Comments on: Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth

oh pollo! — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 07:42:47 -0800

Sonic Youth. Mentioned as far back as Bible when the walls of Jericho are brought down by trumpets, sonic weapons have often been the stuff of legend. Now a UK company is selling a sonic device targeted specifically against gangs of youths.

By: Chunder

Chunder — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 07:57:17 -0800

It's actually just an amplifier linked to Pink Floyd's "The Wall" - it bawls out "Yes you! Stand still laddie!" in a broad Scots accent...

By: psmealey

psmealey — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 07:58:20 -0800

Many older customers cannot hear it - but teenagers, who previously congregated in the evenings - have complained to Mr Gough about the noise. One of the shopping centers near my home manages to achieve a similar result -- discouraging youths from loitering in front of its stores -- by broadcasting Musak versions of awful 70s easy listening tunes ("baby, i'm a want you") over the PA system. Reminds me of the old joke: "The American space program spend $20MM researching and developing a writing implement that would work in low pressure, zero gravity environments. The Soviets used a pencil."

By: SweetJesus

SweetJesus — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 08:01:13 -0800

I'd rather have one of these...

By: Plutor

Plutor — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 08:06:22 -0800

Chunder: "It's actually just an amplifier linked to Pink Floyd's "The Wall" - it bawls out "Yes you! Stand still laddie!" in a broad Scots accent..." Well, that's a totally different story. Does Amazon carry them? Do they vibrate? I had to read the FPP twice before I realized the poster wasn't suggesting that Sonic Youth was in the bible.

By: CynicalKnight

CynicalKnight — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 08:10:59 -0800

Complex High Frequency Sound To Chase Away Those Annoying Teenagers!!! ..and keep your shop noticeably uncontaminated with customers, too?

By: TwelveTwo

TwelveTwo — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 08:17:51 -0800

One more post about sound and somebody can go and snark about "SoundFilter."

By: chrismear

chrismear — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 08:20:18 -0800

I thought the accepted way to drive away annoying teenagers was to play classical music at them.

By: chrismear

chrismear — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 08:21:26 -0800

Or what psmealey said.

By: blendor

blendor — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 08:41:45 -0800

Ha, that pic of Beethoven in chrismear's article makes him look like a real curmudgeon - "Away with you, yobs! I'm composing!"

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 08:51:50 -0800

If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you have any pudding, if you don't eat your meat?

By: Baby_Balrog

Baby_Balrog — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 08:53:51 -0800

When old people attack!

By: slatternus

slatternus — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 09:42:19 -0800

Awesome! Why address the social, economic and cultural problems that cause people to riot when you can just attack the people! It's brilliant!

By: geoff.

geoff. — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 10:17:36 -0800

The Country Club Plaza, the distinction of being the oldest suburban mall in the US, has a great parking lot system that integrates itself into the architecture. A while back they had a problem with kids not having anything to do after 9PM as the bars stayed open in the Plaza and nearby Westport. They'd hang around be-bopping and such in the parking garages. So they start pumping out Sinatra at night. It worked well until the kids just broke the speaker system. That cage looks full-proof but you'd be amazed at the ingenuity of bored youth.

By: kosem

kosem — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 10:28:36 -0800

It emits a piercing, high frequency sound that is audible only, in 90 per cent of cases, to people under the age of 20. New rite of passage for loitering gang youths: be there when the sound cuts off on your 20th birthday.

By: pfafflin

pfafflin — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 13:34:14 -0800

Did Jim O'Rourke produce?

By: martinX's bellbottoms

martinX's bellbottoms — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 14:18:31 -0800

I had a physics teacher who did that during class to get us to settle down. Not everyone in the class could hear it. I blame headphones.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 14:42:00 -0800

Mr Gough says gangs of around half a dozen up to 30 people have been hanging around the shop. "They usually move on if I ask them but the problem has always existed," said Mr Gough, who has run the shop for 15 years. " So what was the "problem" again?