I have had a taste of what I get for going forth blindly, and decided it was not for me.
The S.S. Imagination is a fictional vessel I have created to represent what happens when I listen to music, and to serve as the setting for my album stories.
I will begin by describing it in in-character terms. Afterward, I explain how its features are translated to the real world (how my music-listening habits are reflected by it, and so on and so forth).The vessel can move any number of its parts, thus changing form to act as an aircraft or even a space vessel. Most of the time, however, it appears as a metallic black sailing ship with silver trim. It is not especially large for a ship, as it does not need to be. It is simply the personal vehicle of an individual who is not a ruler or anything, after all.
On the stern of the ship, facing the wheel, is a synthesizer keyboard. An acoustic guitar hangs from the riggings when appropriate, ready to be used to play music that suits sailing. There is not much on this deck, because when the ship takes to the skies, everything has to be moved below decks and the masts fold down.
The captain’s cabin is a good place to meet with the Black Pearl Crew, work on parodying, and not install a pipe organ. Here, albums and fresh paper for writing are stored, and there are desks.
The hatch on the main deck leads into a room with a drum set. This is the room with the main rock instruments, storing electric guitars and with dial-based synthesizers on the walls.
The rock room has a heavy, soundproof door leading into a small room under the captain’s cabin. I can make the music quieter by stepping in here and pulling the door partway closed. When the door is completely shut, all is silent inside.
The soundproof room has no windows and contains no musical instruments. What features it does have are a computer, a seat (with a belt for times the ship spends in the air), and little else.
At the opposite end of the rock room from the soundproof room is a hallway, lined with instruments that I only listen to in moderation. There are racks on the walls for a saxophone and times when the acoustic guitar is better stored inside. A chest in the hallway holds an accordion, a harmonica, a flute, a xylophone, and possibly other things. At the other end of the hall is the piano room, in which an electric organ and some orchestral instruments are also housed.
This is the deck with the bedroom and other things in privacy, with nothing to do with music. It is not open - or of interest to - anyone but me.
Almost any instruments that may appear in the music to which I listen are represented by appearing on the ship. Any instruments that are not here (e.g. pipe organs) are not my thing, and if I hear them, they are coming from outside the vessel.
As an example of a pleasant day on this vessel, let me say I am listening to Blazin’ Your Own Trail Again. The instruments here are generally just rock guitars and drums, which means spending a lot of time in - or at least taking from - the rock room. However, there is a small amount of acoustic guitar in the beginning, which may mean coming out on deck to sing happy things, or getting that guitar from the hall.
If I am picking songs manually, I am steering the vessel. If I am shuffling songs, I am basically letting the vessel go where it wants. Still, I have a way of knowing what I am getting when I shuffle (explained here), which, in-character, I say is looking out the porthole.
The soundproof room represents adjustable volume. The further down I have the volume turned, the more closely I am holding the soundproof door behind me. If the volume is all the way off, I look at my screen to see what is happening, which translates to using the computer in the soundproof room.
The idea for the S.S. Imagination originated during the development of the Change is Coming: No More Shuffling Blind
story, then got more work in the album stories. Finally, I decided to make this page upon realizing that I should present a case what music aboard the Imagination is normally like.