I live 15 feet above Seattle’s First Avenue; my studio’s single-paned windows do not provide effective sound insulation. The downtown noise forced me to sleep with earplugs during my first 2 weeks here (I also slept on the floor, but that’s another story). It didn’t take very long for me to adapt to the late-night mating calls of Belltown natives, but I don’t think I’ll ever habituate to the motorcycles that plague my downtown existence. Instead of attempting a snobbishly droll rant on the subject, I’ll defer to the following aptly-titled Craigslist post: Dear Hellishly Loud Motorcycle & Boom Car Owners/Riders.
Noise pollution is one of the great drawbacks of our culture; it seems like few in my generation take the risk of hearing loss seriously. Concerts, Clubs, and Car Stereos are all needlessly loud; my only solace is that most of the ghetto-posturing teenagers and insecure motorcycle riders will be mostly deaf by 35.
Chop Suey, for instance, is an excellent music venue; they attract the elitist, critically acclaimed hip-hop and electronic groups I pretend to enjoy in order to gain hipster credibility. However, I end up avoiding their weekend shows because they turn the volume up to ridiculous levels (also, their ventilation is poor and they oversell the club). The worst example was the People Under the Stairs show earlier this year; all sound was obscured for a second after each bass hit due to rattling and distortion, making it was nearly impossible to make out the vocals.
Due to poor judgment as a young concert-goer, I have a mild case of Tinnitus; I have a permanent ringing sound in my ears, but I only notice when I’m in near silence (which occurs rarely, given my popular, jet-setting lifestyle). Even though it’s a mere annoyance, I wish I could go back and make my fourteen year-old self wear earplugs in order to prevent my tinnitus. (While I’m at it, I’d also tell him to get a haircut and buy Internet stock.)
In conclusion, this is old man Fortes telling all you young whippersnappers to wear your earplugs. And goddammit, turn it down! I’m trying to watch Matlock.
2 Comments
If I could go back to and talk to myself at age 14, I’d say, “C Diggety, get more (i.e., more than 0) real tail and spend less time masturbating. And stop spending so much time looking at animal porn.”
loud concerts also f’d my left ear up. that and a firecracker exploded next to my left ear.