Balg Euns Song [Soundtour] -Time Square
I love to walk down Time Square watching all the buildings, lights, and theaters. I fill up great energy while I walk in this district. I thought Time Square might be a good place to experience a sound tour. I started from the Collins bar on 46th st and 8th ave. I followed the direction, and the sounds of the steps and surroundings of the narrator. I and the sound, the invisible tourist guide, Timothy “Speed” Levitch, inside of me, slowly started the journey. The good thing of this tour guide was that every time I miss a word, I could listen back and forth. There were moments that I was so deeply indulged in the sounds so that I started to get confused with the real sound out side. The recorded sound intruded my body. The ear is perhaps the most vulnerable sense between all other senses because it has no blocking system itself. In other words, ear has to be dependent on earplugs or hands instead of its own blocking system like closing eyes, closing mouth, stop breathing and so forth. Hearing was perhaps a good idea as a tool for tourism.
When I entered the Edison hotel, I felt like I somehow was flung into a real movie set. Everyone was busily moving, coming from the airport, like what Levitch said and I was passing through the extra part of people in a movie. He also asked me to smell the Edison hotel, step the feeling of Marriot hotel, using other senses than just watching and hearing. It was a wonderful feeling of all senses combining together and building up a memory of ambience.
Although I enjoyed the tour so much, I had some distracted moments. There were certain places that name have changed. For example Royale Theater has changed to Bernard B Jacobs Theater, Plymouth Theater has changed to Gerald Schoenfeld Theater. I also had a moment I hesitated whether I can go in or not. For example, Sardis, one of the best classical restaurant, and the last place Marriott Marquis ‘The View’ looked too much to go inside. So I went back down as soon as I reached the 48th floor. There were also moments that I got alienated from the sounds. The walking pace of MM was a little slow comparing from normal people in New York. Everything here in New York goes fast. Feeling the sound as too slow, I realized I already become used to the fast pace of New York. In addition, I wondered what is really special from this event from the traditional tour guides.
With all the interpretation with all sound effects all the places become very special to me. Especially, it became special not only because of the historical places as tourist attractions but the moments I shared and experienced with the invisible tour guide personally.