Weekend Reading: 10 Unusual Sound Stories - From Spy Games and Conspiracy Theories to Relaxing ASMR

We offer you to plunge into the world of "sound" secrets. There will be all kinds of conspiracy theories and other “harmful” stories for paranoiacs: tracking equipment, strange noises without an explainable source and anti-utopian music. In the second part of the digest, we will reassure the story of ASMR. 


^{Photo by Randy Laybourne / Unsplash}

What can happen in an inconspicuous minivan right under your window. If you do not suffer from paranoia, then this does not mean that you are not being watched. Just in case, look out the window, only carefully. How many minivans are there? In how many of them can “serious guys” sit and record a “podcast” with your participation? In this article, we tell who practices something like this: from TV detectors to search for people who pirate content, to attacks on telephone lines.

Everything you read will be used against you. We explain how rap music got into the courtroom. The music of the streets and the protest - biting social texts and punches, closeness to the people - all this has formed around the genre of flair combating injustice. But what if the text put on a bit becomes an aggravating circumstance? We analyze the most interesting cases: why it is impossible to mention the names of police officers in the tracks, and how gangsta rap affects the decisions of judges.

Earth rumble. We analyze conspiracy theories and possible explanations for the mysterious noise that some people have heard since the 19th century. The situation is somewhat reminiscent of stories of abductions of aliens: first, one person comes to the doctor complaining of a mysterious noise, and then dozens of people begin to deal with such a problem. Most are to get the attention of the press. But still, what kind of sounds are like a vice pressing on the psyche of some people? In Bristol at the end of the seventies, it was found out that the buzz, similar to the operation of a diesel engine, was not a figment of the imagination, but they could not determine its source, people still complain about it. A similar situation is observed in other places of the planet. Who's guilty? And what to do?


^{Photo by @chairulfajar_ / Unsplash}

How dystopia sounds. We discuss the music of "Big Brother" and those who sang about the conspiracy theory in the technogenic post-apocalypse. We write about how Radiohead described the consequences of uncontrolled consumption and the establishment of totalitarian control in their own manner; how Muse addresses the theme of digital tyranny, soulless things, and CIA experiments; and which of the Soviet performers noted on this topic in relatively open and veiled formulations.

Metal, Chinese pop and opera . Supplements on the topic of dystopia. We are talking about a Chinese boyband glorifying the local social system. loan, about an opera based on “The Handmaid's Tale” (about a future where women are deprived of all rights) and another production about the era of transhumanism in the XXIII century. Do not forget about progressive metal and the work of our compatriots.

So it was possible . Our review of unusual but effective ways to use audio technology. From the physical properties of sound to headphones with aromatic qualities that were invented to combat aerophobia. How to turn a regular “jack” into an oscilloscope, thermometer and even a small weather station? Was there a place for sound in medicine? We explain.


^{Photo by Charles Deluvio / Unsplash}

How to read sound from a packet of chips . We tell you what a “visual microphone” is and what technologies allow you to restore an audio track from a silent video sequence. In a nutshell, the video recorded using a high-speed camera can be analyzed for microscopic vibrations. We are talking about how technology is being developed, and where it is going.

Buyers, we heard you . Unusual audio technologies in retail are not only contactless payments or audio recommendations in stores. So, in order to effectively monitor the work of staff and study weaknesses in communicating with customers, Walmart put sensors at the cash desks that make sound. By the way, you can also pay for goods using sound. About all this - in the material.

When there is nothing to listen to . We are discussing the pros and cons of the quietest places on the planet. We often talk about noise pollution and its negative impact on the health of a geek. But is the complete absence of sounds useful? Have you heard of the "square inches of silence"? What will happen to a person in an anechoic chamber, where the background noise is even quieter than the ticking of a clock?


^{Photos Max Nelson/ Unsplash}

Massage for your brain. Millions of people enjoy certain sounds. If you figure it out, choose a theme and take a good microphone, you get ASMR. Reception is used in the production of entertainment content, the gaming industry and marketing. It competes well with the sounds of nature or white noise. In addition to choosing certain types of sounds in ASMR videos, emphasis is placed on trusting and intimate intonations. The article tells about the history of the phenomenon and what scientists think about it, and give examples.

---

PS Until March 31, inclusive, Audiomania holds a special campaign - the price of a number of goods available in the company's own warehouses will not increase.

We are always happy to provide you with various delivery methods and remote consultations with our specialists via chat, email or phone.

---