Man Listening to Disc Art and Culture Quotes

In these lines, the speaker presents us with an image of the pianist Thelonious Monk, who he is also listening to on his earphones, "motoriz[ing]" "or whatever" his piano. It's as if Monk has his piano on big wheels and is wheeling it down the street along with the speaker. By giving us this physical image of Monk and his piano, the speaker suggests again just how connected he feels to the music and to the musician playing it.

The speaker gives us a sense of the contradictions of the music that he's listening to in these lines. It's "loud yet so confidential." It's brash, but it's also intimate. And what's more, it makes the speaker feel like he's on top of the world. These lines give us sense of just how transformative music can be. It changes the speaker's outlook on himself and the world, and it makes him feel happy.