Bus no. 219 Lessebo–Skruv on 3rd Monday 15:00

Text: Heikki Uimonen

A connecting bus from Lessebo station to Skruv allures to participatory observation.  Chattering schoolchildren had found their seats in the back of the bus, as usual. A young classmate was listening to music on his smartphone speaker.

The announcement “Nästä Linnerydsvägen” (Next stop Linnerydsvägen) was drowned out by the humming of the ventilation system, the noise of the wheels and engine and the squeaking and clanking of the glass and metal interior of the bus. A relatively loud stop signal finally announced the next stop, Mejerigatan.

Listen to the sound clip from the bus: bit.ly/Someco-sound-skruv-001

So, having literally just crossed the Skruv border, we already had ticked at least some of the boxes on our to-do list in terms of media use, communication and soundscape. The Anthropocene age and its legacy was made present by the bus’s information screen, which provided news, including an image of the seemingly ubiquitous face and actions of the re-elected POTUS.

On our way to the local pizzeria in the evening, Kaj demonstrated the new addition to the local soundscape at the same bus stop where we got off: on a quiet street you can hear the announcements very clearly. We could not decide if it was AI or not. Have a listen!