Soundwalk

Soundwalk Through East Village

Headphones off, and ears on. I've always thought I've fully grasped the environment of my favorite area in the East Village but to my surprise, this exercise proved to me that I only know a small portion of it. It was ignorant of me to assume I've taken in the entirety of this area when I only walked through it with music blasting in my ears muffling the sound of the city. 

I had the assumption that the biggest instrument of the city was the sirens or the screech and honks of a car. Though this exercise made me realize that the biggest instrument of the city was the human voice. I often find myself eavesdropping on people's conversations, understanding a little more of their world. The constant conversations of people's latest purchase or their stories of meeting the famous avant-garde designer, Rick Owens. Being that the area I was walking through is the hub of fashion, it only made sense that conversations of fashion are the soundmark of this area. I've always walked these streets with music constantly playing in my ears from stores to stores, it's amazing hearing how similar other people's conversations are to mine. These conversations drowned out the noise of the wheels of a skateboard rolling down through 2nd Avenue, and the occasional bells of a Citi bike. They became the keynotes of the city, always being faintly present. Though walking by the intersection of 2nd Avenue and 8th Street there are a group of homeless people settled in front of the gated lot that used to be an apartment building before it had burned to the ground. The chatters and hollering of the homeless attract attention to many, while also simultaneously being ignored.