This is so wonderful Holly. I played the first clip accidentally through the tv speaker, not knowing my phone was synced to it. My cat Otis was sitting quietly in front of the dark screen watching the rain when out of the nowhere, birds singing! He was as stunned as me...and then he had to go searching for the source.:)
Oh my God, what a treat! Also, my son has the Dobby Lego too. I’m saving this to listen in my quiet moments. Right now, my soundscape is the constant ask of ‘Mama,’ as the children alternate and there inquiries and requests, each small enough, but growing together to build a thrum and then the underlying beat of my life.
Thank you, Noha!! I love imagining this thrum. Thanks for sharing. Having little ones certainly does have a way of making their needs and requests the drum beat that moves you. ;) I've watched many of my siblings and loved ones following this rhythm. :0)
And I don't know about you, but I find the legos they make these days pretty awesome.
The legos are super cool! I didn't play with legos with any consistency but the kids are super into them, and my husband loves them too so it's a thing in our house!
I try to pay attention to the other sounds around me, especially the soothing ones. The river is close by and the sound of the current is especially comforting.
Even the fact that she sprung a new leak didn't deter me from enjoying it. (It's just the rain gutter at the back, by the way, not holes in the middle of the roof--lest I give the wrong impression of Ruby.) I just need a couple of days of sun to repair.
I think sound in posts is underused on here, Holly. You've touched on something really interesting. The Intimacy of Sound felt like a cross between a podcast and a Substack. Switching between reading and listening was more fluid and evocative than I expected.
I just spent an hour or two on Marc Typo's Raising Myles. It really spoke to me, and I'm not even close to being a father. It's the candour and the care in presentation.
Nice readings by yourself. I'll be back for more. Thank you!
What a lovely post, Holly. Loved the boid sounds ;) You've motivated me to use the Podcasts tab, now! I created so many recordings of my Stacks but never shared a single one, as I thought readers were here to read... but they do add such a wonderful touch.
Lovely to hear your voice. The rain has driven me to a hostel allowing me the wifi to listen. New Zealand bird song is mind blowing. I'll have to make you a clip and return with it.
I sooooo appreciated the clip of birdsong from New Zealand. Just listening to it again now. Wonderful! I tried, too, and I can't figure out how to put it here so everyone can listen either. You can't add photos to comments, so maybe same? No audio for discussion threads.
Hope the rain lets up soon and you're back on your ride listen the birds sing as you pedal. :)
I wish we could share it, as well! That was a warm up -- wait until 4:30 wake up while camping in the bush. A cacophony. A symphony! More rain! Then a quick adventure break and then more rain! Thank you mother nature.
I loved all the different sounds you included and the way you weaved them into what you write/spoke — truly a wonderful piece.
You also offered up such a great list of pieces — some real gems amongst them
A sound that I really enjoy, which is probably a bit different to most (but on par for me) is the sound of urethane wheels (skateboard wheels) roaring over asphalt.
Holly, what an incredible piece you've put together here! I felt myself instantly relaxing as I listened to the birdsong and the rain (and your beautiful accompanying descriptions). What a treat to discover so many other writers using audio in their work, too. 🤗
A *huge* congratulations on your first six months here! And cheers to many, many more milestones like this one. It's amazing to see what you've accomplished in such a short time; I can't wait to see what the next six months (and beyond!) bring you.
I feel like an echo chamber in here but this really was a treat! I loved listening to your own snippets of soundscape. And what a list to be included among -- there's something about the way you did this, I've never been so eager to click on links of other newsletters! Maybe inviting us into sound all over the world does something to help us feel alive and connected. But also, as you put it, "Almost no one likes the sound of their own recorded voice, at least not at first. But other people do. We need to hear each other."
Thank you, Antonia, for saying this! I thought a LOT about how I wanted to present this list (and had a few quite different drafts). (I at one point played with the idea of reaching out to each of you to see if I could make a mix of the sounds or little bytes to sample, but it seemed too much.) I really wanted people to get a taste for the magic in each of these pieces and for that to, sort of, live in the center of my piece. Honestly, I was aiming for exactly what you said--for people to be eager to meet these minds and hearts and voices I'm digging and to feel alive and connected. I couldn't have said it better. So, I really appreciate your kind words. :)
Mixing would be a lot of work, but I love what you did here and think it really worked. We all skim over lists of links now, but this did something different and really made me want to check it all out. Thank you for doing this!
Holly, this is wonderful, and so generous. Thank you. What a treat to hear your bird neighbors songs! And the righteous chants of your community, and the rain you got cozy within. I’m so looking forward to getting cozy, myself, and spending an hour or so listening through (minus mine, of course, because as you rightly pointed out, no one likes the sound of their own voice!) Thank you so much, Holly.
Thank you, Chloe! I'm so glad you'll be listening. I'm sure you'll enjoy. These are some wonderful writers and creators here.
I'm getting slightly better at enjoying the sound of my own recordings. I usually never listen again. (In fact, I had a brief six-episode podcast some years back, and I never listened to a single episode in full after all the work of pulling them together.) But I do listen to a recording here or there these days, with the intent of finding joy in them because I think that will make them better. :o)
Holly, this is great! I appreciate how you're creating an intimate experience using sound. Personally, I love voice notes, and it's been a pleasure to embed them in the letters I'm writing to Myles.
I'm glad they found you, and in return, you're putting them out into the world.
I'm excited to take a look at the others you mentioned so I can find more ways to create intimacy - thank you!
Thank you, Marc! I SOO enjoy the way you imbed the voice notes. It's like this ... building out of the topography of a piece is how I think of it. It adds a layer, and I dig it.
I really love finding work that I love and then finding a way to, I guess, riff off of it, and also highlight it/share it. So, I'm very glad you're down to check out the other pieces. :)
Besides writing, my favorite part of Substack is sharing other people’s work. I know how it feels to be seen after laboring over sentences. I try to put effort into every comment I leave. I feel like you do the same!
What's a favorite sound of yours? A recording you love to listen to or want to share? Links welcome.
This is so wonderful Holly. I played the first clip accidentally through the tv speaker, not knowing my phone was synced to it. My cat Otis was sitting quietly in front of the dark screen watching the rain when out of the nowhere, birds singing! He was as stunned as me...and then he had to go searching for the source.:)
Love this! Otis. I'm glad to have brought birdsong into his world. And I love imagining him stunned and then looking for the source. :)
I had the exact same experience! So wonderful 😅
Oh my God, what a treat! Also, my son has the Dobby Lego too. I’m saving this to listen in my quiet moments. Right now, my soundscape is the constant ask of ‘Mama,’ as the children alternate and there inquiries and requests, each small enough, but growing together to build a thrum and then the underlying beat of my life.
Thank you, Noha!! I love imagining this thrum. Thanks for sharing. Having little ones certainly does have a way of making their needs and requests the drum beat that moves you. ;) I've watched many of my siblings and loved ones following this rhythm. :0)
And I don't know about you, but I find the legos they make these days pretty awesome.
The legos are super cool! I didn't play with legos with any consistency but the kids are super into them, and my husband loves them too so it's a thing in our house!
I try to pay attention to the other sounds around me, especially the soothing ones. The river is close by and the sound of the current is especially comforting.
Nothing beats the sound of rain pounding on a car roof (or van roof, in your case)
Right?!
Even the fact that she sprung a new leak didn't deter me from enjoying it. (It's just the rain gutter at the back, by the way, not holes in the middle of the roof--lest I give the wrong impression of Ruby.) I just need a couple of days of sun to repair.
I think sound in posts is underused on here, Holly. You've touched on something really interesting. The Intimacy of Sound felt like a cross between a podcast and a Substack. Switching between reading and listening was more fluid and evocative than I expected.
I just spent an hour or two on Marc Typo's Raising Myles. It really spoke to me, and I'm not even close to being a father. It's the candour and the care in presentation.
Nice readings by yourself. I'll be back for more. Thank you!
Amar! I so appreciate you stopping by and saying this. I really love that mix of sound and reading this space allows for too! 🎙💥
I'll have a play at some point.
What a lovely post, Holly. Loved the boid sounds ;) You've motivated me to use the Podcasts tab, now! I created so many recordings of my Stacks but never shared a single one, as I thought readers were here to read... but they do add such a wonderful touch.
Thank you, Jo! This warms my heart. ❤️
A great list. Thank you.
Also, keep meaning to thank you for pointing me to the meetup in Seattle. Was a blast. Missed meeting you IRL. But it is a far drive from your island!
You're most welcome, glad you had fun. Next time!
It wasn't so much the drive as the COVID!
We have a couple of friends with condos downtown we can crash at if need be.
Thank you! It was quite fun to compile. And now people are tagging me in posts with recordings, which is awesome too.
Lovely to hear your voice. The rain has driven me to a hostel allowing me the wifi to listen. New Zealand bird song is mind blowing. I'll have to make you a clip and return with it.
I sooooo appreciated the clip of birdsong from New Zealand. Just listening to it again now. Wonderful! I tried, too, and I can't figure out how to put it here so everyone can listen either. You can't add photos to comments, so maybe same? No audio for discussion threads.
Hope the rain lets up soon and you're back on your ride listen the birds sing as you pedal. :)
I wish we could share it, as well! That was a warm up -- wait until 4:30 wake up while camping in the bush. A cacophony. A symphony! More rain! Then a quick adventure break and then more rain! Thank you mother nature.
I really enjoyed listening to this and I'm saving this post for the next commute.
This was beautiful, Holly!
I loved all the different sounds you included and the way you weaved them into what you write/spoke — truly a wonderful piece.
You also offered up such a great list of pieces — some real gems amongst them
A sound that I really enjoy, which is probably a bit different to most (but on par for me) is the sound of urethane wheels (skateboard wheels) roaring over asphalt.
Thank Holly :)
Holly, what an incredible piece you've put together here! I felt myself instantly relaxing as I listened to the birdsong and the rain (and your beautiful accompanying descriptions). What a treat to discover so many other writers using audio in their work, too. 🤗
A *huge* congratulations on your first six months here! And cheers to many, many more milestones like this one. It's amazing to see what you've accomplished in such a short time; I can't wait to see what the next six months (and beyond!) bring you.
Delightful, Holly. So good to hear your voice. And inspiring. I must try this.
"Buttercream rays" - yes that's exactly what they are... :) Delightful list, much to peruse. 💖
I feel like an echo chamber in here but this really was a treat! I loved listening to your own snippets of soundscape. And what a list to be included among -- there's something about the way you did this, I've never been so eager to click on links of other newsletters! Maybe inviting us into sound all over the world does something to help us feel alive and connected. But also, as you put it, "Almost no one likes the sound of their own recorded voice, at least not at first. But other people do. We need to hear each other."
Thank you, Antonia, for saying this! I thought a LOT about how I wanted to present this list (and had a few quite different drafts). (I at one point played with the idea of reaching out to each of you to see if I could make a mix of the sounds or little bytes to sample, but it seemed too much.) I really wanted people to get a taste for the magic in each of these pieces and for that to, sort of, live in the center of my piece. Honestly, I was aiming for exactly what you said--for people to be eager to meet these minds and hearts and voices I'm digging and to feel alive and connected. I couldn't have said it better. So, I really appreciate your kind words. :)
Mixing would be a lot of work, but I love what you did here and think it really worked. We all skim over lists of links now, but this did something different and really made me want to check it all out. Thank you for doing this!
Holly, this is wonderful, and so generous. Thank you. What a treat to hear your bird neighbors songs! And the righteous chants of your community, and the rain you got cozy within. I’m so looking forward to getting cozy, myself, and spending an hour or so listening through (minus mine, of course, because as you rightly pointed out, no one likes the sound of their own voice!) Thank you so much, Holly.
Thank you, Chloe! I'm so glad you'll be listening. I'm sure you'll enjoy. These are some wonderful writers and creators here.
I'm getting slightly better at enjoying the sound of my own recordings. I usually never listen again. (In fact, I had a brief six-episode podcast some years back, and I never listened to a single episode in full after all the work of pulling them together.) But I do listen to a recording here or there these days, with the intent of finding joy in them because I think that will make them better. :o)
Holly, this is great! I appreciate how you're creating an intimate experience using sound. Personally, I love voice notes, and it's been a pleasure to embed them in the letters I'm writing to Myles.
I'm glad they found you, and in return, you're putting them out into the world.
I'm excited to take a look at the others you mentioned so I can find more ways to create intimacy - thank you!
Thank you, Marc! I SOO enjoy the way you imbed the voice notes. It's like this ... building out of the topography of a piece is how I think of it. It adds a layer, and I dig it.
I really love finding work that I love and then finding a way to, I guess, riff off of it, and also highlight it/share it. So, I'm very glad you're down to check out the other pieces. :)
Besides writing, my favorite part of Substack is sharing other people’s work. I know how it feels to be seen after laboring over sentences. I try to put effort into every comment I leave. I feel like you do the same!
Yes!!