October 30, 2023
"Groups of young people cruise the streets of Porirua, New Zealand, in the dead of night, their cars and bicycles stacked with high-powered speakers..."
"... designed to emit the loudest, clearest sounds.
The groups, known as siren clubs, use late-night musical battles to express their identities and create community... A popular sound... is the voice of Celine Dion.... Siren clubs are made up mostly of young men, many of them in Porirua’s Pacific Islander community, known as Pasifika....They get together to modify cars and bicycles with public-address system speakers, which they call sirens. They spend hours wiring and soldering multiple sirens and amplifiers to car frames or onto bicycles.... Dion’s 'My Heart Will Go On' and 'The Power of Love' are siren club classics.... Residents calling in to report noise complaints often cannot home in on the source. And even when they can, the competitors have often taken off by the time police arrive...."
Porirua Mayor Anita Baker is quoted praising the Pasifika in the manner one expects from mayors: “They’re an awesome community. They love music, they love dance, they love church. They’re a really close-knit community … and that’s what we love about Porirua. We have such diversity here.”
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50 comments:
Not all cultures are equal. At least they aren't blasting rap.
I've always said that if we lose the Rule of Law in America, we are finished. Every day we lost a little bit more.
Check out the Daily Mail for what is going on in Dallas, Chicago and Miami. The criminal class from Venezuela have moved into the US.
I don't know if the US will ever recover from Joe Biden. The damage has been huge.
I suppose that a more honest mayor would say, "They could choose better music".
Solution is simple. Just jack the cars that are producing all the noise. They don't even need to be jacked: just paused in mid-cruise by a roving band with implements able to pull loose the carefully-soldered wires or tear out the cones of those ever-so-well-engineered speakers.
Apologies for introducing some degree of practical thinking into the void left by civic authorities too absorbed in their self-righteousness to do their, you know, job.
New Zealanders were disarmed several years ago to make way for barbarisms of this kind. Now the decent and hardworking are helpless victims of the most brazen and abusive elements of their society.
Diversity in color blocs.
I didn't expect Celine to be anyone's music choice for late night antics.
Christian McGyvers have a strong sense of community and aren't robbing the local pharmacy. This isn't one of the worst problems.
"Diversity is our strength."
"What? Can't hear you with the loud music."
"I said, diversity is our strength."
"What?"
"DIVERSITY. It's our STRENGTH."
"What's what?
"Never mind."
It is already "The Gangs of New York" in many places.
Let's differentiate between that and an activity similar to "American Graffiti". I certainly recall the adults being pissed off about the car traffic that existed for no purpose other than to cruise through a drive-up for a hot dog.
"Porirua Mayor Anita Baker is quoted praising the Pasifika in the manner one expects from mayors: “They’re an awesome community. They love music, they love dance, they love church. They’re a really close-knit community … and that’s what we love about Porirua. We have such diversity here.” "
She sounds so much like Satya Rhodes-Conway.
I don't hate Celine Dion's music, but I would probably prefer any Anita Baker or Carly Simon's "Torch" album.
If playing Celine is not a sarcastic reference to the Titanic movie, then it's a sarcastic reference to 'politely' breaking noise ordinances with loud cars. "No one can complain if we play Celine or elevator Muzak."
Young car guys routinely act like little boys, and are indeed little boys with big budgets. See any issue of Car & Driver magazine. See Cannonball Run. See Top Gear.
the kids around here put car stereos (and car batteries) into their buggies.
They like death metal.. Really loud. Until you seen a horse drawn buggy roll by (with teens with beards and straw hats); Blasting death metal.. You really haven't been in Amish country
Amazing how quickly a couple of flat tires would solve this problem.
Most of these responses sound like the frightened Lamentations of pathetic weak little men. Okay, Karen.
Tinder hardest hit.
Trouble in paradise, of which I am a (dual) citizen.
In my NZ town the problem was with "boy racers" or as the grownups called them, "Stupid young men in shitty old cars."
I'm calling out fauna appropriation.
Most of these responses sound like the frightened Lamentations of pathetic weak little men. Okay, Karen.
Remember that old social studies demo where the teacher swings his (in my class it was "his") fist back and forth, getting ever closer to a student's face, and then stops just short of the student's nose, to make the point that one person's right to swing his fist ends where another's nose begins?
Blasting music or other very loud noises (my son once lived in an apartment on a street where people started running those massive 3-wheeled motorcycle things in big groups late into the night) is not that different from hitting someone in the face. Sleep deprivation has a material effect on people's health, employment, and happiness.
There's a level of ambient noise that you expect when you choose a place to live - it may even be a factor in your choice. When that social contract, like others such as the ability to walk on your street at night, is broken, it is not being a "Karen" to object, ISTM.
Or is the noise what you're talking about? Am I missing something?
They're expressing their identities and creating a community of self absorbed A-holes who put their own self importance over people's need to sleep. (Which is a basic biological need.)
Celine Dion is a bridge too far.
Sinatra maybe...
"Not all cultures are equal."
Says it all...
Not all cultures are equal. At least they aren't blasting rap.
Yes. Loud music is preferable to loud music with a very thumpy (and usually distorted) bass.
Well, if the elected government won't do anything about it, the citizens can almost surely find these vehicles during the daytime while the owners are sleeping and set them afire. Why, one might even garner the respect of a toad like Howard.
I have long referred to the same type behaviot by the various subcultural ethnicities as urban assault music.And it is and has been used as a psywar weapon for decades.Think “Apocalypse Now” and Noriega in Panama.
Negroes misbehaving? Oh, I don't think that's very likely.
On the question why Celine Dion, the article says the siren clubs favor "strong voices with a high pitch." Also, “Any distortion or reverberation will make you lose” and Dion's recordings have "high treble" and and is "clear" with "bass.
So, it's a contest with rules and the loudspeakers have various limitations. It seems you can win with Dion.
Loudspeakers and music have been used as tools of Psywar for decades.Think “Apocalypse Now”.Think Noriega and the Vatican embassy. The various ethnicities have adopted the urban assault music ractics wholesale in many areas of this country.
This reminds me:
I've had loud music inflicted on me against my will by asshole drivers thousands of times in my life, but a week or so ago something happened that had never happened before: a car stopped at a stoplight played music I actually liked and was glad to hear, so much so that when I got home I got out the album and played it.
I'm sure you're all wondering what music it was. It was the first few bars (all instrumental) of Big Brother and the Holding Company, "I Need a Man to Love Me", from the album Cheap Thrills, the album that made Janis Joplin famous. The car was out of hearing before she started singing, but I didn't care, since I know the song well. I expect it will be another few decades before anything like that happens again: most rude drivers compound their sin by having no taste in music.
Then again, I've heard probably heard 500 or more street musicians playing music I had no choice about hearing as I passed, and twice they were playing exactly what I wanted to hear. Amazingly, both were in the last year. I've somehow forgotten what one of them was, but the other was a clarinet, dobro, and upright bass playing Hank Williams' Cold Cold Heart. Made my day, and I gave them a dollar. They were amused, and pleased, when I told them it was the first time I'd ever heard street musicians play something I wanted to hear.
The first rule of Siren Club is that no one can hear you talking about Siren Club.
There are sonic devices that target teenagers. The Japanese use these devices to disperse loitering teenagers.
Something like 6% of the young male population are career criminals. This remarkable statistic is true across all racial categories. We have to do something!
Suggested loudspeaker song would be 409 by Beach Boys. Chick songs are not good for the gang wars.
Oh. New Zeland!
That's not a real country.
loud music with a very thumpy (and usually distorted) bass
My objection, generically, is to that near-omnipresent slight lag between the beat and the rest of the music, especially the vocals, in the music I hear in clubs and such (where I inexplicably find myself at times). I don't get it. I am not utterly without rhythm, but I don't understand why you'd want to sing slightly behind the beat. I do recognize that this is my problem.
Also:
The first rule of Siren Club is that no one can hear you talking about Siren Club.
I love this blog.
During the Covid lockdowns, here in Manhattan there were large groups of young black men who would speed up the avenues at 50-60 mph on motorcycles at 2am, making a horrendous racket. The police evidently just looked the other way. Fortunately this activity seems to have abated, but not because anyone was punished for it.
Diversity = @ssholes with no respect for their neighbours (spelled that way deliberately).
"Dion's recordings have 'high treble'..."
You know it's all about the treble, about the treble, no bass.
This would bug me.
Porirua Mayor Anita Baker
Probably not the excellent singer Anita Baker.
Neighborhood should set up a big speaker and get ai to do a number's got Hendrix
playing the New Zealand anthem.
Howard - I need my sleep. Celine Dion stand between me and my sleep - she's going down.
Just wait til they discover Cher!
After watching this - I have a whole new respect for Celine Dion.
One of the hazards of election season in Puerto Rico is caravans. These are groups of hundreds of cars, driving slowly from one location to another, blocking lanes and shoulders so one can't pass.
They are an ENORMOUS pain in the ass.
They are usually accompanied by sound trucks. These are not the single speakers strapped on the top of a car. These are custom built 3/4 ton pickups and flatbeds with speaker systems suitable for a medium size arena.
https://youtu.be/MEPooootQuU?si=mAy1EHpGd_1abkv5 This is not eve a big one.
A good size caravan might have 6-8 of these trucks all playing campaign music and speeches LOUD. I mean REALLY, REALLY, LOUD!
It is bad enough being stuck in an artificial traffic jam. These trucks make it ten time worse.
John Henry
Park one of these things out front of Howie's place at 4 am. Let's see if he changes his tune.
"Solution is simple. Just jack the cars that are producing all the noise. They don't even need to be jacked: just paused in mid-cruise by a roving band with implements able to pull loose the carefully-soldered wires or tear out the cones of those ever-so-well-engineered speakers."
Islanders & Maoris are the friendliest, warmest people going. Until they're angry. You don't want to be around when they're angry. Don't make them angry. These people are built for physical confrontation.
Better head back to Waldo’s pond, where you were skimmed off the surface, Howee.
What?
Not Five Finger Death Punch?
I'm shocked!
I stand w Israel. etc, I just clicked on your link - that was fantastic. Thank you.
"All sane white people hate noise."
- Mark Twain
These Kiwis are pikers. In Trinidad, West Indies, Carnival is big business. The country's culture revolves around it, the annual 'Farewell to the Flesh' and the beginning of Lent. There, they use 18-wheelers to lug around the sound system, and I don't know how the revelers stand it, much less the DJs. And don't forget, it's an 18-wheeler for each Carnival band, and there are dozens of those, all marching in the streets. From across the bay to Port of Spain, I would hear the music downtown as if it was on the sound system in my apartment.
I used to 'jump up' to carnival with the traditional steel pan bands, but the Soca music they use nowadays in the modern bands is so loud you feel it in your chest from a block away. No kidding, I used to call it 'CPR music', because your whole chest cavity is vibrating. Ear plugs is just a line of defense, not ineffective, exactly, but not wholly protective either.
And it is for such social organizations that paintball guns were invented. Frozen paint balls work wonders on 3am music groups.
The article discusses an interesting and unique phenomenon happening in Porirua, New Zealand – the emergence of siren clubs, where groups of young people cruise the streets in the dead of night with their cars and bicycles equipped with high-powered speakers. These clubs use late-night musical battles as a means to express their identities and foster a sense of community.
It's fascinating to see how these siren clubs have found a way to connect and create a shared culture through their love for music, even though it may pose a challenge to some residents in terms of noise disturbance. The use of Celine Dion's songs, such as 'My Heart Will Go On' and 'The Power of Love,' as siren club classics adds a unique and somewhat unexpected twist to the story.
The fact that these clubs are predominantly composed of young men, many of whom belong to Porirua's Pacific Islander community (known as Pasifika), highlights the importance of such cultural outlets for the youth. While the noise complaints from residents are a concern, it's clear that these clubs play a role in providing a sense of belonging and self-expression for the participants.
The article brings up an intriguing blend of tradition, music, and community in an unconventional way. It would be interesting to see how the authorities and residents can strike a balance between preserving the peace and acknowledging the cultural significance of these siren clubs within Porirua's community.
[Link to the article: https://www.khbarnews.com/]
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