Drive By Muzak

The sounds of cars and traffic, blasting stereos zooming by and a general hum of motors are as stereotypical of Southern California as bikinis and taco stands. For Drive By Muzak, I recorded the sounds of cars on some of San Diego's busier streets, including Highland Avenue in National City on Sunday evenings, La Jolla Village Drive, and Interstate-5 at various times of day and night. Like MuzakTM, Drive By Muzak is designed to accompany specific hours of the day, depending on the amount of consumer-traffic and general sound level of the food court on a typical weekday. Thus, between October 14-November 15, the sounds of San Diego were pumped from the streets, through the system and the ceilings, consumable by all who walk inside, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Depending on the hour of the day, one would hear the freeway rushing, trucks rumbling, motorcycles zooming by intermittently, or cars blasting music particular to San Diego's radio transmission area, including soft rock, Mexican polka music and Latino disco music.