Reading Background

I have always enjoyed reading to lite classical music, or other instrumental music which can block out distractions without calling attention to itself. A few years ago -- okay MANY years ago -- I discovered environmental recordings for this, like the Environments records and Gordon Hempton and Bernie Krause. I have a huge collection (even by my own standards) of environmental recordings, including all sorts of wonderful soundscapes.

As a dedicated user of Pandora I have looked in vain for any environmental offerings on their service. Have been rather disappointed I could not find any.

However.

This week, while searching for something else, I accidentally stumbled on a nest of environmental recordings, many with HD video, on YouTube of all places. These are anywhere from an hour to two hours, three hours, four hours even ten hours long. In gorgeous high fidelity sound with appropriate visuals.

This works out swell with my home entertainment system because I have a couple ways to access YouTube, via AppleTV or via Blue-ray. I can pop one of these videos onto the big living room system and read to the sounds of falling rain, a gentle mountain creek, wind in the trees or a verdant tropical waterfall.

Delicious.

I do most of my reading in bed at night. I just open the window and get the sounds of deer cropping the crass near the house, owls hooting, coyotes howling, and the occasional mountain lion advertising his horniness. That will do it for me. Can't get much more environmental.

Yeah but you don't have IMAX.

Yes I do - every time I look outside.

Can you fast-forward, rewind and change the channel?

My brain often does all of those at once. Flashback, dude!

Can you fast forward IMAX?

 

I like both.

I found a site that does rain sound. I keep it low enough the thunder doesn't bother the dogs.
But we have an owl here and I like that too.

It just depends. Right now it's cold so YT and Pandora it is.