Sometimes, I used to wonder what I was missing. I mean, yeah, I loved my Sony NWS703FV Violet 1GB MP3 Player so much I wouldn’t leave the house without it. I could hardly hear the din of the train through the active noise-cancelling headphones. And 1GB was just big enough to hold a decent selection of stuff without overwhelming me with too many choices. After listening to the same handful of favorite albums for so long, different subway stops were inextricably bound up with certain songs – when “Teenage Lobotomy” comes on, I know we’re approaching 54th Street. All was in order. My world knew peace.

Still, I started to worry that maybe I was cutting myself off from the aural life of the city, that a sonic tale of immense richness was unfolding while I bopped my head, unawares, lost in raptures of the Sony Violet.

Then some cretin hopped off with mine. Now I’d find out what I’d been missing: nothing! I heard the city, and it bored me! I gave up after a week of searching vainly for a steady rhythm in the rumbling of the train – trust me, a subway would make a lousy drummer. I bought the first Sony NWS703FV I could find, and I’ve never looked back since. If I see you on the train, just nod. I won’t hear your “hello”.

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