Posted on December 11, 2006 at 06:10 PM | Permalink
Review of Revoking My Citizenship to iPod Nation
I think the concept of the IPod is an extremely interesting one. Though I consider myself technically savvy, I have not yet embraced this foreign, somewhat intrusive piece of equipment that reminds me all too much of the tiny bug-like pieces that were pierced into the ears of the protagonist's wife in "Fahrenheit 451." Instead, I too have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to block out the sounds of life, to substitute the often surprising or unusual sound effects or conversations around us from our environment and out neighbors in it. Why can't the whistle of the leaves and a playful argument between schoolchildren be the soundtrack to our lives instead of My Chemical Romance? While we lose the sense of hearing and awareness of the world around us, we gain something of a presence, as the speaker describes as the sudden belief that the environment has become a reflection of "me." Only in an egotistical world as this one would the IPod become so rapidly and broadly popular.