RIYL

RIYL the Dark Noise setting on iOS’ Background Sounds feature, motel HVAC, rinse cycle

RIYL distant sirens, your neighbor’s smoke alarm, the pneumatic brakes of public buses

RIYL recently doused campfire, failing muffler, skateboard on fresh tarmac

RIYL parade noise from a dozen stories down through double pane glass, collegial honks between delivery van drivers, house music heard via the sonic bleed of nearby headphones

RIYL unseen wind chimes, metronomic alert of a truck backing up, thunderous applause following a performance you didn’t particularly appreciate

RIYL low grade tinnitus, vinyl surface noise, an orchestra tuning up for the first concert of the season

RIYL the way your brain loops fragments of an otherwise forgotten song, the ringing of bells attached to the front door of your favorite Chinese restaurant, laptop fan noise

RIYL the jingle at the end of the New York Times online crossword when muted quickly because you’re at the library, the polite yet urgent knock on a restroom door, skis crossing stone and dirt beneath the final vestiges of melting snow

RIYL rain pummeling so hard you hear it from inside the movie theater, a voice on a public address system so ancient that you know it’d be unintelligible even if you spoke the language, rumble of the hallway floor being waxed just outside the doctor’s waiting room