Hailing in Austin

For Austinites, I know this downpour is welcome and appreciated. I was in a yoga class on Tuesday evening when there was thunder and lightning, and everyone in the room gasped and cried out. The teacher said, "There is nothing better than some rain and Radiohead."

Yes, "Karma Police" was on the teacher's iPod that second.

Yes, 100% of the students were white.

After the class was over, the woman who was next to me (who chatted me up before the class began) said, "We hardly have rain in Austin. That's why everyone was so happy when it thundered." I nodded and smiled.

I had just assumed that everyone cried out because their brains weren't quiet enough. This was probably due to teacher's iPod playing popular hits by bands like Radiohead, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Interpol. On Tuesday it was Fleetwood Mac.

The instructor said, "Relax, breathe, it's just Fleetwood Mac, relax." (Like she's giving us a Fleetwood Mac inoculation!) The first time I heard FM was in a Red Lobster in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. I do not want to remember the taste of cheddar bay biscuits while in Chaturanga. How can your mind attain quiet when it's singing along with the hits of the late 70s?

To anticipate your next question, Why do you keep going back then, I will answer: To save money and hassle. This is a walk-in studio where I can pay for one class of my choosing without having to register or sign a contract. For this convenience, I make sacrifices. I am learning new poses, but my goal of "inner quiet" hasn't been met.

At the end of last night's class, which was rife with housebeats and distracting vocals, I overheard one attendant complimenting the instructor on his choice of music. That's when it hit me: These people aren't interested in yoga! They're interested in toning their glutes and thighs while appearing cool. If it was 1988, they'd be doing this instead:

Or maybe life is just that tranquil in Austin. They have too much tranquility, so a little popular noise is peachy. Maybe they all have jobs working with perfectly pleasant people and they have no motivation to zero in on some kind of mental quiet: They're already there.

Or maybe no one pays attention to the music. I can't not pay attention to it (it's my curse) but maybe Interpol and Radiohead have officially made the transition to musical wallpaper. Maybe, due to the large population of young professionals (and within that, a large population of liberal arts graduates) this music is part of their identity, so it is as commonplace as a tattoo sleeve. Part of the norm, to be acknowledged and then ignored.

"What kind of aesthetic did you notice in Austin?"

"There was a lot of Radioteque wallpaper, like spinning plates, but more like, everything was in its right place."

Or maybe everyone had the same thought I did: Turn off the fucking iPod and let us be. But I doubt it.