Had a weird moment on the 7 bus last month that made me rethink headphones

So it was a Tuesday morning around 8:15 and I was on the 7 bus in Denver heading downtown. This guy gets on with a bluetooth speaker playing classical music at full volume, no headphones. Everyone was annoyed at first, but after a few stops I noticed people were actually bobbing their heads and smiling. A woman next to me said "this is way better than hearing someone's tinny earbuds leak through." By the time I got off at 16th Street, I realized we spend so much time isolating ourselves with headphones that we forget how nice shared sounds can be in small doses. Has anyone else had a moment where something annoying on a commute turned out to be kinda nice?

3 comments

3 Comments

shanelee2mo ago

Denver's 7 bus is actually the Colfax line, not the 16th Street one.

the_joseph2mo ago

@mila_campbell25 exactly this. Had some dude blasting death metal on the 7 once, wanted to jump off.

mila_campbell252mo ago

Sorry but that sounds like a nightmare to me. Headphones exist for a reason and that reason is personal space. The last thing I want on a crowded bus is someone else forcing their vibe on me whether it's Mozart or mumble rap. Some of us are trying to decompress after work or read something or just sit in silence for 15 minutes without being part of a public listening party. That woman probably never had to suffer through someone's podcast about crypto or a screaming toddler at full blast on the back of the bus. One person's nice classical moment is just another reason I'd be counting down the stops until I could get off and actually hear my own thoughts again.