The sonic strategies and technologies of listening alone together in The World According to Sound’s Outside In: A Communal Listening Series | Intellect Skip to content
1981
Podcasting and Popular Music
  • ISSN: 1476-4504
  • E-ISSN: 2040-1388

Abstract

This article examines three dimensions of Chris Hoff and Sam Harnett’s practices for producing, sharing and listening to audio in collective and social ways for s : the sonic strategies and soundscape design used to engage communal and collective listening, how adapts and transforms traditional paradigms using the broadcast medium of the podcast to aesthetically engage with liveness and the corporeality of sound, and how the COVID-19 pandemic afforded space for ‘unpopular’ soundwork based on everyday aural architectures (e.g., field recordings, ambient music, experimental music based on everyday sounds, soundscape collages) that are popular, as in, of the community. Using varied examples drawn from ’s soundwork, I illustrate a particular set of sonic strategies to imagine sonic space, listen relationally to sound events, and enact a sociality of collective listening.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/rjao_00057_1
2022-04-01
2024-04-24
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Auslander, Philip. ( 2008), Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture, , 2nd ed.., London:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Bottomley, Andrew J.. ( 2015;), ‘ Podcasting: A decade in the life of a “new” audio medium: Introduction. ’, Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 22:2, pp. 16469.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Bottomley, Andrew J.. ( 2020), Sound Streams: A Cultural History of Radio-Internet Convergence, Ann Arbor, MI:: University of Michigan Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Bui, Quoctrung, and Emily Badger., ( 2020;), ‘ The coronavirus quieted city noise: Listen to what’s left. ’, The New Yorker, 22 May, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/22/upshot/coronavirus-quiet-city-noise.html. Accessed 5 May 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Bull, Michael. ( 2000), Sounding Out the City: Personal Stereos and the Management of Everyday Life, New York:: Berg;.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Bull, Michael. ( 2001;), ‘ The world according to sound: Investigating the world of walkman users. ’, New Media & Society, 3:2, pp. 17997.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Bull, Michael. ( 2006;), ‘ Investigating the culture of mobile listening: From Walkman to iPod. ’, in K. O’Hara, and B. Brown. (eds), Consuming Music Together, Dordrecht:: Springer;, pp. 13149.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Bull, Michael. ( 2007), Sound Moves: iPod Culture and Urban Experience, New York:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Coughlan, Sean. ( 2020;), ‘ Recordings show lockdown London quieter than 1928. ’, BBC News , 28 July, https://www.bbc.com/news/education-53568200. Accessed 10 June 2021.
  10. Downs, Jacob Kingsbury. ( 2021;), ‘ Headphones, auditory violence and the sonic flooding of corporeal space. ’, Body & Society, 27:3, pp. 5886.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Doyle, Peter. ( 2005), Echo and Reverb: Fabricating Space in Popular Music Recording, 1900–1960, Middletown CT:: Wesleyan University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Galloway, Kate, and Fuller, Rachael. ( 2021;), ‘ “Unmute” bread: Listening, improvising, and performing with sourdough in quarantine. ’, Critical Studies in Improvisation/Études critiques en improvisation, 14:2&3, pp. 116.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Hagood, Mack. ( 2011;), ‘ Quiet comfort, noise, otherness, and the mobile production of personal space. ’, American Quarterly, 63:3, pp. 57389.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Hagood, Mack. ( 2019), Hush: Media and Sonic Self-Control, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Harper, Paula Clare. ( 2020;), ‘ ASMR: Bodily pleasure, online performance, digital modality. ’, Sound Studies, 6:1, pp. 9598.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Hilmes, Michele. ( 2013;), ‘ The new materiality of radio: Sound on screens. ’, in J. Loviglio, and M. Hilmes. (eds), Radio’s New Wave: Global Sound in the Digital Era, New York:: Routledge;, pp. 4361.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Johnson, Phylis. ( 2008;), ‘ The howl that could not be silenced: The rise of queer radio. ’, in M. C. Keith. (ed.), Radio Cultures: The Sound Medium in American Life, New York:: Peter Lang;, pp. 95111.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Jones, Kevin L.. ( 2016;), ‘ “The world according to sound” lets listeners create their own experiences. ’, KQED , 24 August, https://www.kqed.org/arts/11971346/the-world-according-to-sound-lets-listeners-create-their-own-experiences. Accessed 28 July 2021.
  19. Kelman, Ari Y.. ( 2010;), ‘ Rethinking the soundscape: A critical genealogy of a key term in sound studies. ’, The Senses and Society, 5:2, pp. 21234.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Lacey, Kate. ( 2013;), ‘ Listening in the digital age. ’, in J. Loviglio, and M. Hilmes. (eds), Radio’s New Wave, New York:: Routledge;, pp. 1933.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Lipari, Lisbeth. ( 2009;), ‘ Listening otherwise: The voice of ethics. ’, International Journal of Listening, 23:1, pp. 4459.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. McCartney, Andra. ( 1999;), ‘ Sounding places: Situated conversations through the soundscape compositions of Hildegard Westerkamp. ’, Ph.D. dissertation, Toronto:: York University;.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. McDaniel, Byrd. ( 2020;), ‘ Popular music reaction videos: Reactivity, creator labor, and the performance of listening online. ’, New Media & Society, 23:6, pp. 162441.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. McElhearn, Kirk,, Giles, Richard, and Herrington, Jack D.. ( 2006), Podcasting: Pocket Guide, Sebastopol, CA:: O’Reilly Media;.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Morss, Alex. ( 2020;), ‘ Lockdown yields first global sound map of spring dawn chorus. ’, The Guardian, 30 May, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/30/lockdown-yields-first-global-sound-map-spring-dawn-chorus-birds. Accessed 12 May 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. O’Brien, Kerry., ( 2021;), ‘ A piece of music will speak once more: For 26 hours. ’, New York Times, 11 May, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/arts/music/alvin-lucier-sitting-in-a-room.html. Accessed 20 May 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Outside Podcast ( 2020;), ‘ How the pandemic is teaching us to listen to nature. ’, 14 October, https://www.outsideonline.com/podcast/how-pandemic-teaching-us-listen-nature/. Accessed 10 June 2021.
  28. Pacquette, David, and McCartney, Andra. ( 2012;), ‘ Soundwalking and the bodily exploration of places. ’, Canadian Journal of Communication, 37:1, pp. 13545.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. PhantomPower ( 2021;), ‘ 32: The world according to sound (Chris Hoff and Sam Harnett). ’, 14 December, http://phantompod.org/2021/12/14/ep-32-the-world-according-to-sound-chris-hoff-and-sam-harnett/. Accessed 12 February 2022.
  30. Rich, Jennifer Sarah. ( 2017;), ‘ Sounding out the pastoral landscape in Chris Watson’s Inside the Circle of Fire: A Sheffield Sound Map. ’, Cultural Geographies, 24:3, pp. 40319.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Rosenthal, Rob. ( 2016;), ‘ Short is beautiful. ’, transom , 28 June, https://transom.org/2016/short-is-beautiful/. Accessed 20 February 2021.
  32. Sanden, Paul. ( 2013), Liveness in Modern Music: Musicians, Technology, and the Perception of Performance, New York:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Sanden, Paul. ( 2019;), ‘ Rethinking liveness in the digital age. ’, in N. Cook,, M. Ingalls, and D. Trippett. (eds), The Cambridge Companion to Music and Digital Culture, Cambridge:: Cambridge University Press;, pp. 17892.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Schafer, R. Murray. ( 1977), The Tuning of the World, Toronto:: McClelland & Stewart;.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Schneider, Julie. ( 2021;), ‘ Escape into soundwaves from the comfort of your home. ’, Hyperallergic, 14 January, https://hyperallergic.com/613490/world-according-to-sound-outside-in/. Accessed 20 February 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Smith, Jacob. ( 2016;), ‘ The chance meeting of a goose and a plover on a turntable: Chris Watson’s wildlife sound recordings. ’, Sound Studies, 2:2, pp. 15164.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Sterne, Jonathan. ( 2019;), ‘ Multimodal scholarship in world soundscape project composition: Toward a different media-theoretical legacy (or: The WSP as OG DH). ’, in M. Droumeva, and R. Jordan. (eds), Sound, Media, Ecology, London:: Palgrave;, pp. 85109.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Sterne, Jonathan,, Morris, Jeremy,, Baker, Michael, and Freire, Ariana. ( 2008;), ‘ The politics of podcasting. ’, The Fibreculture Journal, 13, https://thirteen.fibreculturejournal.org/fcj-087-the-politics-of-podcasting/. Accessed 6 May 2022.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. The World According to Sound (@Thewatsound) ( 2020;), ‘ Whoa, how much noise do they make? We’d love to hear that! And to know how you’re recording with the contact mics. ’, Twitter , 2 April, https://twitter.com/Thewatsound/status/1245837572175056898. Accessed 5 June 2021.
  40. The World According to Sound: Live ( n.d.), https://www.theworldaccordingtosound.org/live-show. Accessed 10 September 2021.
  41. The World According to Sound: Outside In ( n.d.), https://www.theworldaccordingtosound.org/tickets. Accessed 6 May 2022.
  42. Three Beacon Radio ( 2020;), ‘ Ginger and Fred. ’, SoundCloud , https://soundcloud.com/user-381357568/ginger-and-fred. Accessed 3 July 2020.
  43. Tomeo, Caterina. ( 2020;), ‘ An opportunity to (re)listen carefully to the world: A conversation with Chris Watson. ’, Digicult , 23 July, http://digicult.it/articles/an-opportunity-to-relisten-carefully-to-the-world-a-conversation-with-chris-watson-by-caterina-tomeo/. Accessed 30 July 2021.
  44. Truax, Barry. ( 1999), Handbook for Acoustic Ecology, , 2nd ed.., Vancouver:: Cambridge Street Publishing;, http://www.sfu.ca/sonic-studio-webdav/handbook/index.html. Accessed 5 September 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Verma, Neil. ( 2018;), ‘ The return to sound aesthetics. ’, in M. Bull. (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Sound Studies, New York:: Routledge;, pp. 4453.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Verma, Neil. ( 2019;), ‘ From the narrator’s lips to yours: Streaming, podcasting, and the Risqué aesthetic of Amazon channels. ’, Participations, 16:2, https://www.participations.org/Volume%2016/Issue%202/14.pdf. Accessed 15 March 2022.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Verma, Neil (@nkhverma) ( 2020;), ‘ Here’s my daughter, Lulu, using a @sounddevices mixpre and a @jezrileyfrench contact mic to listen to our two sourdough starters (“Fred” and “Ginger”) and figure out which one sounds more active today. #soundies #stircrazy #itwasGinger. ’, Twitter , 2 April, https://twitter.com/nkhverma/status/1245836128885899264. Accessed 6 May 2022.
  48. Verma, Neil (@nkhverma) ( 2020;), ‘ Not much to it! Plug it in, secure the contact surface to the jar with a couple of (in this case) kid hair elastics, find a spot far away from the fridge to get less ambient hum, and there you have it. Just sounds like tiny, slow bubbles. A slow, low goopy version of carbonation. ’, Twitter , 2 April, https://twitter.com/nkhverma/status/1245839110281015298. Accessed 6 May 2022.
  49. Verma, Neil. ( 2020;), personal e-mail correspondence with Kate Galloway. , 3–9 November.
  50. Walking Festival of Sound ( 2021;), ‘ Walking Festival of Sound: Artist talk with Chris Watson. ’, YouTube , 4 February, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AAyMGdfoBc. Accessed 12 February 2022.
  51. Welch, Craig. ( 2020;), ‘ Seas quieted by pandemic could reduce stress, improve health in whales. ’, National Geographic, 15 July, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/seas-silenced-by-pandemic-could-improve-health-whales. Accessed 10 June 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  52. Westerkamp, Hildegard. ( 1996;), ‘ Kits Beach Soundwalk (1989). ’, Transformations, Empreintes Digitales, IMED 9631 .
  53. Westerkamp, Hildegard. ( 2019;), ‘ The disruptive nature of listening: Today, yesterday, tomorrow. ’, in M. Droumeva, and R. Jordan. (eds), Sound, Media, Ecology, London:: Palgrave;, pp. 4563.
    [Google Scholar]
  54. Galloway, Kate. ( 2022;), ‘ The sonic strategies and technologies of listening alone together in The World According to Sound’s Outside In: A Communal Listening Series. ’, Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media, 20:1, pp. 85103, https://doi.org/10.1386/rjao_00057_1
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/rjao_00057_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/rjao_00057_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error