On Demand
Music for Airports
Cities like Los Angeles and Huntsville, Ala., have commissioned theme songs for their airport. In other terminals around the country, you can watch live music or listen to local artists. Today we look at how officials are using music at airports. Joining us are Harriet Baskas, a journalist who writes the "At the Airport" column for USA Today; Nancy Coplin, a music programmer for Austin-Bergstrom International airport; and Bart Davenport, a singer-songwriter who is performing at San Francisco International’s "You are Hear" series.
Harriet Baskas's "Stuck at the Airport" blog
Live Music at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
Bart Davenport's Myspace page
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NOOOOOO! what if we're stuck AND listening to music we don't like? Sounds like a nightmare.
this is a horrible idea.
1. Why would you introduce an unnecessary group of people into a high security area? This is irresponsible. The focus should be 110% focused on security and this jeopardizes that.
2. This is one more piece of stimulus that is unnecessary in an environment that is already overloaded.
3. How can you hear important messages over the intercomm?
4. This is just another extension to market and sell stuff.
I'm staying home.
That "Chasing 'Round the House" song makes the point that you might want to tear your hair out. NOT my kind of music!!!!
The idea of being sleep deprived and exhausted and being in an airport, forced to listen to live music which is probably not to your taste is an idea too horrifying to imagine. I travel regularly to Asia, and arriving to airports after a 12 hour flight only to transit to another leg, and being in the proximity of a live band during the transit would make me nuts. Total and complete silence would be the unattainable ideal.
Went to school in Pittsburgh and the Airport there always played recordings from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. It was always one of my favorite airports to travel to/from because of the music. It really did make for a relaxing experience...The lack of crowds didn't hurt either.
no, no, no, PLEASE!
it's bad enough that we are inundated at every turn with noise we cannot escape, let's not add to the cacophony.
most folks are plugged in nonstop anyway. if someone one can't do without Freddy Powers--or any other musician--at the airport, the i-Pod will do quite well.
leave the rest of us free to try and puzzle out the garbled airport announcements for missing passengers, gate changes, etc.
Why would you turn a poor hapless traveler into a captive audience for someone else's musical taste. I like country, you like classical, we both hate Christmas carols, and so it goes. Just another good reason to stay home if you can. S.
I would, frankly, prefer Muzak. Unobtrusive, but fills the air. Not what I would listen to, but unoffensive.
It is very disappointing to see the overwhelming negative response so poorly represented on-air.
I just shut off the stream...
As the musician stated, you can always walk away. I'll take live music over the endless drone of personal cell phone conversations that is the current unfortunate soundtrack of a day at the airport.
Great piece. But they should have ended it with Airport, by The Motors. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXJZQ2TpZSI
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