If you like to celebrate Cinco de Mayo by going out with friends or family, but you’re not able to do so this year, my condolences.
A lot of people miss being able to go out these days.
I’ve actually had several dreams recently where I was standing in line at a coffee shop.
And what struck me in the dream wasn’t the coffee, it was that bustling cafe sound, the ambience of the place.
Those of us who are staying home right now aren’t hearing that.
But you can hear those familiar sounds, and without dining in, either.
Several well-known ambient sound apps and platforms, like Noisli and SoundSnap, feature a wide range of soundscapes, including restaurants, cafes, shopping mall food courts, and more.
And some of them have more than one of each sound, so if you’ve tried the sounds of the European bistro, you can move on to the open-air market in Thailand.
If you’re not a restaurant person, you might instead prefer a new playlist from the New York Public Library called “Missing Sounds of New York,” which features, among other city sounds, library ambience.
They call it the sound of the “not-quite-quiet library,” a soundscape which I think can set any library lover at ease.
Since today’s show is about sounds, here’s a story reported by the Waukesha Freeman, from my home state of Wisconsin.
They say that police responded to a noise complaint on Saturday night.
The officers found a man who, in their words, was “shredding on his electric guitar which could be heard from several blocks away.”
He reportedly told police that he hadn’t realized how loud he was playing because he was “in the zone.”
Turn it up, man!
The Sound of Silence (Eater)
Miss Reading in Public? Bring the Sounds of the Library to Your Home (Electric Literature)
Waukesha blotter (Waukesha Freeman)
Backing Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon sounds like a pretty good idea
