A(drift)

I'm not going to bore you with the "what" and "where" of how I came upon the sound of the seagulls. Rather, I will tell you that it made me realize that I was disturbed on a visceral level by how much I take things for granted. In order to get this recording, I crept into an all but abandoned parking lot, and laid down underneath a truck. I positioned the microphones, one toward the seagulls, and the other behind a barrier. Had the circumstances been different, and, say, the truck moving and on the road, I imagined that this would be just about the last thing someone saw and heard before they were run over. A sense of peace washed over me, and I would have stayed long minutes more, had a flash of headlights not interrupted the moment. When I arrived back home, I wrote this short piece that was inspired by this moment.

"It was me on the road.
But you didn't see me.
Too many headlights on.
But none near here.


I ache to go where I already live.
I yearn to be who I already am.
I write words that never appear.
I grab the wheel I cannot steer.


This thing inside,
Murky and thick like tar
It looks at me under the surface
like crocodile eyes.


Let me lie here and lie.


I am fine."

The following are some other sounds I found interesting during my drift. I tried to ignore the ambient noise and instead concentrate on the "hidden" sounds within the area. I hope you enjoy them.

Click below to hear my recording of seagulls. It was at 11:17pm on March 6th, 2012.  

Gulls 
 The duration of the seagulls is 1:40. The sound was recorded here, near the Potawatomi Casino.

Cars...
 The duration of this car is around 0:51. The sound was recorded at 9:36pm on March 6th, 2012, here by the Fifth Ward Lofts

Gas(Station)
The duration of the gas station is around 1:50. This sound was recorded at 10:12pm on March 6th, 2012, here at the Mobil Station.