The Sounds of the Pandemic

The Beat Goes On

By Robin Renay Bolton

Crackling sounds tickle Christian Bolden’s ear as he carefully drops the needle down on one of his favorite vinyl records. After a few more seconds of crackling noises, a boozy jazz melody fills his room as Ari Lennox’s “Chicago boy” begins to play. Bolden closes his eyes and lets the music transport him out of his dark room to somewhere else. Before the world came to a screeching halt due to california issuing its “stay at home” orders to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Bolden had tickets to see Ari Lennox perform. But instead of being crammed in general admission at the Novo in downtown LA, watching one of his favorite singers perform his favorite songs, he’s at home pretending. For as long as Bolden could remember, music has always held a special place in his heart. He grew up laying on the floor, watching his family dance to vinyl records in their small living room. music was an everyday part of his life. Whether it was cooking dinner or cleaning up, his mother always had music playing in their home. To say music is a very important part of his life would be an understatement. Since Bolden has been old enough, he’s spent any money he had saved up, and sometimes money he didn’t have, to get tickets to some of his generation’s biggest artists. He’s seen Kendrick Lamar at Staples Center, J Cole at the Forum, and he’s seen his all-time favorite artist, Beyoncé, more than once. He loves listening to music in his car or on his vinyl player but, to him, nothing beats a live performance. 2020 was supposed to be a big year for him. He had a handful of concerts lined up but the thing he was looking forward to the most was going to Coachella for the first time. The concert festival Coachella wasn’t initially canceled but it was pushed so far into the future Bolden felt like the anticipation might kill him before he made it to the desert. “I’ve always wanted to go to Coachella,” said Bolden. “I don’t even like the heat or standing for too long, but I love music and experiencing things for the first time. Plus, when will I ever get the chance to see Frank Ocean perform?” Bolden, like so many others, is grappling with canceled or postponed plans. Forbes estimates over 76 million people have been affected by postponed or canceled events due to the coronavirus pandemic. Bolden knows the events will eventually be rescheduled or he’ll receive a refund, so he tries not to think about it too much. To him, it seems so trivial to be upset about not being able to go to a concert when there’s a dangerous virus sweeping the country but admits he’s human and falls victim to these kinds of feelings every so often. A couple weeks ago, when the “stay at home” orders were in their infancy, Bolden was laying in the dark doing what he does best, listening to music when his phone illuminated with a text from his friend. The text simply said, “check this out,” followed by a link to an Instagram profile. Bolden clicked the link, which took him to a live feed of a dj having a full-on party in his living room. The jockey, DJ D-Nice, was all alone in the comforts of his home but when Bolden looked in the upper right-hand corner of his screen, he saw over 100,000 people were viewing the feed. The longer Bolden viewed the feed, the higher the viewer count went. He had never seen anything like it. For almost two hours, Bolden was glued to his phone. He found himself bouncing around his room grooving to DJ D-Nice’s virtual set. He was in heaven. It felt like there wasn’t a genre or decade D-Nice didn’t cover. There was a song for everyone in the mix. For the first time in a couple of weeks, Bolden didn’t think about being laid off or not being able to hang out with his friends. All he could think about was what song he would hear next. When the live stream was over, Bolden says he felt like he had just left a concert. “You know that feeling of cool air hitting your damp skin after walking out of a crowded concert venue, that’s how I felt,” Bolden recalled. “I felt like I was just in a room with thousands of people experiencing the same thing.” The next night, DJ D-Nice had another live stream, but this time Bolden didn’t watch it alone. He started a Zoom meeting with a handful of his friends and had a virtual party. At first, the idea seemed abnormal and borderline corny, but it also felt creative. He knows he has to be safe and can’t hang out with friends in the traditional sense, so this would have to do. For three hours, Bolden sat around listening to music with his friends, pretending they were out in the streets in the literal sense. It brought him some peace during this chaotic time. Virtual concerts have become Bolden’s guilty

pleasure. Instead of spending his days going stir crazy cooped up in the house, he’s spending his free time hopping from live stream to live stream, enjoying some of his favorite artists giving free concerts on instagram. He’s seen John Legend while eating lunch in his kitchen. Watched Tori Kelly perform while catching some sun in his backyard. Beyoncé even serenaded him with “When You Wish Upon A Star” from the comforts of his couch. Being in isolation is hard for Bolden. He’s a social butterfly who loves hanging with his friends. Being home all day with that impending doom feeling like it’s only a block away makes him feel anxious but these at-home concerts have truly been a highlight of his time at home. “Honestly, it’s made me look at concerts so different,” Bolden said. “I miss them so much, but it means a lot to me that artists are taking time out of their day to entertain people because they really don’t have to.” The Instagram concerts have inspired Bolden to connect with his friends in different ways. a couple times a week, when schedules permit, he hosts karaoke sessions with his friends. They pick songs and take turns singing. they all sound horrible, he recalled, no one can hold a note, but it doesn’t matter. He’s spending time with his friends enjoying the music he loves. When he’s not having a karaoke session with his friends, he tunes into the DJ D-Nice’s sets. It’s become a thing in his household. He hooks his phone up to his family’s speaker and has a dance party with his mom. The coronavirus has made the world stop and learn how to connect with others in different ways. We’ve had to realize touch is more than physical. Sounds are more than what hits the ear. We’ve been reminded connections are not always literal. Bolden says his mom used to tease him so much because of how much time he spent on social media, but now she sees it’s more than what meets the eye. Social media was created to link friends and family near and far, but now it’s being used for more than that.

In the case of Bolden, social media has helped soothe his anxious heart. It helps bridge the gap between now and his next concert. Yeah, he isn’t in a sweaty room with strangers singing his heart out, but he’s sitting in front of a screen with his nearest and dearest friends. Although social distance has put miles between now and what he considers to be his normal, he has never felt closer to his loved ones.