Bubbles

When they started bringing out phones that played mp3s at first I thought they were a Bad Idea. Making a small personal stereo with tinny speakers that just about anyone could buy was probably the worst thing that could happen to commuters since ergonomic seat design.

I don't want to rant about 'kids these days', please God not yet, but getting on the bus and hearing that buzzing, bass-not-so-much-thumping-as-dissolving-in-static sound coming from behind my head just makes me want to smash all electronic equipment and cut the corners off bits of paper. The slow dawning that it's not a ringtone, it's not going to stop; rummaging through my bag for my own headphones; wondering if I'm brave enough to stand up for myself and count on the support of my fellow passengers (i never am); thinking maybe I should blast out radio 4 or similar from my own phone in a meagre attempt at confrontation (I never do) - there was a letter in the Metro - someone claimed to have witnessed a woman stand up and sing opera loudly at some kids who were "sharing" their musical taste, then sit down to the applause of her fellow passengers, I was going to write to the Metro in a similar way claiming to have witnessed a girl running for a bus stop and the bus driver waiting for her; when the girl got on the bus she explained that she was late for her rich aunt's funeral and gave the bus driver £500 for waiting; this sort of thing happens all the time.

But recently, though i still hate them on buses, I'm starting to come round to the idea. You see the kids don't just play them on buses, they hang them round their necks and play them all the time, while they're walking around, shopping, mugging people whatever the little darlings get up to, so they're constantly surrounded in a bubble of their own sound. Like a walkman, you're thinking, but it's not like a walkman is it? it's public for a start, like an I <3 Jar Jar statement on a T-shirt as oppose to wearing Darth Maul underpants; it's like audio perfume, as you walk past the group of stereotypical black teenagers you get a sudden burst of rap music, you walk past the pre-teen fashion victims you get a waft of whatever the flavour of the month is (I'm not about to date this blog by even attempting to guess), one girl I walked past recently was listening to the radio so I got a whiff of traffic report as she went by...but it's good - I like it
- everyone should do it. But not on buses.