Listening to music to distract yourself

Earlier today, I was waiting at the busstop to come home from work when I realized I left my iPod on my desk.  I lamented having to ride the bus then walk home from the bus station (about ~30 minute trip) listening only to "the sounds of the world in my head," which is how I phrased it to my boyfriend later.

In this case I was specifically bummed because I was in the middle of a Marc Maron WTF podcast interview with Mindy Kaling* that I really wanted to listen to more of.  But it did get me wondering how much I depend on music/podcasts to get through things.  

Is the world so boring that I can't move through the world for thirty minutes without distracting myself?

Or, having depressive tendencies, do I need the distraction to keep my mind from wandering to negative things like feeling insecure about what I look like, replaying awkward social situations in my head, or thinking about how much I hate riding the bus/work/whatever?

Do I love my iPod because I hate my life?

I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on this.  If you wear headphones while doing hour long cardio sessions it may be for an entirely different reason than wearing headphones while you're commuting or while you're sitting at your desk at work, formatting coversheets for your TPS reports.

* Level 1 girl crush - can we be friends?