Straphanger (H201E)

A claustrophobic, fast bus ride through the hills of San Francisco. Please hold on.

SFMTA/MUNI riders beware! Field recording samples are from the #24. (An electric overhead-line powered bus)

Listening to this while on MUNI is... inadvisable.

(Get Flash to see the track player.)
posted by loquacious (9 comments total)

Back door!
posted by Pronoiac at 8:58 AM on August 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

Needs more doorbell. Seriously, this is a bit too similar to a bus ride, chuga-chugging along as it does for five minutes. And we only went one block!
posted by AppleSeed at 4:18 AM on August 20, 2008

Hey, it's 17.6 MB - isn't there a file size limit? Loquacious indeed!

On the positive side, I like the samples, and the way it shows a tune where we normally wouldn't notice it. Definitely one to play in the car.
posted by AppleSeed at 4:22 AM on August 20, 2008

Dig it.

* drums on desk compulsively *
posted by everichon at 8:48 AM on August 20, 2008

Also: breaks + public transit > chocolate + peanut butter.
posted by everichon at 8:50 AM on August 20, 2008

This is solid.
posted by Bahro at 8:27 PM on August 22, 2008

I was expecting the tempo to be much faster, based on your description. But I think you did an excellent job of integrating the samples into the composition.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:17 AM on August 23, 2008

Yeah, I've been thinking of increasing the tempo to... maybe 170ish (it's 154 now), but that'll probably also take a complete rework of the send-return effects network (so it still integrates with the tempo and levels), and while I like the minimal drums-and-samples feel, it really needs a synth/melody track and more bass. The "whomp-whomp" sample acting as the bassline is actually a sample of brake noises from the bus.

Thanks for the feedback and kind words, everyone! And I'm totally open to severely critical comments that might help me make it a better track. I have a hard time listening to it objectively after hearing it 500 times while I'm working on it.
posted by loquacious at 10:02 AM on August 23, 2008

Nice. Secretariat actually had the idea a while back of doing a whole album timed and thematically tied to a ride on the MAX—like, from downtown out to the airport on the red line. This was a good reminder of that.

Listening to this while on MUNI is... inadvisable.

One of the things I loved about Pink Floyd, when I fell in love with the band in high school, was the sonic paranoia that came with the experience. Trying to decide if that was a real-world sound or an effect I just hadn't noticed on previous listens, etc.
posted by cortex at 1:15 PM on August 28, 2008