It's difficult exiting the subway platform anywhere in the Lower East Side of Manhattan without thinking of Bill Hader's iconic role of "Stefan" on Saturday Night Live. His over-exuberant descriptions of the lifestyle, people, and over-the-top bar scene and club life profiles are unforgettable. This may have made the sounds echoing above the F on Delancey & Essex especially vibrant that night -- and especially on Halloween. Emerging from the platform, we were thrown into a robust noise circling our ears. A man, presumably down on his luck, began rapping in pure Q-Tip fashion, "Can We Kick It?" and waited for our response, easily given, "...Yes We Can!" Continuing the A Tribe Called Quest masterpiece, he continued to sing to us and everyone on the street. The texture of the sound was inconsistent; Varying from yelling, to talking, to singing, to booming music. The lack of cars was a nice surprise; an area devoid of honking was an unexpected gift to the night. Being that it was night, the chaotic, contrasting sounds were most certainly time-specifc. Taking a breath and clearing my ears to provide a blank palette devoid of sound, new vibrations began to emerge. Wind in the trees, garbage rustling across the ground like tumbleweeds, young girls squealing about using their older sisters' IDs, bike wheels scraping across a curb, faint techno music, coins dropping out of pockets, lighters flicking, and pizza chewing.
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