The joys and peril of late-night headphone listening

> The freaks listen at night

Matthew Fraser Editor-in-Chief

A fter years and years, I have conditioned

ryself to love the late nights. Something about the post 10 pm listening session just does that elusive ‘it’ for me. It’s often the most rewarding part of my day; whether it's Spotify ora pile of records, the combination of nighttime + headphones cant be beaten.

Maybe it’s the darkness inside my house and outside of my windows; maybe it’s the cup of tea or the dram—maybe two—of liquor that makes the music sound clearer. Maybe the rest of my brain turns down and I can just focus on the sounds and rhythms that come out of my headphones, but there is a strange and pleasing vividness that music takes on once the rest of the world has gone quiet.

Late nights made me really appreciate a good album. I remember huddling next to my radio as a kid late at night when I should have been asleep listening to The Ongoing History of New Music with Alan Cross. He'd talk about albums and recording studios I'd never heard of. He'd unearth hidden stories and details I never could have known. I'd go to the library after to find those albums and listen to them on my Walkman. That must be where my love for headphones and late- night listening began.

If anything, listening late at night, ensorcelled in the magic of good headphones, gives you the best and clearest view of what the artist intended. When youre on the bus rubbing shoulders and jostling for space, you miss half the music. When youre out for a walk you get more, but your attention isn’t devoted to the music. But when the night comes down,

/ Matthew Fraser Editor-in-Chief

M editor@theotherpress.ca Christine Weenk

Layout Manager M layout@theotherpress.ca

Nhi Jenny' Vo Production Assistant

Athena Little Illustrator

Udeshi Seneviratne & Illustrator » CJ) Sommerfeld yey Staff Writer

when you've in your chair, when you can dedicate a few hours to the riddles and dreams of someone elses mind, that’s when you get the most from your music.

It's like the headphones conjure the artist into your mind; it’s like the night removes every distraction. You can wrestle with the power of John Coltrane when midnight abandons you to A Love Supreme. The headphones are like a key, and behind that door, you can be soothed by Sade and A Love Deluxe. If that’s too much love, youre welcome to a Pretty Hate Machine courtesy of the Nine Inch Nails.

Illustration by Udeshi Seneviratne

But | have to warn you, there's plenty of traps along your late-night journey. There's the path of just one more song’ and its culmination at daybreak. There's the ‘can I get just an inch more from my system’ brutalization of your wallet. There's the scourge of ever more obscure and specialized bands that Spotify can dig up, yet no one else has heard of. If you're not careful, you may not start to live until the sun goes down and your headphones go on.

mattheu fraser

The Other Press has

been Douglas College's student newspaper since 1976. Since 1978 we have been an autonomous publication, independent of the student union. We are a registered society under the Society Act of British Columbia, governed by an eight-person board of directors appointed by our staff. Our head office is located in the New Westminster campus.

The Other Press is published weekly during UeLCH CHALOM UAIELECtE semesters, and monthly during the summer. We receive our funding from RY AOLO (<0 (A GO) (LaE=Tel raeTgelOle Lg mAOIL ULC) e Ill A184 semester at registration, and from local and national advertising revenue, The Other Press is a member of the Canadian CIS mae a elo)

a syndicate of student newspapers that includes fey} ol MA AOYEEM-}/-IG ROSS Canada.

The Other Press reserves the right to choose

what we will publish,

and we will not publish ArcTRcIE IM UALTELtACIP obscene, or condones or promotes illegal activities. Submissions may be edited for clarity and brevity

if necessary. All images used are copyright to their respective owners.

Room 1020 - 700 Royal Ave. Douglas College

New Westminster, BC, V3L 5B2 604-525-3542

Position Open Assistant Editor Massistant@theotherpress.ca

Craig Allan Business Manager M businessmanager.otherpress@gmail.com

| Alexis Zygan BE Staff Writer

Billy Bui = Staff Photographer

Arnaldo Fragozo Staff Photographer

Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist

@ theotherpress.ca

M editor@theotherpress.ca v © /theotherpress

f /douglasotherpress

Brandon Yip Senior Columnist

Joseph Astana Tariq Ghanzi Contributors

Cover layout by Christine Weenk and the Diversity Development Project

Feature layout by Christine Weenk and the Diversity Development Project