Audio text
Sounds all around me. Real sounds, imagined sounds. For example:

... the sound of a phonograph needle skipping on a microscopic crack in the acetate, pop ... pop ... pop ... 33 and one-third times a minute, every minute ...

... the clear, resonant tone of a Telecaster being played through the neck pickup, the notes ever so slightly out of tune, being picked by a dime and pulled by fingers with more confidence than technique ...

... a car door closes, an engine starts, at 2:25 a.m. ...

... the ringing in the ears that never quite goes away ...

... the most beautiful woman in all the world inhaling, exhaling, inhaling again, in the warm arms of a satisfying slumber ...

... the annoyed, urgent tapping of fingers on a keyboard, seeking inspiration and finding none ...

... the door closing softly, signaling the end of another cycle, and waiting patiently to be reopened so the next one can begin.