Train Track Mixtapes

I’ve always wanted to conduct a social experiment.

I left the country for the first time during Summer 2010, flying solo to Krosno, Poland for a 2-week conference. My university sent me as a delegate to solidify an exchange student program with their college, but it wasn’t until I arrived that I realized I was the only American in a group of fifty international residents. It was the first experience I’ve ever had being exposed to several new cultures, languages, and lifestyles in the same place.

Krosno, Poland - Summer 2010

I fell in love that summer. I was captivated by passion for the world and the diversity of individuals within it… and I wanted to learn more. 

Since that summer, I have studied abroad in Spain, lived in Washington DC, and now I’ve somehow ended up in Boston.  I spent most of my high school years soaked with wanderlust and resented Massachusetts for making me feel stuck. But Boston is a whole other ballgame.  It feels nostalgically European, and everything feels real but picturesque at the same time. At least three times a day I stop to wonder if I’m living in a film.

Two years of observations and notes have altered my life brilliantly. But I have nothing tangible, no physical evidence of my mental productivity. AKA I’ve been lackadaisically living in Procrastinationtown. Until now.

I finally brainstormed and blueprinted my first solo project as a ‘real’ adult.

Three of my biggest passions are people, music, and trains. I ride the train/subway in Boston everyday and I’m always observing the people I see while I listen to my favorite music. The fundamental question I kept asking was “how do I make this a more interactive experience?” The obvious answer is conversation. I needed to blend another passion to propel this project forward. But what do we talk about?

A whole chandelier of light bulbs illuminated my mind when I found the answer.

Do you ever see someone nodding their head to a beat in their headphones and feel compelled to know what they’re listening to? Or see someone mouthing lyrics and wonder what song they’re trying to be the star of? As a music fiend and a people-person, I’ve always wanted to know. 

And we’re all about to find out. Every week I will be asking 10-20 people on the train what song they are listening to at that precise moment. Then I’ll be compiling a weekly mixtape of sorts, of all the music that Bostonians are listening to every week. I’ll write down descriptions of the people I talk to, any important conversation notes, and a short description of the track itself.

Saturday morning I put it to the test and talked to 5 people on the green/red line trains. I would say “I’m sorry for interrupting your music, but I’m writing an article on what people in Boston are listening to and I was wondering- what’s playing through your headphones right now?” Then all five of them gleefully responded with the name of the song. Each time they would even show me the screen of their mp3 player, without me asking to see any evidence at all. Four of the conversations were fairly brief, and another one went on for the duration of three songs.

It seems that’s how I’m keeping the time now. My life is being counted in songs, not seconds. I couldn’t be more happy. 

This week I’ll be working on a website and other logistics for the project, so stay tuned and I’ll clue you in on all the progress!

Infinitely yours,

KSB