Zaireeeeeeeeka*

Eighteen college students sit in a circle on the second floor in the building known as Old Main. We look at one another, not knowing what to expect as Joshua, the instructor, makes the final adjustments to the experiment that would begin shortly. The Flaming Lips is the band that began this experiment but I have neither heard of them or done this project before, therefore leaving me in a stage of stupor for the first minutes of class. Four outrageously different stereos are plugged into the walls surrounding the silent students. The silence is broken by a deep voice speaking almost simultaneously on each stereo, "T-t-t-track one". I am not impressed with the experiment until the same voice says "This is cd 1, cd 2, cd 3, and cd 4" on each stereo in sequence. I am creeped out to say the least. I was ready for this strange experience to begin. A technological beat starts out and drums accompany from the first stereo on my right known as "cd 1". Bells chime in like whistling birds in the spring from cd 4 and a women's choir sings "ahh" in a crescendo and decrescendo for the rest of the track. Everyone in class stares off into space as they try to capture the essence of this experiment thrust upon us. The track ends with an acoustic guitar and a man singing slowly. "End of Track One" abruptly puts closure on the first part of our journey. I now know what to expect for the next tracks to accompany this.

As the second track begins similar to the last, I scan the class room. I observe my chums; half lying on the floor from backaches and the others leaning against the desks that were placed along the sides of the classroom walls. I look to my left and see Kaley writing her thoughts and to my right and see my neighbor asleep ont he floor. His face is buried in this composition notebook and his pencil lies beside his face as to inform me that he is not writing, but indulging in a cat nap. I giggle to myself and glace around the room some more. Joshua meanders around the room checking the volumes on each stereo. I am interrupted by the deep voice "end of track two". I missed the entire sencond track as I observed my peers. I feel like a failure.

The third and fourth tracks are similar to one another with mechanical sounds that reverberate against the walls of our simple classroom. Full of static and swarming bees, the fourth track makes me angry and I am frustrated that the track has not ended. I am not indulged or captivated by any of this experiment while the annoying sound of bees and static overcome the room. At this time, the stereos are beginning to become very out of sync with one another. The beats are off and the choir voices sign words that I cannot understand as their echo fills the room much faster than an actual echo ever could.

Tracks five and six are peaceful songs that bring me back to a sense of saneness. Acoustic guitars, drums and piano all empower the tracks. I once again scan the classroom and acknowledge my peers. Nearly everyone is on their stomachs occasionally bringing their pencils to the paper while taking long periods of time to close their eyes. I look to my right and my neighbor, who shall remain nameless, has yet to have woken from his slumber. Just then, he raises his head and I see the dark red lines on his face from the composition notebook. It makes me laugh, almost outloud, and I try to keep myself professional as the rest of track six plays.

Track seven once again fills the room with static noise that is so unbearable that I feel like pulling the cords on each stereo system. However, the end of the track is peaceful with umming and a soft melody. Track eight ends the experiment with a story about a suffed animal. I drown out the deep voice that tells the story because I am not interested. The stereos sounds completely terrible and I cannot help but stare at the clock. I am not enjoying the experiment. All I can think about is getting out of the classroom. The terrrible noises of static and bees swarming will stay with me for the rest of the day and for this I am unhappy and impatient.