I just ran across this post on NPR’s #fb page.
NPR Needs the Sounds of Your City.
The sounds of my city…immediate thought: the “L.”
There is nothing quite like the sound of the “L” as it rumbles by overhead, or rumbles into a station as you wait. So unique, and so Chicago. The New York subway doesn’t even compare. And though the “L” is old, and falling apart, it’s hard to imagine Chicago without it. I do wonder if the dragging of feet to repair, if not outright replace it, is due to the fact that the sound won’t be the same.
The total lack of sound on Translink, the Vancouver public transit system, was one of the first things I noticed. It’s quiet! Comparatively speaking. Granted it isn’t soundless, but I can actually hear myself think! And you can hear conversations. On the “L” you can hear the conversation as the person next to you screams over the noise and into a cell phone.
So back to NPR’s request to record the sounds of your city.
I guess my city is now Vancouver, but no sound comes readily to mind. Silence, perhaps? Birds? Nature? Traffic? There is traffic. Despite a good public transit system, there are still numerous cars and trucks on the road. Kind of like Chicago, in that respect.
But there isn’t a definitive Vancouver sound. Or am I just not hearing it yet?