Aural Invasion: Accompaniment to City Life

The development of mobile telephones as multimedia devices is a mini revolution. You can send email, browse the web, capture those precious moments where you find yourself without your camera, cam-corder (to experience fireworks through the screen of your phone is second to none, except maybe actually watching them) or dictaphone, listen to music and share it with those around you!
In the supermarket, on the bus, in the pub (though this will likely have you asked to present some form of identification, confirming that you are under-age, and that you are the cause of my eternal frown) walking down the street, or even just sat on a wall, having a smoke, outside my flat.
I'd like to believe that were these tinny-music dependent teens trailing around with a 10lb ghetto blaster skilfully balanced on their skinny shoulders, I'd be more appreciative of their somewhat random taste in music, but better speakers does not better music make. To have bland noise branded on the sensitive ear-drum of a connoisseur such as I (and most of the other people my age around here)would be infinitely more damaging than a moment of sound grazing ones earlobe.

The most public transport fun to be had this festive season, is to sing along to other peoples mp3 players, that have headphones plugged in. Either we're going deaf or headphones are growing more leaky as they shrink (though still not small enough to stay in my ears) But no-one will give you a look quite like the person sat opposite you, quietly listening to Christina Aguilera, as you look out the window and sing along.