WORLD SOUNDSCAPE PROJECT TAPE LIBRARY

VANCOUVER/BC COLLECTION

REEL 60

LOUGHEED / BRENTWOOD MALLS March 15, 1973

A

1. LOUGHEED MALL 16'40"

B

2. BRENTWOOD MALL 15'40"

 

REEL 60 COMMENTARY

General Remarks: Both takes are similar, with heavily reverberant, rumbling mall spaces and individual stores with various ambient qualities. As a recording the sequences are not particularly intelligible. The lo-fi soundscape of a mall has a tiring effect on the listener. This was recorded on a fairly quiet Thursday afternoon.

1. Starts outside, bad distortion on traffic noise.

1'15" toy section, music boxes.

1'35" p.a. message and moozak in background.

*2'00" recorded Barbie doll squawk.

2'45" music stops, hum appears ... caged bird flutters wings.

*4'00" moving into large space in mall, incredible increase in lo-fi (reverb, low frequencies, moozak, etc.).

5'00" Gordon Lightfoot audible from somewhere.

5'40" approaching fountain in mall.

7'15" heavy rumble.

*7'45" move into store, honky tonk moozak.

8'35" back into mall.

9'00" guitar music (over TV?).

10'30" heavy cart on tiled floor.

12'00" wrapping paper.

13'10" fountain again.

14'15" move away.

14'30" sudden quiet in Jordan's (jewellery?).

14'45" "Can I help you?" Long pause. "You have the quietest store in the mall," and small-talk on the sound environment of the store.

15'50" exit to mall.

2. Opens near supermarket restaurant.

1'00" main mall, heavy dose of moozak.

1'15" bamboo wood chime.

2'10" cash register and salesperson saying the amount out loud.

3'00" note the booming bass of the background music.

*4'00" poly-moozak (mall and record shop).

4'45" enter clothing shop ("may I help you, fellas?").

5'30" exit to mall.

5'45" intelligible voices.

6'55" enter store, confined space. Child's voice, playing with toys, moozak from mall in background.

7'35" loud music, male voice in main mall.

8'30" enter another space, music drops out quickly.

9'15" cash register.

*9'45" repeated ding, ding, ding of department store with phone in background.

10'15" sewing machine.

11'30" kids laughing

13'00" voices close-up.

13'50" budgie birds and child. Mother-child discussion.


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