Our Ears Are Audience to the Birth of Song

Abstract In March 2023, John Brooks floated the idea of my contributing something to this special issue. Motivated by the topic, I immediately thought of Anthony Reed, whose book Soundworks presents a rigorous and poetic formulation of black sound work and its improvisatory renegotiations of what counts as common sense, both aesthetic and political. Dr. Reed agreed that a conversation would be rewarding, and we came up with a loose plan for collaborating on an interview project. Proceeding one question at a time, we moved forward without preconceived ideas of where to end up or what to cover along the way. Dr. Reed's responses were therefore always unanticipated and, as you'll see, invigorating. I am deeply grateful for his eager collaboration, sincere sound work, and spirit of camaraderie. While it may be clear to readers that we each come to this conversation from our respective and particular concerns, part of what I value so much in the result is the way that it further elaborates key themes across both of our projects while at the same time focusing on a set of problems we hope will be of interest across a wide range of disciplines.