Note on Inflation, A
“Thanks again for lettin’ me use your space” AnDJrea’s voice echoed through the warehouse-turned-nightclub as she finished hooking up the last few power cords into her equipment. The lithe teen looked like a DJ booth had exploded on her. Dyed green hair that ended in two very long pigtails, a sleeveless black-and-neon-green vest with an assortment of buttons, and a green skirt. Her neon legwarmers completed the look. “It really helps to have a space like this so I can hear how the music will sound in the end,” she continued.
“For you? No problem!” replied the middle-aged, professional looking businesswoman in the back of the club, bringing in the last of the boxes in from the van. “Your songs always make my customers dance, no matter which DJ is playing them.”
“Thanks,” AnDJrea took the last box from the club owner and set it down. She began rummaging through the records and CDs in it, looking for inspiration.
“Now listen,” the owner said. “I’ve got to do an advertising spot with the radio station, but I trust you to not steal anything. Now, my people come in and start setting up around four because we open around six. That’s as much time as I can give you today.”
“That’s more than fair. Hopefully, today’s all it’ll take,” sighed AnDJrea.
“Great.” The businesswoman turned to leave. “Love your stuff, hope you get inspired past that musician’s block!” she shouted as she walked out of the club.
AnDJrea turned back to her equipment and started getting everything turned on. She hadn’t had any luck in the past three months with a new remix, and she really needed the cash. But the inspiration wasn’t coming. Rather half-heartedly she grabbed some sound files off her computer and just started experimenting. Dubstep, techno remixes, classical music through some filters, she cycled through them all.
***************************
AnDJrea guessed it was about three-thirty and she still had nothing. She didn’t know how much longer she could mooch off clubs for free testing areas; she NEEDED something new. In frustration, she just put in some new stuff she’d heard on the radio and listened to it, trying to hear the possibilities. The second song made her pause. Some nice midtempo soul song, but it was surprisingly upbeat and just made a body feel. . . good. She replayed it. Soul wasn’t perfect for a techno remix, but something about the song just made her want to clap along.
She tried putting a filter over it. No, wrong one; ruined it. A new filter. Something better, possibilities were opening up. Put a second filter over the first. No, that filter was bad too. A new second filter. Change it up at the chorus. Yes, things were getting better.
AnDJrea closed her eyes and just let the beat of her new song wash over her. This was something new. Infusing. It wasn’t just music, it infected the body. Lifted you up. It’s almost if it framed the world in a silver lining. Showed you all the good and fun and lightness in the world in just a bar of music. It was just missing a little something. A finishing touch. Maybe a backbeat drum.
Eyes still closed, AnDJrea’s hand lazily drifted across her soundboard, but accidentally bumped something. A nob turned, a switch flipped, a button pressed. It didn’t matter. The room came alive with sound.
This new song washed over her like a wave of pure enjoyment. It suffused her body, resonated within her. It was almost as if it was an electric blanket you could curl underneath on a cold, crisp morning. It was a dip in a refreshing pool on a hot summer’s day. It was the feeling of first love, and the wonderment of being a kid again, all at the same time.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, AnDJrea felt her clothes shifting. Her hands floated down to her midsection, and she could feel her belly filling out. Deep down, some part of her told her that this was something off-kilter, but the music was so good, and she was in such a positive mood, that she simply smiled and giggled like a schoolchild. Why wouldn’t I be growing? This music, it fills you! She opened her eyes to see that wasn’t just her midsection. Her breasts were larger, her arms, the music was infusing every part of her being.
She heard the end of the song coming up and reached over, hitting the continuous loop button. Instantly the four hard, starting notes hit, and a new rush accompanied each one. Her body grew bigger on each beat; AnDJrea couldn’t contain herself anymore. She jumped from her chair, trying to dance. Closing her eyes again so she could feel the music, she wobbled back and forth, gyrating and clapping along with her inflated arms. She could feel her body taking on more and more of the music. She allowed it, invited it inside her. More and more. Raising her spirits. Raising her emotions. Raising . . . her.
She started bouncing and skipping in her dance, each jump sending her slightly higher. Each one lingering in the air for slightly longer. Each one perfectly timed to come down on the right beat so she could bounce or skip again. Higher and higher, longer and longer in the air. Until she didn’t need to come down anymore.
She eventually felt some small pressure against her back as the music pounded both within and without her. She slowly opened her eyes to an unfamiliar scene. In the daze of the music, it took her a minute to realize that she had floated up to the ceiling. She just closed her eyes and contently hugged herself; letting the awe-inspiring nature of the music take her.
Below, faintly, she heard the owner of the club. “AnDJrea? I’m back! Are you. . . oh my, that’s quite . . . ooh!”