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What’s in a sound?,

published at 9:09am on 09/11/06

Abrasive noises are contextual. For me, on the inside of my apartment, the dissonant sounds coming from the multiple grinders and jackhammers on the outside of my building produce a cacophony that is not unlike having my teeth drilled for 8 hours every day. But for the workers on the outside of the building who must shuffle up and down the facade on their moving platforms, using those grinders and jackhammers just represent a day’s work, a noise that is controlled by them and them alone and that probably has associated with it some sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.

At least that’s how I always feel after I make or destroy something with my hands.

Today, there are sirens tearing up and down the streets of the city. From my apartment, they are part of the landscape of New York, for the officer in the car, for the firefighter in the truck, and to the person in the burning building, these noises all mean something different.

Filed under: Observations