Grocery store playing loud classical music at night to deter illegal/dangerous activity

[CalicoSkies]

This is something going on in Portland, OR recently - A local grocery store in Portland has been playing loud classical music from parking lot speakers at night to deter dangerous & illegal activity:
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/lo...ints/283-5975abea-233d-4e7b-9c20-e334c793e5ed
I live in the Portland area, but I don't live near this store location. The music has supposedly been a noise disturbance, keeping nearby residents awake at night. The local police have received complaints but haven't done anything about it because it's low priority.

Keeping Portland weird, in a bad way..

For those unfamiliar, Fred Meyer is a local grocery/department store chain. They've been around for a long time, but were acquired by Kroger in 1998.

 

[Believer7713]

There is a convenience store across the street from the other shop that I work in at times. When the weather is nice they do the same thing but blast opera really loudly through a PA outside their building to run off the homeless people that will gather in groups to 20 to 30 and constantly harass the patrons for spare money. When they started playing the music the numbers dropped to 0-3. It doesn't matter what time of day it is either. 24 hours a day you can clearly hear opera being sang for about a 350 foot radius of the building.

 

[HazyPurple]

Vivaldi makes me wanna cry

 

[ukoldgit]

I liked the Vivaldi Spring section about 3 am this morning but the Beethoven marching composition around 4:30 did grate on the nerves a bit.

 

[Bob Spumoni]

I hate all "background music." If I can't actively listen to a piece ofmusic, why have it on? I don't find it "soothing": I find it distracting. Some people like to listen to music to go to sleep. I listen to books on tape or old documentaries. Maybe I'm weird.

Just checked with the wife. She confirms that, yes, I am weird.

 

[Bob Spumoni]

Vivaldi makes me wanna cry

View attachment 518778

Uh, why the pic of his sister?

 

[HazyPurple]

Uh, why the pic of his sister?

I think that's why he played sad violin, 'cos he wanted to be a girl lols

 

[HazyPurple]

I liked the Vivaldi Spring section about 3 am this morning but the Beethoven marching composition around 4:30 did grate on the nerves a bit.

A bit of 1812 always gives me positive vibes

 

[circles]

How come I never hear Beethovens' Ninth as musak?

 

[rolandson]

I'm treated at a medical clinic across the street from this store. This isn't about deterring activity, illegal or otherwise. It's intended to disturb the homeless who have turned the sidewalk on the west side into their home.

On any given day there are about 25-30 junked camper vans and cars fashioned into homes, lots of tents and box & tarp houses...and people, with no place to go.

This is the same chain that...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/q...ate-food-threw-it-into-a-dumpster/ar-BB1dLFHT

 

[rocknrollrich]

I have read about stores that play a very high pitched whining sound through outdoor speakers.
The pitch is in the 16k to 20k range.
It deters young kids from loitering outside the store (because they find the sound irritating), but doesn't bother the older people (because that range of their hearing is gone).

I've never heard of classical music being used in this way, but if it works...

Personally, I enjoy classical music quite a lot, so it wouldn't bother me much at all.

 

[ukoldgit]

From Wikipedia
Music can be used as a tool of psychological warfare. The term "music torture" is sometimes used to describe the practice.[citation needed] While it is acknowledged by United States interrogation experts to cause discomfort, it has also been characterized as having no "long-term effects".[1]

 

[CalicoSkies]

I have read about stores that play a very high pitched whining sound through outdoor speakers.
The pitch is in the 16k to 20k range.
It deters young kids from loitering outside the store (because they find the sound irritating), but doesn't bother the older people (because that range of their hearing is gone).

I've never heard of classical music being used in this way, but if it works...

Personally, I enjoy classical music quite a lot, so it wouldn't bother me much at all.

In this instance, it is apparently loud enough to keep residents awake at night. If something constantly disrupts peoples' ability to sleep, then it would be a problem.