The beast is awake. Daydreams turn into nightmares. This is not real. This is not real. The walls perspire and the muscles ache, as the sound rolls over your blanket and crawls under your bed. There it shakes off its frequencies and morphs into an over-compressed standing wave, too loud to mix, until its entire visual spectrum resembles a red solid block, distorting all levels, unmeasured in decibels. Drenched in your own sweat you white knuckle the pillow, then spring onto the mattress and rabidly laugh. Welcome to the dark side! Buckle your dentures and bring your tongue to the upright position. The beast is awake!

See more favorite selections on Headphone Commute’s Best of 2009