Metro Blasting

When I listen to music on the bus during my commute to work in the morning, it’s usually at a somewhat moderate level on my headphones. Most of the time, it’s doubtful that anyone in the vicinity can tell what I’m listening to; I use a pretty nice pair of Sennheisers with minimal leakage (at normal levels). It’s not a pair of those ghetto rigged earphones you hear sometimes (especially on the bus), which basically have speakers pointed in the opposite direction of the owner’s eardrums, so the whole bus can hear the high frequency range of the latest Messy Marv album. At that point you might as well just play the shit on your celly’s speakerphone (which people also do, especially on the 49, 14, 19 or 22 buses. For the record I’ve overheard some of the nastiest phone conversations on the 14 bus. I think a good deal of call girls with those back of the newspaper sex/escort adverts ride that bus since it transports them from the hood to the hotels. I think the 19 may have a similar situation, but I rarely ride that one. It’s scary). But on the way back from work it’s a different beast all together. I feel all angst-y and fucking hate everyone, so I often turn my shit up to 11, where it is sometimes painful. I'm aware that people have to hear and consequently be annoyed by that shit, especially if I’m listening to my angst-bus jams, like Cock in My Pocket by the Stooges or Accelerator by Primal Scream (seriously this maybe one of the loudest songs ever recorded). I do get shitty looks from some people, but seriously, die, it’s time to hate-fuck the bus with music (hate-fuck concept stolen shamelessly from Patton Oswalt: you should all buy his new album). This does have advantages though, as sometimes I get a two seat section all to myself, and the rest of the bus is completely packed! I own an iPod shuffle so I really have no control over what is going to play next, and often the volume range from track to track can be staggering. Also I usually have the iPod in my backpack, so I can’t exactly get to it easily (especially if it is crowded) to change the track or turn down the volume if needed. So, it’s always a bit embarrassing when the volume is blasting and fucking D Train comes on and suddenly I’m not sounding or looking so tough.

D Train has got to be my favorite band on the Prelude label, which says a lot, since Prelude released quite a few seminal dance LPs and 12s (and a bunch of crap too, but generally good shit). That being said, they are one of those groups that I always feel really guilty for liking in public. Like a lot of stuff outta the 80s the lyrics are just complete cheese sometimes (and the best type of cheese, a good brie or piave; listen to the lyrics in The Shadow of Your Smile), and this is especially true on their second, somewhat overlooked album Music, which is where I derived today’s posted tracks. On You're The One For Me from the first LP, I though the dude was saying "Bust a nut on a cloud and shout out loud, you're the one for me". I guess he wasn't though (was he?).

D Train - The Shadow of Your Smile
D Train - Keep Giving Me Love
D Train - Don't You Wanna Ride (The D Train)