Wednesday, June 30, 2010

This is not a joke!

Another instance of the "Mozart Effect" at work.
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6 comments:

Michael Leddy said...

Sick and sad.

30/6/10 9:55 AM
Anonymous said...

this is awful!
the 'mosquito' idea is kind of horrifying - that must be damaging to the ears.

30/6/10 8:22 PM
Bill in Dallas said...

I recall that a few years ago, a McDonald's in downtown Dallas (where I live) resorted to playing loud opera outside to keep loiterers away.

I have not found an accurate dating of that, but did find this interesting article:

http://www.skor.nl/article-2853-en.html

"Muzak, also known as ‘nonaggressive music deterrent’, is used more and more often as a strategic weapon in the effort to make public space ‘safe’ and controllable. But according to Jonathan Sterne, its use is primarily aimed at excluding non-consumers – whereas he believes it should be seen as a vital component of urban design. In Sterne’s opinion, besides an aesthetical dimension, sound also has a political and ethical dimension."

Aha... I did find the date!

"Janine Zuniga, ‘McDonald’s in Dallas Gives Thugs the Bach’, Austin American Statesman, 25 April 1996."

Bill in Dallas

2/7/10 2:28 AM
Anonymous said...

If one does not accept the notion of a cultural war, then one will lose the war. While it is both "sick and sad" that classical music is used to repulse gathering youths, it is also true that the ear-splitting boom boxes and utterly repetitive thump-thump repel me from "their" venues. I see this as a tit-for-tat situation, in the same way that grafitti "artists" seem happy to paint on some surface not their own, but become upset when some other tagger paints over their "art." Sick and sad? You bet, but I choose my cultural "sick and sad" over "theirs" any day of the week. Oddly, my "sick and sad" is Mozart and Vivaldi and more of the same.

2/7/10 10:47 AM
Anonymous said...

If one does not accept the notion of a cultural war, then one will lose the war. While it is both "sick and sad" that classical music is used to repulse gathering youths, it is also true that the ear-splitting boom boxes and utterly repetitive thump-thump repel me from "their" venues. I see this as a tit-for-tat situation, in the same way that grafitti "artists" seem happy to paint on some surface not their own, but become upset when some other tagger paints over their "art." Sick and sad? You bet, but I choose my cultural "sick and sad" over "theirs" any day of the week. Oddly, my "sick and sad" is Mozart and Vivaldi and more of the same.

2/7/10 10:48 AM
David Wolfson said...

FWIW: They've been doing this in the Port Authority bus station in New York City for years.

6/7/10 9:04 PM

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