Prancing across thousands of square feet of plush, patterned carpet in the blinking, smoky casinos of Atlantic City this weekend, a few repeating patterns emerged from the glitz. Sure, there are a lot of couples in matching track suits, old women angrily focued on spinning digital screens while an inch-long stretch of ash droops precariously at the end of their burning cigarettes. I admit that I was almost wow-ed into buying a dress-length XXXL t-shirt proclaiming "Special Lady - Atlantic City, NJ" above a cartoon rose and 2 pockets hanging low around the thigh area (for cigarettes and poker chips?).
But beneath all the flash and faux Roman statues was a common audio element, haunting me throughout my day in Monopolyland. Ambient casino noises no longer include the sounds of thousands of nickels spilling into a stainless steel repository. No no no, "winning" only warrants a few blinking lights, a muted beeping noise, and a printout of your winnings next to a barcode on watermarked safety paper. Oh, the glamour.
The sounds of a modern casino are a bit like what you might imagine hearing on your approach to the pearly gates. A subtle, borderline choral "ahhhhhhh...." peppered with a few pleasant ringing bells and notes that mimic the plucking of a harp. Sure, I should have captured this moment in heavenly audio. But I didn't. And I don't have the patience to pick through google search results of "atlantic city" "casino" and "mp3."
Thankfully NASA has created a strikingly similar sound to the white noise of Atlantic City. Yeah, that NASA. Don't believe me? Take a listen to the bell-whistle sounds they matched to the Huygens probe's descent onto the surface of the Saturnian moon, Titan [download MP3]. The corresponding video of this little parachuted wonder dropping onto an alien surface is pretty amazing, as well [download video, 11 MB mov]. How did NASA manage to capture the sounds of a casino so accurately? Pure science.
"Sounds from a left speaker trace Huygens' motion, with tones changing with rotational speed and the tilt of the parachute. There also are clicks that clock the rotational counter, as well as sounds for the probe's heat shield hitting Titan's atmosphere, parachute deployments, heat shield release, jettison of the camera cover and touchdown.
Sounds from a right speaker go with the Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer activity. There's a continuous tone that represents the strength of Huygens' signal to Cassini. Then there are 13 different chimes - one for each of instrument's 13 different science parts - that keep time with flashing-white-dot exposure counters. During its descent, the Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer took 3,500 exposures."
(Read more about the Titan descent mission here)
Did the Atlantic City casino proprietors derive a parallel calculation for their very similar audio montage?
Oh, man, you totally should have bought that "Special Lady - New Jersey" t-shirt. It would be a great thing to wear at the record fair, a nice place to keep change and a sharpie, for instance. And then you could sleep in it. Oh well, maybe next year.
Computer print-outs?! I thought non-clickity-clanking slot levers was as sad as it could get, but that is just...it's just cold. Might as well head over to the ATM for that same "winning" feel.
Posted by: ResidentClinton | October 02, 2006 at 02:09 AM
Trust me, I was ready to drop $5.99 on that "Special Lady" shirt, if it weren't for the unsavory brown stain on the backside... ewww!
Posted by: Liz B. | October 02, 2006 at 11:01 AM
I was recently in Las Vegas for my first time, and when I first went into the Casino I thought for sure they were pumping in some ambient, Philip Glass-style music. It turned out to be the collective sounds of the Slot machines. It thought it was actually kind of pretty.
Posted by: Matt P | October 02, 2006 at 12:00 PM
That has got to be the cutest lunar landing I've ever heard.
The sounds are remiscent of my casino experiences in the Saratoga Racino, which not only has slots but, also has harness racing too.
Perhaps someday they will get off their bums and open up a Jai Lai arena.
Posted by: Trifocal | October 02, 2006 at 06:13 PM
I was in AC last month for the first time and I kept commenting on the ambient sound of the casino. I thought it sounded like some hypnotic "lifestyle" ne age electronica, with a smattering of harps and tribal hums, a la Master Musicians of Jojouka.
That whole town is a trip, man.
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