New York subways are vital and vile. Millions of humans shuffling underground non stop is just a breeding ground for discord. But it works, and it’s brilliant and it’s the central nervous system of the city that never sleeps.
Buskers and muzak screaming and noise fill the caverns and soon.. so will the work of James Murphy, former LCD Soundsystem geek.
He explains, “I’ve been fighting for 14 years to get all the subway turnstiles to make music. I want to make every station in New York have a different set of dominant keys, so that people who grow up will later on in life hear a piece of music and say, ‘Oh, that’s like Union Square.’ It’s such a brutal city. I think one little gift of kindness would be nice.”
And I think he is a whack job. Apparently Bloomberg shot his idea down so he’s headed over to de Blasio for the pitch. Who’s paying for this service anyway? The thought is somewhat warm and fuzzy 400 underground stations in New York City, with a unique sound. Great for the vision impaired.. “wait this doesn’t sound like my stop”.
Art is a very subjective thing. What if I don’t like the sound and end up hating my stop, thus never going home? It could be a nightmare. Then again nothing from Murphy is that shocking. I suggest he fire up LCD again, it’s safer that way.