I am fairly worried about my audio essay. I am trying to make the sound of trains emphasize my fatigue with the world and the exhaustive chase for my dreams. I must be nuts! The audio interview of Jeff Porter, however made me less nervous. The first part that I connected to was the idea that I had to “let sound carry the burden of meaning” (3:10). What that means is that if you can hear it, then the sound of my voice and the layers of sound should do the work together. If I have thought too much about it, the sound isn’t as effective!

It was also useful how he made the example of Gould’s music; he believed that the listener could comprehend more than we think. I liked how during this part where he is describing it, the track itself is also playing (4:01). This made me realize that the use of music might not necessarily cause the cacophony that I am nervous about.

I also really enjoyed the segment where Porter talks about Bolero. That is such a wonderful piece, but it was true that the Jazz worked better with the voice of the narrator. I realized that this revelation could potentially make me see how my music choice is perhaps different than what I thought I wanted it to be. For instance, I believed outright that I wanted to use Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman,” and that it was the perfect song for my essay. However, I worried that the fast paced piano and the repetition would cause a dizzying effect. However, the piano wasn’t the issue, but rather the way that I had naturally manipulated tone in my essay. Instead, I opted for “I put a spell on you,” which hopefully will mimic my tone more coherently.