EDM In Trafffic Jams

Traffic jams unnerve me. They reinforce that I will be late, that some yahoo texting will swerve into my lane, that I am alone with myself in thought in an environment that does not include a beautiful vista, only the rear end of an SUV or semi. Ah, but I have a way out. I listen to the Chill on Sirius XM where I am surrounded by EDM (Electronic Dance Music).

Okay, I am not in the Chill’s marketing demographics, let alone Kaskade’s circle. Kaskade is apparently a leader in EDM and, frankly, his beat works great when sandwiched on 85 in Saratoga, Cupertino, whatever—they all look the same. So, while my Prius—54 mpg baby!—is going nowhere in Electric Mode—the “cab” is rocking with hypnotic sameness that is gone as soon as I turn off the radio. Translated, if I hear Neil Young’s “Old Man Look At My Life,” I sing along–we sound good together–and I go back in time when that song, decades ago, was out and about, but, hey, I’m stuck in traffic and the memories are cheapened, spit on.  But Kaskade is a light switch—bright when on,  gone instantly when off and that’s what helps me in traffic jams—mindlessness with a heavy beat.