{"id":28235,"date":"2017-10-15T07:26:28","date_gmt":"2017-10-15T11:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=28235"},"modified":"2017-10-15T07:26:28","modified_gmt":"2017-10-15T11:26:28","slug":"lunch-with-a-friend-and-a-hearty-side-of-enabling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/lunch-with-a-friend-and-a-hearty-side-of-enabling\/","title":{"rendered":"Lunch with a friend (and a hearty side of enabling)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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That’s BJ on the left and me on the right at our favorite burrito joint.<\/p><\/div>\n

A few weeks ago, I had lunch with my good friend, BJ Leiderman<\/a>. \u00a0If you ever listen to public radio programming, especially NPR, you’ve probably heard BJ’s name.<\/p>\n

BJ is a musician, singer, and composer, and has written the bulk of the theme music you hear on National Public Radio (NPR). His music is hard to get out of your head. Every time I listen to NPR shows like Marketplace, Morning Edition, Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, Car Talk,<\/em> or Science Friday,<\/em> I hear BJ’s catchy tunes.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/marketplace\/marketplace-theme-song<\/p>\n

Moreover, BJ is an awesome fellow.\u00a0 But it’s dangerous hanging with him because he’s also…well, an enabler, <\/em>when it comes to sound gear.<\/p>\n

Often, when we hang out, I walk away from the meet-up with a new app, a new song in my head, or the sudden need for a new piece of kit.<\/p>\n

Friday was a prime example. \u00a0You may notice that I’m wearing headphones in the photo at the top of the page. Here’s how this played out…<\/p>\n

BJ asked if I had seen one of his latest animated music videos–one that is was featured on his new album, “BJ.”<\/a> \u00a0Instead of simply showing the video to me on his phone and\/or playing the music through his iPhone’s speaker, BJ ran to his car and came back with a set of Bose Quiet Comfort 35 Noise-Cancelling headphones,<\/a> then handed me his phone with the video queued up.<\/p>\n

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We were in a crowded, noisy restaurant during the lunch hour, but when I put on the headphones, all ambient sounds were instantly and utterly squelched. As his video played, it sounded like I was sitting in a recording studio listening to monitors. Absolutely phenomenal.<\/p>\n

The headphone’s noise-cancelling technology is so good, in fact, I could barely hear my own voice as I spoke.<\/p>\n

The audio fidelity was spot-on, too\u2013\u2013there’s a nice balance from bass to treble.\u00a0 Though I’m sure your audio player’s EQ could customize this.<\/p>\n

I walk around all of the time with a cheap pair of in-ear headphones in my pocket for use with my phone, radios, or simply to decrease ambient noise while I’m trying to work or sleep.<\/p>\n

Here’s the video BJ shared, by the way:<\/p>\n