Right now I'm listening to handpan music on YouTube. I only found out about this variant of the steel drum a few weeks ago, and I'm totally hooked on the exotic sound. It's very relaxing when you are tired— at least it is for me. At its best, it's about as good at emptying my brain of busy thoughts as Debussy. Here's a nice example.
The traffic on the freeway has died down, but the night air has grown too chilly for me to spend much time outdoors
listening to the relative quiet. I can barely remember how the crickets sounded. There is no breeze, so the leaves are still and silent, though some have fallen from the bush that covers the fence and, dry now, crunch when I step on them. But for the absence of stars in the sky's washed out darkness, I could almost imagine I am on the ridge, waiting for the raccoons to come and disturb the feral cats at their meal. Never again, though, I think. That is all in the past, an the future is as dark and dull as the starless sky.
I'm overtired. Back to the music, I think. That's better. That's best.