When we take the train and we insert our tickets or tap our train passes on the turnstiles, we don’t think too much of it. After all it is merely a gateway that separates us from our train. That being said what if there was a way to enhance it? Perhaps add music or interesting tones whenever a ticket has been inserted or a card has been tapped?
Well that’s pretty much what musician James Murphy wants to do to the New York subway system, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. For those unfamiliar, Murphy is the frontman of the now-defunct electronic-dance-punk band, LCD Soundsystem. He has recently proposed that New York’s subways play a unique melody whenever someone passes through the turnstiles.
The project, dubbed Subway Symphony, was inspired when Murphy was in Tokyo and was reportedly amazed by the system’s friendly voices and “incredibly gentle beeps”. In addition, Murphy was also inspired during his trips to the Barcelona airport where a signature four-note sequence was played ahead of every announcement.
According to MTA spokesman, Adam Lisberg, he admits that Murphy’s idea is very cool, but at the same time perhaps its implementation might end up taking too long and being too costly, simply because of the volume of passengers that the train service serves, one mistake could potentially affect millions of passengers.
In the meantime Murphy has set up a petition in which he hopes will allow his idea to gain more traction and perhaps end up a reality, so if you’d like to learn more and sign his petition, head on over to Subway Symphony’s website for the details.
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