My downstairs neighbor has switched from trance music to Reba McEntire's "Is There Life out There," but maintained the same obnoxious volume and bass level. I am confused. Is he so pretentious that he's an ironic country music lover? Is he playing the album to mock it, but I can't hear his peals of laughter beneath the deafening roar of his stereo? Is Reba really his favorite, but he has to play the other stuff when his friends are over? Was he just having a bad day and in need of inspiration from the ballad about a mother learning to embrace her independence and sense of self in middle age? Has he too "done what he should but not what he dares"? Is he wondering if there really is "life out there"? Or, maybe he's just trying to see how far he can go before I cry.