European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 06, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Back Home time to lower the Boom on noise mobiles Vike Royko the cat heard it first the deep rum bling in the distance. Her Bac hunched then she dashed for safety under a the Roar was almost upon us. Causing the windows to vibrate. I yelled. Gorbachev tricked us. It s world War we peered through the blinds. It cruised slowly by. The newest plaything of society s walking talking brain dead. The Boom Box on wheels. From the outside it looked like just another car. But it was much More than that. Inside it was a monster stereo system capable of making As much noise As a Small War. I caught a glimpse of the occupants two Young men. Both looked like the product of cracked sperm cells and cockeyed Chromo Somes. Had 1 been Able to examine the inside of the vehicle. I would have found thousands of Dol Lars Worth of amplifiers speakers and other electronic devices. Some noise addicts spend $ 15,000 or More tearing out most of the Interior putting in Mas Sive woofers tweeters stuffing amplifiers in the trunk. A Man who Sells systems says some of those jobs can get up to 120 decibels which compares to an air plane at Takeoff. They re competing now. Audio companies sponsor sound offs or car wars i know one Guy who got so carried away he bought a Hearse and filled it with when played at even less than full blast the wham Bam can be heard several blocks away. They can shake houses and almost Wake the dead. The Force of the Bass is so powerful that when the car is standing still it sways and bounces in time to the beat. Of course this assault on the ears of the in Nocent is the goal of the bozos who cruise the streets in these noise mobiles. As the audio dealer said that s the whole idea to be heard three blocks away. It s like a Guy who drives a car with fire stripes on it. He wants to be seen. But with the sound Guys they want to be heard. It s a status is a status Symbol Worth destroying your ear Drums to some it the dealer said. But some of those Guys Wear earplugs. That Way. Everybody hears them but they protect their ears. As i said it s in other words they Are making a social statement of sorts. They re saying look at me. World. I m a rude insensitive As with most idiotic developments in our society the sound studios on wheels originated and became popular in California. Of Why did t Superman mind his own business and allow Lex Luthor to let the whole thing slide into the sea but to the credit of California it was the first state to pass a Law to punish those who punish the ears of others. Several states including Illi Nois Are now considering similar Laws. Most provide for fines for a first offence a bigger Fine for a second offence and so on. Unfortunately the Laws will probably have Little effect. The owner of a Nois Mobile was interviewed recently and he said he did t care if he was fined. He had invested $6,000 in his system tearing out most of the car s Interior so after that investment he was t going to worry about a Mere $200 Fine. However there Are appropriate punishments that might make a Decibel Freak think twice about sending Thunderclap of heavy Metal Rock into some sleeping Granny s bedroom. One possibility might be to confiscate the first offender s car and take it to a vacant lot and blow it to bits. For a second offence the offender could be taken to a vacant lot and blown to bits. But in All likelihood nothing will be done. And As they grow older the Nois Mobile crowd will become just As deaf As the Rock concert regulars and the other bedlam lovers of recent generations. And future history books will say the fall of the United states finally came in 2032. Little Albania the last of the communist nations invaded and took control without a shot being fired. Nobody heard them coming contents Center piece modern Day Armor maker Heinz Schneider creates suits fit for the medieval Man. John Millar profiles him in words and photos. Pages 6-7. L Back Home 2 noise mobiles and the Boom in obnoxious Ness stateside views 3 Light look at what s almost Nev s observations 4 plugging into the cd culture what do you do on leave trends 5ty Experiment lets viewer join the action ice Cream flavor of favor is. Books 8-9louis l amour s last hero James j. Kilpatrick Fields complaints science and the world. 10 whole new look at the universe at a glance Albania Odds & ends 11young generation not All Gimme miss manners and Horoscope last laugh 12 Dave Barry cartoons from around the world Louis l amour Well read and Well travelled. Page 8. Hubble Telescope could give look at the Distant past Page 10. Sundays a weekly supplement of the stars and stripes. Editor John Taylor designer Lisa Rivard Art director Sharon Kilday makeup editor Lisa Williams Page 2 sunday May 6,1990
