Secret Weapon

I went to the Sculpture Garden in DC to study outdoors but it just didn't work out today. The weather was dry for a change but something else foiled my efforts to concentrate this time. The cafe in the Garden plays music over the outdoor speakers and today was apparently "play the most awful form of jazz" day. They were playing the most discordant, loud, grating version of jazz possible. Trumpets, saxophones, and unidentified instruments that made clanging noises. Jazz is the only genre of music I know of in which the performers have a much better time than the listeners do.

To top it off, there was a religious extravaganza on the Mall today and they had the world's most powerful sound system fully engaged. The preacher was a screamer and was backed up by a thumping bass that reverberated off the buildings surrounding the Mall. I didn't know this until today but if you mix a screaming preacher with loud jazz, well, the result is toxic. I had to give up on studying and retreat to the Virginia suburbs.

I've heard that the US Military uses heavy metal music to blast at enemies and disorient them. I suggest they experiment with mixing the recordings of screaming preachers with loud jazz. Nothing in the universe could be more debilitating.