Its another grey day in the neighborhood - rain again. Good for the soil - hard on the soul, unless you are lucky enuogh to get to spend the day at home.
Its on days like this that I most want to stay home, wrap up in a cozy blanket and doze. Perhaps spend some time listening to some really great music - letting the walls absorb and reflect the sound. Yes, I like to play it loud. Which is great when your neighbors are all at work and you have the block to yourself. Not so great when they are home - you just can't assume they will love your music just because you love it.
And judging from what they Rock-out to on the weekends, I am pretty sure we do not have the same taste. At all. I have three neighbors that like to play it loud. The one to the left has two small kids. When the mom is covering the daytime cruise they usually play Kidz Bop type stuff. Its not bad, and at least it is not the "Barney" theme song. Actually it is pretty cool to clean the house to as long as you are not getting into any heavy lifting. When Dad has the controls it is pretty much heavy drums. That would be because the system gets turned off and he goes into the basement and bangs on his drum set. Seriously - bangs on the drum set. I would tell you what genre he plays, but I don't think he has figured that out yet.
The neighbor to the right plays a soft classical. I only know this from having tea with her on Sundays or Holidays. She does not rock the neighborhood, she is however very organic and wonderfully Zen to hang out with. Next to her (to her left) and kitty-corner to me in the back-yard are the consistent week-end party neighbors. About once a month during reasonably good weather, they throw a party. Their musical taste got stuck somewhere in the late 70-s and 80's. Don't get me wrong, I actually like Donna Summers. It just sort of hard to take in large doses of MacArthur Park at top volume after midnight several weekends in a row. Kind of makes you want to leave a cake out in the rain - on their patio. Of course by morning you do get over the sentiment - even if you do spend the next 48 hours getting rid of the song in your head. Happily the chilly weather has set in so Donna is retired until April.
Believe it or not the other neighbors that rock the neighborhood actually live not across the street - but behind my neighbors and across the street. They have a giant second story deck that wraps down to a hugh patio. When they throw a party they are very serious about it. It starts loading in mid-day on Friday and kicks off on mid-day Saturday. They have a full speaker system for the deck and patio and it kicks! I have to admit that their afternoon and early evening mixes are actually pretty hot. A great blend of Korn, Hurt, Taproot, Snow Patrol, The Cranberries, Dave Matthews, Dylan, Sheryl Crow, Aerosmith, Santanna - you get the idea - Rock that spans the age groups. However, when the younger group exits - around 9 or so, the music mix shifts and that's when it gets sort of bizarre. Then we hit a blend of Disco Diamond Oldies and Heavy Metal with an occasional - believe it or not opera piece thrown in. I actually think the opera is in there to encourage the less wasted guests to go home. It does thin out the party over time. Luckily we are treated to just two or three of these parties each year - and since most of the neighborhood attends - who are we to complain?
As for me? I just try to play it loud when I know my neighbors have gone off to work. So the occasional times when I work from the house or take a day off - then I kick it in. I do wonder though - for those who are listening - Just how odd my collection must sound. So far I must be doing okay - I haven't found any cakes on the patio - I guess that is a good sign.
Rock Steady and enjoy the rain
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