Siri has a sense of humour...

...And because I am now becoming more comfortable with music playing all the time with this remapped cochlear processor (see my post yesterday if you need to know more about the music aspect) Brain is now getting addicted to the music on the radio channel I am listening to.

Initially a week ago when I first put the radio music station on, all Brain received was a distortion. It was nothing nice to listen to. Which is why I paid no attention to the music being played. I wasn't aware there were different tunes or songs (having never heard them as sound before with being profoundly deaf). I left it playing all the time, and was aware of it while I was in the room or walking through.

So, I wasn't trying to do anything. I wasn't forcing anything. I wasn't working hard at it as such. Obviously I had a goal, which is to learn to hear music, and ultimately to get an emotional attachment to music or certain songs.

I noticed by over the weekend I was realising/recognising that certain songs/music were being repeated over the day or couple of days. These were the ones Brain seemed to like or have a resonance with.

Those that Brain did not like or was irritated with remained a distorted discordant noise.

I had intended exploring classical music today, but Brain has been riveted with the music/songs on this station on the radio. So much so, that it wanted to know the names of the songs.

I realise I am talking about Brain as a separate entity, but this is how it feels like. Because Brain has never heard natural sound for 60 years, and it wasn't happy with the sound of the cochlear mappings these last 7 odd years, but Brain has really taken to this last mapping a month ago which was very drastic.

Today Brain seems totally entranced with more and more songs on this radio station, and is greedy for more and more music. There are certain songs/tunes which have a certain something either in rhythm/beat/musical phrase (not being a hearing person all my life I don't know how to describe properly what it is that is pulling Brain and me into the music).

I had woken up this morning and put my processor in, and Brain immediately heard the music (the radios are left on 24/7 and have been since last Monday), and Brain wanted me to get out of bed and ID the music. I hadn't slept well all night, tossed and turned, and I just wanted to lie in bed a bit.

Brain won the battle and I got iPhone and went to radio and asked Siri what was this tune.

"That must be 'Here Comes The Sun', sung by The Beatles," Siri said, then Siri continued to my surprise, "But if you want to be certain, ask me for a weather forecast."

Huh!?!

I don't know what happened after that, because the next song Brain was intent on getting an ID for, Siri had a breakdown and didn't work...it got rebooted but still didn't work. So I found an app which ID'd the songs quicker and better than Siri. The app even ID'd songs/music from the next room and from my bed, unlike Siri which appeared to have a hearing problem unless it was right next to the source of the sound.

During the course of today, and I have been indoors because of the stair rod rain. So I have been listening, while doing other stuff, to the radio station non-stop for more than 12 hours.

In that time Brain wanted another 9 songs ID'ing. This is the list:

"If" by Bread
"San Francisco (Be sure to wear flowers in your hair)" by Scott Mackenzie
"You Needed Me" by Anne Murray
"Every Breath You Take" by The Police
"Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman
"Norwegian Wood" by The Beatles
"I Want to Wake Up With You" by Boris Gardiner
"I'm Not In Love" by 10cc
"Stand By Me" by Ben King

Those were the ones that reached Brain and had some emotional tug or awakening.

Can anyone with hearing tell me what they think is in those particular songs/music that might be reaching Brain and me? Is there any common denominator?

I have heard of The Beatles and Scott McKenzie ('listened' to them via vibrations by placing hands etc on speakers) but I have no knowledge of the other artists.

I find this interesting that Brain can find something in musical sounds (that I have never heard before) I am learning to hear with this new mapping, and not only that, but catch some emotional tug within them.

This is amazing. Truely incredible.

I don't know the words yet, that is still to come. The music in these songs is changing bit by bit as Brain hears it again and again. Brain is working out more and more within the music of each of these songs/music the more it is hearing/listening to them.


This is my painting for today, encaustic wax painted with iron on absorbent paper, for my challenge to myself of a painting every day in 2017.