Gramophone

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Dancing at My Desk

My office doesn’t have a door - kind of like a cubicle (with four walls and a ceiling).  I’m not looking for pity, seriously.  But, it makes jamming to music - one of the few methods of motivation - more difficult to do without forcing my co-workers to also rock out to my favorite music.  Luckily, though, there’s a solution.  (If there wasn’t a solution, this would be a pretty pathetic blog post.)  Headphones.  Ever since Apple released its first iPod, headphones have been the solution to independant music consumption.  Unfortunately, those little earbuds can get pretty uncomfortable after 8 hours at a desk.  My ears feel like they need some fresh air.  Maybe you like the feeling, and I’m not going to hate on you for it, but my ears were just not constructed to hold a piece of plastic for the duration of the workday.  

Enter the around-the-ear headphones.  I’ll probably get some flak for this, from my serious audiophiles out there, but I spend my day with the Dr. Dre Beats (Studio).  Sure, there are plenty of other options, but it’s a personal choice, and I love my Beats.  The music doesn’t feel like it’s being pushed into my ears, rather it just lives in its own space - that I happen to be a part of.

We had a headphone challenge in the Marketing Department, and while we all agreed that anything is better than the Apple earbuds, each of us found our own personal favorites: from the on-ear B&W P5s and Grado headphones to the around-the-ear noise-canceling Sennheisers.  And while we were challenging the headphones, we weren’t rudely spreading our music throughout the office without care for the preferences of others.  And while there was a discussion of the amount of bass and the highs and lows, what it really came down to was: Do I think my music sounds great, and am I comfortable wearing these?  And that’s what it should be about.  Honestly, I don’t care if you prefer your music to be bass-heavy, club beats, classical, or opera, just don’t force me to listen to it through your itsy-bitsy computer speakers.  The only thing that should show me you’re listening to your favorite music is you dancing in your chair at your desk.

-Kate