New York City's subway system can be an awfully cacophonous environment -- a fact James Murphy has hoped to ameliorate for nearly fifteen years with a project aiming to incorporate music into straphangers' commutes.
But after repeated brushoffs from the Metropolitan Transit Authority and former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the former LCD Soundsystem frontman is now hoping new state funds, coupled with a Bill de Blasio-run City Hall, will finally bring life to his installation.
The Wall Street Journal reports Murphy is specifically looking to the MTA's $900,000 annual commitment to enhance riders' rides with repositioned turnstiles -- an approach that could potentially accommodate his own ambitions, as his project targets the sounds emitted with every MetroCard swipe.
Murphy recently sampled some of the music he composed for the turnstiles on The Wall Street Journal:
"I started noticing that the subway sounds quite brutal," Murphy said in the clip. "There's a missing opportunity at the turnstile. Given that all that information is already at the turnstile, why don't we just make it a nice sound? Just make it pleasant."
But according to MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg, the current beeps, as unappealing as they might be, stem from "natural technical variation and we really don't care." Transit officials also insist the venture is just too expensive, an argument Murphy adamantly contests.
If you agree the subway could use a sound makeover, sign Murhpy's petition to convince the MTA here.