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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday June 22, 2007 - 29 Headphones shut out the soundtrack of the real world By Natalie Krajinovic GRADE 12, HOLY TRINITY cornucopia of colour surrounds you. You are part of your own film, the lead. The personalized soundtrack for this film surrounds you. The moment you take your headphones off the film ends. Back to reality. The label-hungry want iPods. The rest have mp3 players. And those that attempt to reject the hype lug around the Discmans or cassette players. Regardless of your preference for how the soundtrack is emitted, a commonality exists. You are blocking out the world. The world does not exist once the soundtrack begins. Whether it is vanity, ignorance or pleasure; each soundtrack played belittles the need for a supporting cast. You alone stand in the spotlight, a singleperson performance. Yet where are the supporting players? They are forgotten the moment the soundtrack begins. When you feel lonely, the need for human interaction becoming insurmountable, you nod towards the supporting cast. Once the lull is over however, you only concentrate on yourself. You whisk by the cast, ignoring their eyes. Your headphones are the barriers to the rest of the world. The pulse of the music matches your mind. In unison you exist alone. Faces become generic when your headphones are on. Even those who look towards your independent film for inspiration become valueless. Yet, these faces continue to watch you, even when your film is melancholic, tragic or hopeful, they search the soundtrack, hoping to get a glimpse of who you are. Yet they will never see you. The iPods and the Discmans are the same. Different in appearance, the same in essence. Both opt for antisocial behaviour; both conjure up memories with songs. When they are on, the world is off. You can believe that you are experiencing a new world when your soundtrack plays; a world that fits your moods. The emotions are real, the music is real, yet, the world you see is altered. The sounds of streetcars and the voices of people are silenced when your soundtrack plays. You are deaf to their significance. Soon you will become bored with A your music. The lyrics become repetitive and lose meaning. The search for new life begins. Music stores, the internet, radio; your ears are focused on new sounds. A momentary pause occurs in your film, the reel no longer turns. Eventually you will find music to fill the void. The reel continues, people forgotten. You lose yourself in this new soundtrack. Music swims through your headphones, separating you once again from reality. You ignore the old sound- track, much like the cast members. They become a collection of memories cast away by excitement for the new soundtrack. Yet, this moment will pass. Each new wave of music is only a temporary glimpse of emotions; they are not tangible and cannot be expressed. You must question what you want to hear. Would you rather hear the world around you as mute, the music from your headphones the voices? Or, do you find the world intriguing; a desire for reality unquenched? COLLECTIBLE SHOW Sunday June 24, 10am ­ 3 pm O.E. Banquet Hall 2245 Speers Road, OAKVILLE **** NEW LOCATION **** Admission $2, Kids under 10 Free 85 tables of Sports Cards, Beanies, Toys, Golf, Star Wars, Coca Cola, Pins McFarlanes, Die Cast, Dolls, Comics Hot Wheels, Action Figures, Pez, WWE Free Parking, Info 905-643-6883