Music : Three Minutes Are Up

THREE MINUTES ARE UP

It’s near the tail-end of the rush-hour mob, still a lot people, but no pushing. I have this dream of being accidentally shoved off the platform onto the tracks and no matter what I do, I am unable to climb out. Nobody helps; everyone is withdrawn into their own world, willingly oblivious to what’s around them.

It’s the typical Wednesday evening crowd, cubical workers staying an hour or so late in hopes of leaving on time Friday afternoon. Above a 42 inch TV teleprompts the news but no one seems to notice. Every so often someone might glance up for the arrival time of the next train. Three minutes and counting, the maximum time we are willing to wait for our morning coffee, at the grocery checkout line or for a Big Mac combo. Three minutes is the new five minutes.

A warm gust of wind wafts in the stale subway air. I peer down the tunnel just as the train pops into the station. The doors slide open and we begin to shuffle in. With nowhere to sit, I lean up against a pole and try not to stare at anyone in particular. On my right an executive of some sort, wearing a nicely tailored suit, is busy checking email while listening to tunes on his iPhone. On my left is a teeny bopper. She has blond pink-ish hair complete with fake nails and fake lashes. She too has ear buds on, listening to mp3’s on her fully accessorized gem-covered Blackberry.  Further down, a college basketball star in size twenty shoes with his knees up to his chin, is impossibly squished between an overweight lady and a beefy construction worker. Nevertheless, he seems content enough with his super-sized headphones swallowing his head and pounding funky beats into his ears.

People magically remove themselves from a crowd of strangers through the act of listening to music. Headphones enable invisibility. It is an unwritten law. Somehow we agree that though we can see the person, as long as there are headphones, they are really not here and are to be ignored. Listening to music in public raises the question of enjoyment versus distraction. Has music dwindled to a three minute activity with modern music producing only three to four minute songs? Everyone’s on the move and can only spend one minute to download an mp3 and three minutes to listen before they go back to buying coffee, changing trains, or going back to work.

I remember one time a friend and I went down to a jazz club one evening for kicks. I like jazz, where as my friend is simply up for all things life has to offer. We pay our ten dollars at the door and find a seat near center stage. Shortly after, the band begins to play. We settle ourselves in and listen to the intro. Within the first few seconds you know if the song is good. It is a lively Saturday night crowd. The waitresses are busy running around with food and drinks. There is nothing fancy on the menu, typical bar and grill type of food, burgers, wraps and nachos. We order a couple burgers and turn our attention back to the band. They are in full swing.  Around the room everyone is bopping along and we join into the atmosphere created.

At some point, food arrives, rather large burgers with chunky fries. We chomp down onto our food but our attention is diverted back to the band as each musician commences in spotlighting their talent. The burger was messy, far too big to bite through in one chomp; more like taking a bite off the top and then some off the bottom. My friend, on the other hand, loves food and had no trouble polishing off both burger and fries. I could only manage the burger, spending the rest of the time picking away at the fries and watching the piano player do his thing. He is the last to solo before the band joins in for the chorus and the final verse. 

Every band member got their chance to be creative and do a bit of well deserved showing off. It wasn’t until the song ended and I pushed away my unfinished fries that I realized the band had started this very song when we first came in and sat down. Now I know what it means when they say, down in New Orleans you could come out to watch a street performer, walk home and have dinner, walk back, and the street performer will still be grooving on the same tune. 

This ain’t no three chord, one page music that repeats itself until three minutes are up. This is storytelling, setting an atmosphere and letting the audience day dream away before pulling their attention back for an all out slam. It is an experience, a ride.

Squealing around a curve, the subway pops into light. There are more people lined across the platform waiting to get into an already filled train with more iPhones, more Blackberries, more headphones and more three minute songs.

Article : Tobin