Shows
uncommon ambienceI'm a Fan of Fan; MD B&B Bathroom Fan... AmbienceBed and Breakfast Bathroom Fan Ambience … This is the bathroom fan from our room in a quaint B&B near Antietam. Last week’s recording from the woods was from their property —thank you, Antietam Overlook Farm!I have some more summer sounds on the way next week, but I wanted a fan break… We haven’t had a fan episode in awhile and as I’ve said before, “I’m a fan of fan” in Devil’s Advocate Al Pacino. Gawd I love that line, any time someone is screaming somethin...2025-07-258h 00
uncommon ambienceOvernight Appalachia Atop Antietam ... AmbienceMountain forest late night into early morning Eld Ridge (10pm-2am), overlooking the Battlefields of Antietam.A few days late this week as I was at the final Wu-Tang New York City show and then a stay near Antietam for my wife’s birthday (Happy birthday, hon!). My Wu-review contact-high influenced (no one tell my mom) and punctuative-free bluesky-cap is here (and give us a follow). Special thanks to my bff for inviting me along, the experience was transcendent (Big Daddy Kane showed up!).Als...2025-07-214h 30
uncommon ambienceRide the Ferry to Martha's Vineyard... AmbienceFerry carport parking and sail ambience... Park your hooptie and get ready to sail across the sound to Vineyard Haven. The Steamship Authority has come a long way since its pre-2K promise of, “Get in the standby line before noon, and you’ll get on a boat to the Vineyard at some point today.” I often wonder: who was the madman behind that carmageddon inducing promise?If you’ve been anywhere near Bourne, MA, in the summertime especially Friday rush, you know how much folks love their Cape Cod and...2025-07-1153 min
uncommon ambienceAppledore Island Birds and Scientists and Buoy... AmbienceSo there's a rocky island off the coast of Maine that looks like Ireland in miniature. The island stands a few hundred feet from an infamous axe murder site. And there are no cheap t-shirts or fudge joints (although I hear you can get Ice Cream a few islands over); this is a place where science is happening. The gull’s mate here during the summer months and the island becomes a battlefield for gull territory maintenance.My sister, Dr April Blakeslee, is a faculty member at the Shoals Marine Laboratory during early summer. Her field of...2025-07-051h 30
uncommon ambienceMartha's Vineyard; Nature's Yacht Rock... AmbienceListen to the sounds of waves, the birds, sparse Beach Rd traffic, ferry and other nautical stuff from 11pm until dawn. The recording took place on a harbor beach, a few stone skips from the Black Dog Tavern (and you will find the perfect skipping stones down at the water's edge).Let the waves calm you. Let your stress go the way I’m trying to let it go after experiencing my first time time trying to use the insurance I paid extra for at the Dick’s Sporting Goods for a bike. I reme...2025-06-287h 00
uncommon ambience2025 Cape Cod Cicadas … AmbienceBack from a well needed North-East holiday break. I had inadvertently stumbled upon what local papers are calling “The Great Cape Cod Cicada Comeback!” That's right cicadas have emerged.And the voices (is it their voices making the noise or legs I have no idea) you are hearing were living in the ground for 17 years. So this journey for the Cape Cod cicadas began around the time “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay was #1 and Ed Norton was Bruce Banner.2025-06-228h 00
uncommon ambienceRain with Feeling! and a Marimba... AmbienceRain in car, plus: wipers, marimba and a pipa. "It's rain with feeling!" Look; I've been working on a new "At the..." ambience, that I wanted to release this week, but it's about a fictional dystopian California crime... And there's probably enough dystopia to go around fictional or otherwise. So... audible... the football audible not the books on tape for your phone Audible. Gawd, speaking of which... there was always that button on Playstation I would accidentally hit and "audible" would appear and the players would all change positions and I never knew what the play was so it...2025-06-158h 00
uncommon ambienceMay 29th Evening Thunderstorm... AmbienceMay 29th Thunderstorm in the Mid-Atlantic Thunderstorm — Anyone could use a mostly mild half-hour thunderstorm. Turn it on and think about cheese; or the worst salad dressing you ever had. 2025-06-0330 min
uncommon ambienceUrban-ish Morning Bird Chatter… AmbienceEarly morning (3-6am) bird chatter ambience — So I live in a metropolitan area within a town next to a highway… Actually let me start a different way; what we perceive individually as silence, is nowhere near reality. I’ve learned this having stupidly rushed to interesting natural sound-makers like brooks and falls, only to realize later these sound-maker’s proximity to vehicular traffic, tarnished my recordings.When I recorded in the Mad River Valley (Vt) last year I found a few stunning waterfalls cascading delightfully. The bustling fall leaves an...2025-05-292h 19
uncommon ambienceGo Ahead and Chase Waterfalls... AmbienceWaterfall, pink noise, ambience. Go ahead and chase waterfalls for eight hours, you may feel better. You may feel better if — is irregardless a legit word? I had beans for breakfast. 2025-05-248h 00
uncommon ambienceKitchen Dinner after Helicopter Attack; Godfather Part III… AmbienceGodfather 3 stormy kitchen ambience — “Just When I Thought I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In!” We’re back at the movies and in a kitchen after a bloody helicopter attack. It’s stormy, and dinner is happening, and everything feels tense because everyone almost just died (this scene).I am a Godfather 3 apologist. Aside from how awesome the sound design is in this and the other trilogy films, I love the exploration of a man who tries to emancipate himself from his own cruel and ruthless past. Especially when we are talking about a man who is one the...2025-05-188h 00
uncommon ambienceAny Pot in a Storm... AmbienceI put my mic on the front stoop and plopped the lobster pot over top for a recent rain storm.Ok so, remember last episode I put all the boiling and saucing pots in the yard during a rainstorm and stuck my mic in between all of them to capture that enchanting "ping" sound along with the rain. My wife was not thrilled, but see last week's episode. Or no, it was two weeks ago. I took my birthday off. I'm blaming my birthday for no new episode last week. If you're still reading...2025-05-108h 00
uncommon ambienceAny Pot in a Storm... AmbienceRain on a pot ambience — Ok so it got cloudy out and I checked my weather app — and that **** said rain and I wanted to try another pot in the yard experiment... So I put a microphone under a lobster pot and ran (because it was raining). So if you walked by my house the other day, that is why there was an upside-down lobster pot on the sidewalk.The resulting sounds are pretty interesting, so much so that Spotify initially thought I was trying to sneak music onto their podcast app and smacked it w...2025-05-108h 00
uncommon ambienceNobody tell my wife I put her pots in the backyard… rain ambience“What’s this?!” She gestured widely to the sink stacked with most of our pots and pans.“Oh, yeah…” I had awoken late having disabled my alarm for a laissez faire, let the Earth (or my bladder) wake me, morning. I hadn’t left a note and I can see now that I had inadvertently breached the dishes-need-to-be-done-now sink coverage.“No wonder your daughter has been hiding in her room all morning,” she said, apparently realizing the same thing. “It was just an experiment, they’re not, too dirty.”“An experiment? Then why didn’t you put the...2025-04-268h 00
uncommon ambienceI Can Stand the Rain... AmbienceWith apologies to Ann Peebles and fellow Virginian Missy Elliot; I can stand the rain against my window, it does not haunt me. Get on my window oh moderate rain for eight hours.2025-04-198h 00
uncommon ambienceStar Trek Enterprise TOS Bridge…AmbienceStar Trek: The Original Series — we’re on TV this week and on our way to Sector Z-6 to breach the neutral zone and travel into the Romulan Star empire. But first we cruise… As we try not to think about someone possibly taking a dump on the other side of the view screen. (Whaaaat?)So as I was doing research for building the TOS Enterprise bridge (Photoshop and After Effects) — I ran across a blog that ponders whether the bridge itself is rotated 36 degrees. So the folks on the bridge face 36 degrees port. What, wh...2025-04-128h 01
uncommon ambienceWatching a Johnny Cash Movie from the Projection Booth...AmbienceTheater projection booth ambience — the feature film is Five Minutes to Live from 1961 and starring Johnny Cash and Ron Howard. This episode also includes just about everything else I loved of that era in theater and film. There will be the pre-movie sirens call for Lobby refreshment and money back guarantees for those who have gotten too much suspense from Hitchcock’s Homicidal. And some Gregory Peck greats as we’re treated to trailers for Guns of Navarone and On the Beach (which still feels pretty fresh for our turbulent world, unfortunately).Take a mental...2025-04-051h 30
uncommon ambienceCheck Out My New Wash!... AmbienceNew washing machine, normal wash setting. And hey, this is a sequel of sorts to the infinity dryer episode a couple episodes ago. Our old washer/ dryer had to be replaced after a belt snapped. Our washer dry was so old it could remember when McDonald’s tried Pizza. There were only three Star Wars movies when our washer/ dryer were working on socks and sheets. I think I mentioned most of this in the last details. I’m really just typing until this episode description looks long enough to appear thoughtful. Your mind will just...2025-03-3037 min
uncommon ambienceThe Wet and Whirring Mystery Machine… AmbienceWatery whirring faucet machine — This week’s episode revolves around a mystery, but I promise it’s not made out of people. It’s just a whirring watery wonder.2025-03-258h 00
uncommon ambienceI got a new dryer!… ambienceLG Dryer Cycle — A better title for this would be, "our dyer that dated back to the Clinton administration kicked the bucket." We limped along for years with that thing whining. Literally, it needed a belt replacement and it was covid times and we were like… the squealing noises aren't that terrible… And last month the belt snapped and we sent that old pos to Valhalla.2025-03-218h 00
uncommon ambienceFirst Thunderstorm of 2025! (Where I Live)... AmbienceMild thunderstorm and a lot of rain — this recording begins Sunday night around 11-ish. And we got nowhere near the boomers our friends on the other side of the Appalachian Trail got. West Virginia looked like a sky disco for the most of the evening (from NOVA). But a thunderstorm is a thunderstorm and we break for thunderstorms here at uncommon ambience.2025-03-181h 18
uncommon ambienceI Love a Rainy Night... AmbienceRainy night/ car interior—There are two 80s songs that are my absolute nemesis. Songs dealt to me over the radio by guys like Casey Kasem and Rick Dees on our way to or back from church. (How Rick Dees survived the 90s and early aughts onslaught of “nuts” hurled at his name is beyond me).Two songs appear in my head regularly and must be sung aloud to satisfy a tic.“On the Wings of Love,” by Jeffrey Osborne inexplicably (I didn’t own the album) appears in my head dail...2025-03-088h 59
uncommon ambienceCold and Steamy... AmbienceSteam Radiator Ambience — I went to military school in South Carolina in the 90s, it was a bit like Harry Potter sans magic and the Forbidden Forest. We did have impossibly large roaches that appeared in our dorms and they would have befriended Hagrid.Like Hogwarts, our school dorms were ancient, built before world wars. No air conditioning, and steam Radiators in every room. The radiators would come to life in the middle of the night hissing their parseltongues. And I got used to it.2025-02-248h 00
uncommon ambienceI'm the First Person at Work... AmbienceEmpty office ambience — I see this episode as like: you're in your crowded workspace and you want everyone to disappear. Look, work isn't usually ever great — but being the first one to the Slack channels or the Powerpoint decks feel a little freeing when no one is looking over your ****** shoulders.Or I think you could use this ambience while working from home; to get that cacophony of electric hums you might be missing. Oh, you could be a fan of that MAX Severance show (or HBO, whatever).2025-02-178h 00
uncommon ambienceIt’s not Purple Rain; it’s Pink Rain… AmbiencePink noise/ rain ambience — Look, this episode has nothing to do with creator of the Batdance. And yes I was hoping for an unearned second glance just by typing out “purple” and “rain” in a title bar.Gawd I do love the Batman album (changes subject) and how it captures the expensive, unhinged feel of Gotham City. The best comic book movie soundtrack. The I’m Breathless “soundtrack” comes close — but if it’s a bunch of inspired by, not in the movie it is not a soundtrack. (Yet also “Vogue” is on the album). 2025-02-088h 00
uncommon ambienceA Not Exciting Day on a Star Destroyer… AmbienceStar Wars/ Empire Strikes Back Ambience. This episode covers a regular day of work on a Star Destroyer. I have to imagine there were some less exciting days for the denizens of the futuristic space Harry Potter franchise, Star Wars.
Empire screws had to dismount from their bunks and get to their boring jobs and hope not to piss off Vader or any other weird space wizards.
We’re back at the movies this week for Empire Strikes Back (1980, based on scenes like these). This episode is a flight before Empire figures out the Rebel All...2025-02-028h 00
uncommon ambienceWelp, We Got More Snow and School Closures... AmbienceSnowfall from interior of car. It wasn't even a long storm... And it was three days ago... but they closed school anyway. 2025-01-211h 23
uncommon ambienceDoodle while the Driven Excel; Standardized Testing… AmbienceWriting/ classroom ambience. How do I say, "Enjoy 8 hours of testing ambience?" The thought of testing conjures up traumas of past educational failures. And I'm not talking about having the test slapped on the desktop before me with "F" scratched out in red marker.
I'm talking "permanent record" here. My invisible collection of abject failures that I was led to believe followed me everywhere. I imagined a shadow network that handed off my permanent record wherever I went. There would be a back room with a filing cabinet waiting to temporarily house it. Where it waited for m...2025-01-199h 00
uncommon ambienceSnowfall; that Closed Schools for a Week… AmbienceSnow and snow maintenance trucks ambience — This is the January 5,6 storm over Northern Virginia. Listen to the gut-punch storm that forced us to spend another week with our children.
Yes, I know that sounds terrible, but we had already been back to work, and these little free-loaders were "bored." Never mind, they were somehow ****** bored the day after Santa Claus' capitalistic ride of philanthropy.
And we had made it to the end. The children were going back to school in two days.
And then the universe dumped an unimpressive amount of snow on us. I'm...2025-01-115h 00
uncommon ambienceBeguiling Bed and Breakfast Bathroom Fan... AmbienceMild fan ambience—Okay, so over the holidays, we escaped our beloved children. I picked up a night at my wife's favorite local B&B, which put us far enough away from the bickering stemming from being home for ****** ever from school.
They were supposed to return to school tomorrow, but with a giant ****** snowstorm coming, they will probably be home for another week.2025-01-059h 00
uncommon ambienceSNOW* and I am Not Dreaming of a White Christmas Podcast… Ambience*Sleet and Ice ambience—Nature tossed an early morning meatball the day before Christmas. A steady fall of ice covered everything in a faux-white (the New England in me wouldn't grant this "White Christmas" status even if my kids were).
And yet, my holiday mind flipped through the possibilities: "Am I dreaming of a white Christmas podcast?" My prior falling ice episode was well received; let's do it again.
But how? The Candy Canes were already moved to clearance aisles with the nearly-expired vitamins and other weird grocery **** like Pistachio butter or pickled cockles.
An...2024-12-308h 00
uncommon ambienceI’ll Be Home for the Holidays; in a Bus… AmbienceIntercity bus/ highway ambience—A Christmas Eve decades ago, I found myself braving the Port Authority in Midtown, waiting for a Greyhound to Albany. While loading, I walked fast enough to stay ahead of the folks who might be at the overbooked point. Just that Thanksgiving, I had been dawdling at the end of the line and wound up with a "Sorry, pal. It looks like you're waiting for the next bus."
That Greyhound Christmas Eve ride was years before cell phones had texting, apps, or anything resembling fun programmed into them. If you wanted to catch up...2024-12-248h 00
uncommon ambienceJingle Bell Box Fan Pt II … AmbienceThe Jingle Bell box fan is back to make your holidays ****** jolly! This week’s episode is white noise but festive. It’ll make that Christmas dinner prep or tuning out the in-laws merry without a note from Mariah.
I have to come clean about something. I regularly use an extremely inexpensive aftershave balm that smells horrible. It smells like what a kid would probably think a man would smell like—the Worcestershire sauce of aftershaves.
The inexpensive balm feels great splashed on shaved skin, but I don't know if it's worth smellin...2024-12-148h 00
uncommon ambienceChristmas Workshop; the Night the Reindeer Died … AmbienceSanta workshop ambience (8 Hours). Oh boy, it's a Christmas movie episode! Well… we are focusing on a faux Christmas movie commercial that appears in an actual Christmas movie. This episode puts us into a busy Santa's Workshop (but does not include any terrorists or assault weapons and absolutely no harm to Reindeers).
Look, at the very beginning of the movie Scrooged (1988), the camera flies us through a snowy wonderland into a busy Santa's workshop. The elves are making toys, and Mrs. Claus hands out cookies. Then, suddenly, the workshop is under siege as RPGs rain dow...2024-12-088h 00
uncommon ambienceSuspiria Taxi Ride to Escherstraße… AmbienceHey! We're back at the movies, and this week's episode is focused on the strange and surreal taxi ride in the opening of the 1977 suspense film Suspiria. So we are driving to Escherstraße (Escher Street) in Freiuerg as the rain whips and thunder rolls (the big drum is also included but dialed back). As usual, this is ambience to relax with, so nothing frightening.
There's nothing overly frightening at the film's beginning, either. Unless you count the moment, Suzy Bannion exits the terminal, and the wind hits her in a way that makes it l...2024-12-018h 00
uncommon ambienceWinner Winner Thanksgiving Banquet… ambienceInside the oven, Thanksgiving prep ambience.
If you are about to prepare a large dinner in the next few days and need to get your culinary game face on, this episode is for you. Eight hours of kitchen prep as heard from within a gas range (a perfect place for Tom or a roasted eggplant).
Let this episode be your auditory affirmation that you have got this Thanksgiving dinner under control. In this episode, the relative who loves to start **** at inopportune times or have you searching for the wine bottle early will not be...2024-11-268h 00
uncommon ambienceA Creek Rushes into the Potomac… AmbienceSpend an evening perched amongst the rocks overlooking the Potomac at Riverfront Park in Shepherdstown, WV.
Just below you are the sounds of Town Run as it rushes to confluence with the famous river that eventually cuts between the District of Columbia and Virginia (about 60 miles to the South and East from here).
Separately, am I the only person that likes to scream while stretching? My family told me to stop doing it — but I always thought it was normal.
I don’t know how to...2024-11-248h 00
uncommon ambienceStreets is Washing; Storm Drain... AmbienceCity storm drain after heavy rain.
Why cede the sewers to Pennywise and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (heroes in a half-shell, turtle power)? After a large storm, it can sound pretty great down there — a symphony of spluts and gurgles.
Look, obviously, no one is climbing into a drain with their futon to enjoy the sounds; because, claustrophobia. So, in this episode, we are bringing the storm drain to you.
And while you're "down there," why not focus on something other than the new...2024-11-168h 00
uncommon ambienceIt's Dark and November is Hot; Box Fan AmbienceNovember Box fan in the window Ambience.
Look, it’s been a long week with temperatures hitting near 90° and my kids came to me pleading, like, “Dad you have to turn the air conditioning back on.” And I was like, “guys, the 7-11 across the street has a ****** wreath on the front door and a special on frosted Santa face sugar cookies.”
I shoved the box fan in the window and told everyone to go to bed.2024-11-098h 00
uncommon ambienceWest Virginia Rocky Stream... AmbienceSmall rocky stream ambience — Don't stress-watch cable news, you will probably learn just as much listening to gushing water through Shepherdstown, WV... Which this episode provides (recorded just off of Princes Street).
Tune out the world for a few minutes.
2024-11-058h 00
uncommon ambienceSpaceCamp Ground Control… AmbienceNASA control room, waiting for signs of Atlantis reentry; ambience. Look, if I learned anything as a kid watching SpaceCamp, it was that you do not make friends with cute robots that beep like R2D2 and don’t ever sit in a space shuttle cockpit during an engine test.
We have had some sinister ambience homages lately, so I figured it might be a good time to visit outer space—or at least hang out in a place anxiously awaiting communication from space. This week’s episode is based on the scenes with Tom Skerritt a...2024-11-028h 00
uncommon ambienceJust the Television Static... AmbienceHad a request for just the static without all of that creepy (see last episode) — so it's just that smooth static without anyone or anything trying to contact the Freeling family.
Tune out the world for a moment.
Episode cover original photo by Huỳnh Đạt.2024-10-298h 00
uncommon ambiencePoltergeist TV Static... Halloween AmbiencePoltergeist TV static. We’ve got one more Halloween-ish movie ambience before I start putting up all the Christmas lights. So get ready for eight hours of eerie but smooth TV static as we’re visiting the TV Static scene from Poltergeist(1982). And as far as TV static goes, the Poltergeist static is super chill (minus the disembodied voices). Growing up, the static I was used to on our television was harsh and tinny.
I do want to say that, as usual, there will be no jump scares or anything overly terrifying. This is a place...2024-10-278h 00
uncommon ambienceThe Shining, Endless Danny Tricycle… Halloween AmbienceHave you ever wanted that tense scene of a camera following Danny through the hallways of the Overlook Hotel, but for eight hours? We’re back at the movies this week, and obviously, we are racing through the hallways of the Overlook Hotel.Get ready for tricycle-pumping action over carpet and wood flooring as we get tense strings and maybe random voices from the beyond. As usual, this is ambience to (ostensibly) relax with, so there will be no jump scares, yelling, or weird ladies from room 237. 2024-10-248h 00
uncommon ambienceDirector's cut the Exorcist... Halloween AmbienceWe're expounding upon the unease and urban landscape that open the director's cut of the Exorcist. Perched above the ominous stairs that lead to doom (or towards the Key Bridge and expensive shops for the rest of us), a light switches off, the bushes rustle in the wind, and then come the cymbals.
It's a solid opening that proves the power of ambience — without the added sound, the visuals become voyeurism of wealthy people.
For those concerned, this week's ambience does not include jump scares, screaming, or exorcisms: just car...2024-10-188h 00
uncommon ambiencePropeller Airplane Flight to Wherever... AmbienceGo island hopping in the South Pacific, or fly to Nantucket or some remote Alaskan village. And do it without checking your bags. This week, we are going up in a very chill prop airplane.
Whenever I fly, I'm reminded of a favorite DJ mix from the 90s, Cold Krush Cuts. It included a spoken word segment about getting into the sky and seeing your problems from a new perspective. It was the closest I ever came to an epiphany listening to danceable music.
Below is the message from the m...2024-10-158h 00
uncommon ambienceJaws Overnight on the Orca... AmbienceDoomed fishing boat cabin ambience — We’re back at the movies this week, spending an entire night searching for a great white on the Orca. The engine idles, the waves splut and gurgle, a tracking buoy bleeps in the waters just outside… (Ambience was inspired by the cabin conversation about scars and past traumas).
That’s right, we are off the coast of Amity Island and smack in the middle of the No Country for Old Men of fish movies: Jaws.
I wouldn’t want to run into either film’s vil...2024-10-108h 01
uncommon ambienceVermont’s Mad River… Ambience.Mad river Ambience, and you read that right. Vermont has a Mad River. It flows North toward payback and revenge. And it’s a great place to swim.
Spend an evening on the rocky bank listening to a small angry river gush by.2024-10-038h 00
uncommon ambienceVermont's Moss Glen Waterfall (I think)... AmbienceSmall (and maybe the wrong waterfall) waterfall ambience — Okay, so this is my first waterfall, and I’m not psyched about misnaming my first waterfall ambience. But here’s the deal. My buddy, Ed, was like, “Yo, you have to check out Moss Glen Falls. They make Warren Falls look like some ****.” So I consulted Google and was served this.
“Yeah, that does makes Warren Falls look like some ****.”
So I brought my microphone up to Vermont and drove to the falls. And… the bridge was out. The footbridge had been damaged...2024-09-278h 00
uncommon ambienceOvernight Vermont Route 100... AmbienceLate night rural road and gushing water ambience.
So, I have a favorite road, Route 100, in Vermont (especially from around Pico to Waterbury). And obviously, this isn't a trade secret. Route 100 needs no hype, judging by the traffic we wreak in rural Vermont. The road delivers miles of Vermont quaintness: New England churches, cute light festivals, towering trees, and rounded green mountains. Every inch is a photo op.
Route 100 dominated my college years for bar and ski traffic. I used 100 when going home to the 518 or returning to Norwich...2024-09-236h 35
uncommon ambienceLate Night Laundromat... AmbienceLate-night laundry — No one likes laundry, but I have some fond memories of the sights and sounds. The flickers of evening traffic flashing by the windows in yellows and reds. The crisp autumn air waiting to cleanse you of the steamy confines.
When I lived at the top of Winter Hill, I frequented a laundromat at the confluence of Broadway and Main. You could look south from there and see Boston towering in the distance. Her high-rises twinkling.
Next door to my old laundromat was a liquor store—I would...2024-09-088h 00
uncommon ambienceBeetlejuice Neitherworld Offices… AmbienceOtherworldly office ambience — we are back at the Movies this week for ambience inspired by the original Beetlejuice.
The paranormal office the Maitlands enter after waiting months in the Neitherworld waiting room (see it here).
Skeletons typing, paper rustling, a gongy drone, a PA directing souls, et al.
BTW based on the upcoming sequel's title, I assume the Beetlejuice franchise will wind up being a trilogy. I haven't seen the sequel, but you don't get anything from saying "Beetlejuice" twice. And that the movie is not Beetlej...2024-09-018h 00
uncommon ambienceTen-Minute Boomer... AmbienceAnd as the title suggests, this is a minisode of a precocious little thunderstorm that came and went (even knocked our power out for a spell). And there must be situations in your life that are perfect for a ten-minute boomer. Dental appointments are totally ten-minutes in length.2024-08-2614 min
uncommon ambienceA Dying Summer’s Suburban Slumber… AmbienceLate August, overnight insects, and highway sounds; suburban ambience.
The children are back to school, and Halloween has taken over entire sections of local department stores. But the pools are still open, and Labor Day is a week out.
Suburbanites don’t know whether to high-five a lifeguard or put a ***** pumpkin on the front stoop. Was that a football whistle? Is white still acceptable?
At night, the bugs still sing under the evergreens, made bright red, murderously red by the tall Applebees sign jus...2024-08-247h 00
uncommon ambienceThe Karate Kid, South Seas Maintenance Shop... AmbienceHanging with Mr Miyagi at the Office… Ambience.
This is workplace ambience, if your workplace was a maintenance shop in the South Seas Apartment complex in Reseda and you spent your working hours trying to catch a fly with some chopsticks.
In this episode, we're back at the movies and visiting the omphalos of white folks' aspirational karate and electric guitars… The Karate Kid.
When I was a child, I also wished to befriend an old man who could teach me the ways of karat...2024-08-188h 00
uncommon ambienceInside a Bouncy House... AmbienceInflatable bounce house ambience — it's another fantastic fan episode. Eight hours of a fan inflating a bouncy house. I dropped the mic into the air chamber and fired the ******* up.
It's white noise, and that's it. Oh, I was making our regular Sunday fish dinner for my wife the other day, and I spilled a bit of sauce on the side of her plate. So I wiped it off with a napkin, just like on the chef shows.
2024-08-158h 00
uncommon ambienceDebby Downpour… AmbienceInside Car recording Debby Tropical Remnants.
Debby did a destructive dance among the southern states, looping over Florida and spinning into Charleston before drenching the Carolinas.
For my car it was mostly wind and rain. Get in.
Episode Cover Photo from Valeriia Miller2024-08-104h 15
uncommon ambienceOh, this is Cicada Night, oh what a Night... AmbienceAfter living inside the Earth for nearly a score, I feel like any creature should be given the space to air out one’s feelings. So here are three hours of bug feelings as heard from a charming Bed and Breakfast I spent the night at in Leesburg, Virginia.
I know nothing about our friends who live in the Earth for 17 years and then pop out mid-summer to squeal from the trees. I’m speaking of the cicada, the sometimes local taco protein, and massive fly things that are a nightmare to look at.
...2024-08-023h 00
uncommon ambienceIn the Woods Overnight with Summertime Bugs... AmbienceBugs, babbling brook, overnight in the woods ambience. Quiet y'all, the summertime bugs have something to say.
This recording begins just before midnight and continues until about 4 a.m. (I wanted to get in the less-trafficked hours because there was a US Highway a few miles away and a dirt road close by. You will hear some occasional traffic, but not so much that it's annoying.)
So get "lost in the woods" like De La Soul did nearly 30 years ago on their opus Buhloone Mindstate. Except in these woods, you won...2024-07-285h 00
uncommon ambienceYou’re Not Going to Belize the Birds… AmbienceBelize Zoo/ Birds ambience — Strap in for 30 minutes of chattering Central American Parrots et al.
This recording is from the heart of the Belize Zoo near the parrots. It was captured by my biologist sister, Dr. April Blakeslee, an instructor for Miami University’s Project Dragonfly, which works with the Belize Zoo. The program promotes “environmental stewardship” while working “across diverse ecological and social settings.” 2024-07-2430 min
uncommon ambienceWaiting for the Storm to Pass… AmbienceVehicle interior thunderstorm ambience. Oh, look, another minisode! And in today’s minisode, we idle in a parking lot, waiting out a passing thunderstorm.
There are a lot of good reasons for letting a storm pass.
Man, one year, my commute, which usually took 30-45 minutes, took eight ****** hours. I was stupidly piloting my Smart car through an epic 2-inch-an-hour snowfall. You may have heard of the storm Carmaggedon [air horn].
I joined everyone else on the highway who didn’t wait out the snow...2024-07-1620 min
uncommon ambienceThe Cat, the Clock, and Some Weather… AmbienceEnjoy a contented cat, a clock, and a cacophony of weather. A storm is coming, and the wind is already kicking up outside, but Tuna Fry (the cat) doesn’t care; she has the house to herself, which means joy and slumber.2024-07-118h 00
uncommon ambienceRain on a Metal Roof in Belize… AmbienceYou will hear heavy to moderate rain on a metal roof in a tropical dry forest. At first, it will sound like a waterfall, but it quickly tapers off to less rain and more local birds—and a chicken! I recognized one bird!
So, yesterday, I got a text message from my brother-in-law. He recorded some rain in Belize and sent a picture of a table surrounded by screened walls under a metal roof. Did I want that audio?
“You bet your sweet Asperecreme,” I said.
I...2024-07-0225 min
uncommon ambienceRain on a Metal Roof in Belize… AmbienceYou will hear heavy to moderate rain on a metal roof. At first, it will sound like a waterfall, but it quickly tapers off to less rain and more local birds—and a chicken! I recognized one bird!
So, yesterday, I got a text message from my brother-in-law. He recorded some rain in Belize and sent a picture of a table surrounded by screened walls under a metal roof. Did I want that audio?
“You bet your sweet Asperecreme,” I said.
I didn’t say that...2024-07-0225 min
uncommon ambience2001: a Space Odyssey; Discovery One... AmbienceDiscovery One Interior ambience — hey, we're back at the movies and inside everyone's favorite Jupiter-bound phallus rocket.
This episode is mainly based on a composite of the internal Discovery-1 scenes from 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is primarily based on the circuit tests (about an hour and thirteen minutes) with some orchestra elements.
Hal’s not in this ambience, by the way. That bot creeps me out.
My parents forced me to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey on the Home Box Office in the 1980s. I know...2024-07-028h 00
uncommon ambienceMartha's Vineyard Harbor and Light Rain... AmbienceMidnight harbor and light rain ambience. Spend an early morning in a Martha's Vineyard harbor. Recorded near the sands of a beach motel — you will get a mix of nature and machine noise (ACs, exhaust, maritime, etc).
Speaking of sand... Was Mort Garson talking about getting drug-high in "Big Sur"? His trippy 1968 musical number where he addresses a Mrs. Sanberg throughout about a song he learned "while high on Big Sur."
And yes, I am for sure thick but I can still spot an ode to drugs.
2024-06-233h 45
uncommon ambienceThunder... Ambience and I like Olive LoafJune Mid-Atlantic Thunderstorm Ambience — Rain and thunder; the best. As far as the description goes, it's a thunderstorm.
I've been thinking of Olive Loaf lately. As a kid, I enjoyed this peculiar cold cut. It was distinct from the bologna sandwiches our parents forced us to eat (every day).
The cold cut section of the grocery stores had two options: bologna and off-brand bologna. Oh, and head cheese (don't Ask Jeeves). And American cheese. That was it.
Today, my kids bring leftover spaghetti to school. For my g...2024-06-1545 min
uncommon ambienceCaddyshack Early AM Groundskeeping... AmbienceUncommon Ambience: At the Movies, Caddyshack. Country club early morning ambience. You are amongst the well-kept grounds, and here is the sun peaking over the area flora. Water is hurling spastically. The birds are turbo-charged. Off in the distance, someone is tending to the greens of Hole 6.
This week’s episode focuses on the first forty-five seconds of Caddyshack. Before the mayhem and the gopher. Before Kenny Loggin’s guitar.
Caddyshack opens with a brief moment of intoxicating calm. A sea of stars suddenly swirl with ethereal voices. The voic...2024-06-098h 00
uncommon ambienceUneventful Flight with a Game Boy... AmbienceChill commercial flight and Game Boy ambience—Gen X kids were often left home alone — we were also occasionally thrust unattended onto planes to navigate Laguardia or Atlanta alone.
Back in my day, we didn't have the whole internet in hand for a commercial flight. The most exciting things to do were staring out the window for a few hours, possibly picking up the Airfone, and hoping a friend would accept the pricey call. "I'm on a plane. Can you believe it?!"
Once I had to travel from Augusta to gr...2024-06-024h 00
uncommon ambienceA Cat Sleeps in the Corner of a T-shirt Shop... AmbienceThe corner of a t-shirt shop where a cat sleeps and an oscillating fan blows around warm spring air.
The kind of t-shirts in this shop are what humans buy while on vacation but don't wear while on vacation. You wouldn't wear an Edgartown shirt while in Edgartown, after all. Or a Vermont shirt while in the Green Mountain State. I never see anyone wearing "visit historic Leesburg" while in Leesburg.
No, these are shirts to wear to the gym or while mowing the lawn in Oxnard or Saint Ig...2024-05-274h 00
uncommon ambienceReturn of the Mid-Atlantic Thunderstorms... AmbienceMay Thunderstorm: So this is a thunderstorm that just traveled over our neighborhood. As I have said before, it doesn't matter what sounds I plan to do for the week. If there is a thunderstorm, I drop everything, grab the mic, and cross my fingers for a good record.
Last year, I tried to document the entire sounds of the tropical storm that passed through our area. There were hours and hours of rain, and I was positive it would produce some stellar sounds.
And then a cricket appeared in...2024-05-2445 min
uncommon ambienceBiff Tannen's Pleasure Palace Hotel and Casino... AmbienceUncommon Ambience: At the Movies, Back to the Future 2. This episode takes place in an alternate timeline: Biff 1985. Where we will enjoy the sullen symphony of carnage, lust, and poor life choices just outside the Biff Tannen Pleasure Paradise Hotel And Casino. It's a doozy.
Minus Sammy Hagar. Also, minus bullets and explosions. There were plenty in Biff 1985; there's also plenty in our modern world. So I left out the ordinances. IE: don't worry about any hidden jump scares or Principal Strickland catching up with his drive-by "slackers" in hour seven.
...2024-05-198h 00
uncommon ambienceShawshank Redemption Tree... AmbienceUncommon Ambience: At the Movies this week, finds us (ostensibly) in Maine — I'm pretty sure most of the film was shot in the Rust Belt. But for the sake of continuity we will be in a Maine hayfield with a rock and a bird that do not belong.
And look! Here comes Red. Ellis Redding, "Red," searches among a hayfield for a mystery. In a place that looks "right out of a Robert Frost poem" (shot in Ohio). He searches for obsidian.
There is a bird that also has no...2024-05-128h 00
uncommon ambienceThe Perfect Storm's Widow's Walk... AmbienceAnticipating a Giant Storm at a Coastal Bar — "They're out on the Flemish Cap. I got it straight from Big Bob Brown." This episode expands upon a scene from the film The Perfect Storm. Eight hours of an uncrowded Gloucester-esque bar being boarded up amongst the gales whipping up from the harbor. It will be the perfect storm, unfortunately.
Speaking of which — If you were to ever visit North Eastern Massachusetts and ask a local a question about something North Eastern Massachusetts. The response will probably begin with, "Well, have you seen the movie ________?" Only t...2024-05-068h 00
uncommon ambienceField of Dreams Fenway… AmbienceUncommon Ambience: At the Movies; Field of Dreams (1989) ambience — Field of Dreams fits in well with the other weird baseball fantasies we love. Casey at the Bat, the figment of Doubleday field, and the wonderfully strange the Natural. The book version has zero redemption by way of smashed outfield lights. Just a baseball Superman shackled by fate, circumstance, and stupidity. Only, Roy Hobbs strikes out. And then he punches a dude.
Field of Dreams is baseball magic and forced Americana (hot dogs, small-town book banning, farming, failed finance) — what's not to love? Aside from the mos...2024-04-274h 00
uncommon ambienceThe Birds are Back, Baby... AmbienceBirds and backyard ambience — as spring descends upon the Piedmont, so do the birds. And they were chatty this morning, so I stuck my microphone out the window.
That's about all there is to say — Oh, stay away from Jimmy Connors tennis on the Atari Lynx. I found it cheap on eBay and decided what the heck.
Watching Jimmy Connors in the early 90s at the US Open was fun. I thought that maybe his namesake handheld lynx game might that all over the tennis court rackets blazing fun? It doesn...2024-04-198h 00
uncommon ambienceBlade Runner (1982) Outdoor Noodle... AmbienceUncommon Ambience: At the Movies—Blade Runner outdoor noodle establishment ambience. Eight hours of sound inspired by the scene where Rick Deckard gets something to eat before being "arrested" by Gaff.
The Ritz at the Bourse, my favorite movie theater in Philadelphia, showed a rerelease of the 1982 film while my fiancé was in town. This was about 14 years ago—and it was either the Final Final Cut or the Pre-Final Cut before the Final Final Cut. I'm not sure. Either way, there were scenes I had never seen before, and I was excited to bring...2024-04-078h 00
uncommon ambienceAll the President's Men, Vintage Newsroom... AmbienceUncommon Ambience: At the Movies—Vintage newsroom ambience.
I've worked in large newsrooms, though none had operating typewriters. There were relics in our office, all of which were reduced to desk tchotchkes. The owners wanted to remind us that they wielded them for producing news, not like us fancy laptop people with quiet plastic keys.
Anyway, this movie-flavored ambience episode reproduces the newsroom scene where both Woodward (played by Robert Redford) and Bernstein (played by Dustin Hoffman) declare that they "don't want to fight" while smoking a lot of cigarettes.
...2024-03-318h 00
uncommon ambienceWargames (the movie) Missileer Bunker... AmbienceUncommon Ambience: At the Movies, we are adding a new type of ambience this week. Themed ambience, based on the opening scenes of the 1983 film Wargames.
This is a recreation of the hours preceding the Snyder and Phelps shift that ended quickly with a gun over a key-turn. I watched the film on the Home Box Office in 1984 (40 years ago) — and holy ****, the open still messes with me.
But not to worry there isn't angst in this episode. This is the Tucker/ Bevan shift, and Bevan is a "prince."2024-03-268h 00
uncommon ambienceThe Dark Creepy Closed Lane in the Bowling Alley... AmbienceBowling Ambience — This was recorded near the ball return of the dark lane on a decently attended Wednesday.
And I don't know about you, but I keep getting fed bowling memes on social media. There is always some dude staring in a direction, then a bowling mishap plays, the dude reacts in a banal sorta' way before looking to a new place, and then we get a new ****** bowling mishap. This **** has been done—feed me more videos of bulldogs screaming.
In any case... We're in the bowling alley toda...2024-03-208h 00
uncommon ambience1980s Arcade AmbienceRetro Arcade Ambience — So picture this, it's 1980-something and mom and dad dropped you off at the mall with five bucks, "we'll pick you up 10." Mom and Dad have a date night — and they're not playing around; they are going to the Red Lobster. Dad messed up, and now he's going to be paying for lobster. The mall entrance is all glass and guarded by teenagers smoking cigarettes."The **** you looking at, kid?""I ain't looking at nothin’," You mutter as you slide through the door. "Yeah, you better ****** run."Up some e...2024-03-154h 00
uncommon ambienceRainy Vermont Bed and Breakfast Bust... AmbienceCozy fire and rain ambience — You booked your Bennington Bed and Breakfast just below the towering Battle Monument. You promised your partner it would be perfect. Hit a few trails on Prospect Mountain. Dinner and shopping downtown. Some hip art gallery or bookstore. It'll be a hoot. Then months of plans ruined by a fluke thaw. "It can hit 60 in February?!" "A'yuh happens every year around this time," says the innkeeper dropping a plate of strata before you. "Usually, it's just a day or two; it should be cold and snowy ag...2024-03-037h 00
uncommon ambienceThey're Playing Basketball... AmbienceGymnasium/ basketball ambience — How do I explain this briefly? I went to military school in the South. I was that ***** of a student to need military school in the South.
So we had a gymnasium that was not air-conditioned; all we had were gigantic fans in the ceiling that sucked the air out. So when you stood in the doorway to the outside, it was like standing in a vacuum.
It's hot in the South. So when you play a few hours of ball, you sweat. And when you co...2024-02-296h 31
uncommon ambienceMartha's Vineyard Thunderstorm and Harbor Waves... AmbienceThe sounds of summer... if you summer in Vineyard Haven. Thunder, rain, waves, gulls, hail, and steamship (ferry) traffic. Recorded last June, you will hear as one storm departs and another quickly approaches. And deluge awaits you in the middle.
Off topic... Have you ever seen Point of No Return? Bridget Fonda stars as a troubled assassin who goes headfirst down a kitchen dumbwaiter to escape a missile. I realize it's a movie, and Fonda plays a badass... like obviously, the bad guys need to carry absurd weapons. But who would think to take...2024-02-2500 min
uncommon ambienceOMG It's Snowing... AmbienceSnowfall and mild traffic sounds — this is two hours of falling snow and mild traffic... but who gives a **** about that? I want to use this space to campaign for a dish washing simulator for the Nintendo. I want ****** stacks of dirty dishes that I have to figure out how to Tetris into a small dishwasher.2024-02-201h 59
uncommon ambienceOld Hotel Ice Maker and the Rain Outside... AmbienceRainy Hotel Ambience — Have you ever wandered down a long, narrow hallway following the loud hum of an ice maker? The small room in a hotel that houses free ice and expensive snacks — $5 Doritos is a thing, y'all.
You walk into a hum that vibrates throughout your body as you hold out your tiny ice bucket with the mini-trashbag to catch the tumbling cubes. Those ice buckets are too small.2024-02-164h 00
uncommon ambienceThe Other Side of the Shower... AmbienceThis is the shower being recorded from the room next door. There will be tinkles of water, bathroom fan, and gurgling drain on the other side of the wall. Essentially layered gray-ish noise. 2024-02-074h 14
uncommon ambienceYour Own Personal Subway... AmbienceReach out and touch fare (har) — ehem, this is from a recording of the Silver Line. It was a cold, icy January evening, and I was heading downtown to see a comic book movie.
Strap in for two and a half hours of Subway. There will be stops every 15 minutes. And no need to worry about Ra's al Ghul. 2024-01-312h 30
uncommon ambienceCar Idle and Defrost... AmbienceCar defrost ambience — It's the kind of cold out there that freezes your nostrils together as you breathe in. And ice and snow are covering the windshield.
It's time to begin the clearing process — and don't be like a neighbor who just cleared a peephole in his giant truck windshield and then took off for work.
Defrosting takes time and patience. 2024-01-243h 25
uncommon ambienceWet Snowy Slop... AmbienceFalling snow and wind soundscape — recorded on the evening of the 14th. The beginning flakes were sloppy, and they came down in clumps. We got three inches.
And then, on Monday, it got sunny, and the roads cleared up. Still, the county closed school on Tuesday and Wednesday. So I had to spend another weekend with my ****** children.2024-01-185h 00
uncommon ambienceRain Pattering Parked CarModerate rainfall on a parked car. I don't know what else to say as a description. Oh! I found Winter Spiced Cranberry Sprite at the Annandale CVS! They had a bunch left if any of y'all wanted to grab some. And I met up with a friend I haven't seen since covid lockdowns. We went to a glammed-up taco spot in Alexandria. That was great. Anyway, that was my Saturday. 2024-01-144h 30
uncommon ambienceFalling Ice and Rain... AmbienceRain and ice ambience — This is what the worst snow day ever sounds like. The kids were hoping for measurable snow, and they got a lot of rain and graupel.
I'm unsure if what is falling in this recording counts as graupel, but I like saying graupel. My grandmother would call any sky ice that she didn't deem snow, "graupel." And she would wave her hand while she did it like "**** this sleet."2024-01-065h 00
uncommon ambienceOvernight into Early Morning Vineyard Haven... AmbienceWaves, boats, birds and more. This recording begins late at night and ends with the first ferry steaming in and out of Vineyard Haven Harbor. This is a recording from outside the Vineyard Harbor Motel from the summer and captures waves, birds, a giant yacht mildly humming nearby, light traffic from Beach Rd and other chill mechanical sounds. Great soundtrack for a post-holiday hangover... I'm tired now.2024-01-017h 21
uncommon ambience4 Hours of Rain after Christmas... AmbienceAlmost 4 hours of December rain on the roof... ambience. It's a soggy day in the Mid-Atlantic... A perfect distillation for our household post-Christmas (the kids' favorite holiday). There is Lego carnage and strewn Care Bears across the living room floor. A gold ribbon accidentally clings to the cat.
The encouragement is gone for snatching peppermint from the branches of our fake tree. The nut bowls are almost exclusively Brazil nuts now. And we have way too much cheese.
Also, the grocery store is no longer stocking egg nog. "Stopped receiving shipments...2023-12-263h 45
uncommon ambience8 Hours Hiding in a Hotel Room... AmbienceHotel room fan — Anyone else not looking forward to sleeping in their old bedrooms this holiday season? Just down the hall from our aging parents who sneak up on us late, like ****** ninjas in nightgowns, "You sure you're not cold, sweetie?"
"No, ma."
And you ask yourself, "Why didn't I just get a room at the Crowne Plaza Albany? They wouldn't encourage me to eat unrecognizable leftovers from the fridge when I'm hungry."
"Three years expired horseradish sauce can't be safe."
It's too late to stay at a hotel... but you ca...2023-12-218h 00
uncommon ambienceVineyard Haven Harbor Waves… AmbienceAfter-hour Vineyard Haven Harbor Waves — This episode includes after-hour waves lapping the harbor beach — the rattle of far-off machinery and the occasional car navigating nearby Beach Road. And I was wandering up the street to Cumberland Farms to buy some late night powdered donuts. 2023-12-175h 00
uncommon ambienceTake a Shower... Ambience(Dual Shower Nozzle Ambience) I always dreamed of fancy bathrooms. Bathrooms where I could press digital buttons controlling a host of nozzles pelting me with technology-controlled water (like the **** in the movies). When the opportunity came to remodel our shower, I leaped at the remodeling designer with these ideas. It was too expensive, so I compromised. I had the designer pencil in a dual head at chest height that turned on with a tiny handle (also expensive). It is great for washing out my underarms.2023-12-164h 00
uncommon ambienceEndless Ferry Ride to Martha's Vineyard... AmbienceEndless* Martha's Vineyard Ferry Ambience — this will be a cacophony of awesome machine noise from the carport of a MVY Steamship. So ride the ambience into a deep sleep or better grades.
And obviously there is an end for this podcast. Just as there is an end to the endless breadsticks at the Olive Garden. Or at least I assume the Olive Gardeners will bounce you eventually. I haven't ever seen a dude or lady that looked like Rip Van Winkle with a stack of decomposing breadstick trays.
2023-12-168h 22