I called in from a Port Authority payphone to report on my take on the all-day seminars I attended. The sound was unlistenable, coming through another payphone that takes money, connects to the number you dialed, but is useless for making phone calls.

Loud music played right next to the payphone. I left the phone off the hook after I was done talking, hoping to get some quality audio of the band.

It sounds muffled and strange. I like it that way. It’s like hearing something through the half-conscious state of trying to wake up from a bad dream.

The weird thing is that for a few seconds near the end it actually sounds nearly decent. Why couldn’t it sound that way the whole time?