Giving up the MP3 Player (1 Viewer)

[Jim Daniels]

Two days now as a Zen free pedestrian. I was worried about my ears, so I took the plunge. Thought I'd go mad, but its great! Real life sounds deadly! And my ears are speaking to me again.

Anybody else tried it? Wondering how long I'll last before caving in.

 

[nooleen]

you could try turning the sound down?

i've been ipod free since dropping it in a toilet by accident about a year ago...about 4 months after being given it
they're definitely handy but there's something depressing about them

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

mine broke about a year ago, i definitly missed it quite badly while i had no other means of listening to music for a few months last year but now that i can listen to music the old fashioned way its fine. my phone also plays them but i dont bother with that much

 

[Jim Daniels]

you could try turning the sound down?

i've been ipod free since dropping it in a toilet by accident about a year ago...about 4 months after being given it
they're definitely handy but there's something depressing about them

Well, for about 4 days there, my hearing was slightled muffled, with mild rumbles and echoes/ distortions. Like cotton wool in the ears. It disappeared almost as soon as I stopped using the zen. I was never a high volume user, but might be blaming Joanna Newsom, who I had been listening to constantly lately. You're right though, there is something depressing about them - you enter the zone.

 

[jillface]

I'm the opposite of you JD.
Been without one for years now, could definitely do with not hearing other people everyday.
It's making me far too misanthropic.
Cycling is fine but if I'm on a bus and not in a good mood then grr grr anger town next stop.
It'd help in the dole office as well, jesus christ.

 

[jimmybreeze]

Had a forced giving up after smashing my headphones on Saturday,thankfully the few buses Iv got have been quiet.
The plus side is I'v read most of my book and begun to think again,bad news is I'm guessing the tinnitus Id hope would clear after a few days is permanent.

 

[Jim Daniels]

I'm the opposite of you JD.
Been without one for years now, could definitely do with not hearing other people everyday.
It's making me far too misanthropic.
Cycling is fine but if I'm on a bus and not in a good mood then grr grr anger town next stop.
It'd help in the dole office as well, jesus christ.

Ah Jill, you have my sympathies. People haven't had an impact on me yet, but I'd imagine it's only a matter of time before I-Pod leakage drives me to distraction. The guy beside me this evening was listening to Muse all the way up to 11. Then there was the girl this morning who was playing "Simply the Best" on repeat. It was quite distressing. But I figured I'll be able to tune out.

 

[jillface]

Then there was the girl this morning who was playing "Simply the Best" on repeat. It was quite distressing.

Yeah but she probably got off that bus feelin' fucking stoked!
Totez jelluz.

Although, yeah, I've always found myself staring in astonishment at people who listen to shitty songs on repeat.
Like... what are you AT?

 

[nooleen]

i always hope the volume isn't up loud enough for people to hear the shitty song i have on repeat

 

[trev]

no chance of me giving it up. aside from blocking out the conversation of apes i can walk for miles with it on.
gravediggers to portobello bridge then back to stephens green and out to grand canal dock couple weeks ago with the mp3 on shuffle.
amazing.

 

[Pedronimus]

I lost mine over a year ago and don't miss it at all. I found that despite having a billion songs at my fingertips, I didn't really want to listen to any of them. I also removed all my mp3s from my computer cos I found I was constantly flicking and not listening to albums all the way through. I bring a few cds into work now instead.

 

[nooleen]

i found my old cd walkman in the bottom of a drawer and rediscovered the joy of listening to one good album 7 times in a row

 

[Squiggle]

I'm not giving mine up. Won't use in-ear headphones though - I had ear problems before and also vertigo and I think they contributed. Prefer overear anyway as I find them more comfortable and they stay put. Plus, they help to block outside sound a bit so the volume doesn't need to be as high.

The few times lately that I've walked or taken public transport without my headphones on and some tunes I've instantly regretted it. I don't want to hear drunk people yelling abuse at one another, or mothers talking about battering their kids, or gangsta rap seeping tinnily from the speaker of a mobile phone at full volume (and in the hands of a kid who appears to use red felt tip pen for blusher) for the entertainment of a gang of teenagers. And that was just 50% of the contents of the LUAS yesterday evening.

I do tend to listen to an album at a time, or at least make up a playlist, rather than all my music on shuffle.

 

[coast to coast]

I never even had one and i went up to the shop to smash up a load of ipods before they even existed and I prefer their earlier stuff.

 

[D0njo]

You did what now?

 

[tommytrousers]

My ears are banjaxed, can listen to talk radio on earphones for no more than 3/4 of an hour at a time and that's it. Do away with playing any music on ear phones for sure kids :-(.

 

[ann post]

do you wear plugs on stage though??

 

[Space]

Having to sit on a bus from Letterkenny to Dublin with no headphones sounds like hell on earth to me so won't be giving up any time soon. That said I wouldn't listen to anything while wandering around town, I like being aware of my surroundings too much.

 

[nooleen]

you need to keep your wits about you in letterkenny. culchie knackers are the worst, they feel they have something to prove.

 

[Space]

I was thinking more Dublin town, I'm down with all the culchie knackers around here.