I had been skipping between songs all week. On Friday I put on a record, moved the phone out of reach, and let the first side play while I made dinner.
A track I usually passed over became the centre of the evening. In the company of the songs around it, its slower opening made sense. I had been asking every song to introduce itself at once.
When the side ended, I left the room quiet for a minute before turning it over. It was a small change in how I listened, but it made the music feel less like something happening behind the rest of my life.