Perceptrain

As I tried to overcome my sugar hangover on the train ride home this evening, I closed my eyes. As I sat there, I listened to the noises around me. The rattling of the wheels on the track, the creaking as the train rocked side to side, the shrieking of young children and the moans of St. Paddy's celebrators.

When my eyes opened, I stared out the window into the gray landscape of the Hudson. The sky: gray. The water: gray. The bare trees and charcoal rocks jutting out of the shore were all incredibly eerie. I couldn't help but think how this would be the perfect setting of a horror film.

As I pondered all of this, I wondered how I could blog about it. I use this space to write about the sweet take on things, so surely writing about horrifying sights and sounds would not do.

And then I began to wonder, if I had my iPod with me and was listening to soothing music, would this view still seem so ghostly?

This link will show you how changing the music can change your perceptions of a visual experience. Watch the first 30 seconds or so and then fast forward to 3:15. What do you think?

Proof That Music Changes Everything is a bit different. It takes scenes you have probably seen before and plays a Coheed and Cambria song that can make even the Teletubbies seem epic (and terrifying).

It's interesting that what we hear so drastically affects how we perceive things. I wonder how my take on things would be altered if I listened to various music genres at different points in the day? Have you ever noticed this phenomenon?