Your Music, Not Mine

Shuffle. Random. I hit next, wait for the song to begin. I don’t recognize the intro, don’t recognize any of the words. It’s music you gave me that I never listened to, playcount zero. The notes don’t harmonize with my mood, the tempo isn’t in sync. The thought of you listening to this, enjoying this, humming along, knowing the words makes me a little uncomfortable. A little too voyeuristic to imagine the music seeping into your body, making your legs twitch and head nod. A little too uncomfortable that the song that grabs you, takes hold of you, doesn’t do the same for me. A little daunting that half of my music collection belonged to you first, that it’s alien territory I haven’t had the time to explore. A little sad you’re not the one controlling the music, keeping me from hitting next, telling me what you love about the notes, the rhythm, the lyrics.