[sustran] Fwd: more on street noise -- Humor

[Lake Sagaris]

Hey folks

I hope a lighter approach to urban transport sits well with your Friday 
activities. Have a good weekend, everyone.

Best, Lake


>The
>Car Alarm Dance
>=======
>
>   I got a nice letter from an across the street neighbor. She wanted to
>share some thoughts on how she has learned to  deal with Clinton Street 
>motorist mayhem over the years. She included a
>quote from John Cage, the avant garde  composer most famous for his piece 
>entitled 4'33''. All of the notes of
>4'33'' are silent. The composition takes its  name from the fact that it 
>requires four minutes and thirty-three seconds
>to perform. When performed in concert, a  piano player sits at a bench 
>with a stopwatch and doesn't touch the keys.
>
>   Anyway, the Cage quote -- I don't know where it comes from -- is this: 
> "The most recent change in my attitude
>     toward sound has been in relation to loud sustained sounds such as 
> car alarms or burglar alarms, which used to
>     annoy me, but which I now accept and even enjoy... Sounds which stay 
> in one location and don't change can
>   produce a sonorous sculpture, a sound sculpture that lasts in time. 
> Isn't that beautiful?"
>
>  As I often find with avant garde art stuff, yes, the concept is 
> beautiful. But the actual tangible reality of the car
>  alarm "sonic sculpture" -- that's not a piece of art that I'd want in my 
> living room. Nevertheless, I know what my
>    neighbor means. There are all kinds of good ways to sublimate these 
> minor but persistent urban annoyances and
>   turn them into something fun and creative.
>   As far as car alarms go, my girlfriend Joanne and I have ocassionally 
> played this game we call the Car Alarm
>   Dance. When you're walking down the street and you pass a car with its 
> alarm blasting (for no good reason, as
>   always), you pretend that you are the car alarm and you're the one 
> making the noises. You and your partner can
>   switch off each time the car alarm noise changes so that it's sort of 
> like you're having a dialogue with each other in  car alarm language. 
> Maybe you're having a fight with each other. Maybe you're madly in love 
> with each other. Or  maybe you're robots. Each individual can interpret 
> the car alarm sounds however he or she wants.
>
>   Can you picture what I'm talking about? Basically, the first person 
> stands there and lip-synchs "Whoo Whoo Whoo  Whoo WhooŠ" and maybe shoots 
> his hands up in the air repeatedly on each "Whoo" like a football ref 
> signaling touchdown. When the noise changes to "Eeep Eeep Eeep Eeep 
> EeepŠ" the second person starts lip-synching and  adding some unique 
> "Eeep" body
>movement and facial expressions to go along with it. It's a really great game.
>
>    Another fun car alarm game I've played, I guess would be called Car 
> Alarm Conductor. That's when you stand in
>   front of the blaring vehicle and conduct it as though you were 
> conducting a symphony orchestra.
>
>  Both of these games make you feel better because they give you the 
> momentary illusion that you're actually in
>    control of the car alarm sounds -- that you're producing the noise. 
> And you also get to jump around and blow off
>     steam instead of just getting all pissed and annoyed and stewing over 
> how inconsiderate people are who actually
>  have these useless alarms in their vehicles. Because, really, do they do 
> anything? Does anyone know of any
>   instance where a car alarm actually did some good?
>
>   -- Aaron