Subway attacks (on our ears)

I don’t imagine many of the pedestrians passing through Times Square are in need of further stimulation. Zen silence might be an unrealistic request in these environs, but there’s no excuse for piling on the aural chaos with highly amplified music in the Times Square subway station.

 

Why the city lets musicians assault innocent subway riders with loud music is beyond me. Note I am not complaining about the quality of the music, nor its genre, nor the performers themselves. I am complaining about the volume, which approaches ear-piercing.

Ear-piercing is a relative concept in the Times Square subway station, and so when one shudders at blasting music there, one is truly being blasted.  This may seem a subversive idea, but how about no music at all?

However. . . When one leaves the Times Square subway maze and enters the Port Authority Bus Terminal, guess what one hears?  String quartets softly played.  Suburban shopping malls have long used classical music to chill out rowdy visitors.  I suspect Port Authority is thinking along those lines.

The Times Square subway station could also use some calming influences. Don’t you think?