Liner Notes

Soundscape #89: A Commuter’s Guide to Life in The Fast Lane

In view of escalating costs, most city dwellers would utilise public transport at some point, if not every day. Trains are usually the backbone of the transport system in any city. They are (usually) fast, clean, efficient and relatively cheap, in Singapore at least. The MRT is usually the transport of (no) choice for most people. As most city dwellers know, there is much to learn about a country’s people just by observing them in the train. It’s amazing how everyone’s in their own little world while getting squashed like sardines.

gnackgnackgnack. sleep tube work tube sleep tube work, May 2007.

Well, you get all sorts of people, really. You’d get a pretty good cross section of the country’s social structures/stratas just by observing people in the train. In every train you’d get, more likely than not, the following:

1. the pole wrappers
they have a way of taking up the entire pole so that noone else can hold on to it. Pretty flexible, these guys.
2. the newspaper readers
i know the news is important but can you not shove that in my face/hair/back please?
3. the less annoying book readers
they usually read shit like the Shopoholics series but hey at least they are reading, no?
4. the people who talk loudly on their phones because they can’t hear themselves (the other party is probably hearing them fine) i really don’t need to know what you’ve been up to last night, you fucking shit
5. the smelly people whose clothes have not been washed/dried properly
there’s probably nothing but sun in Singapore and you can’t even dry your clothes properly? If the smell somehow gets on to my clothes, I’ll kill you!
6. the students who talk really loudly and take up a lot of space
kids!
7. the cluster fuckers
come the fuck on already, bastards!

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Playlist:
1. (0:00) Belle & Sebastian - Another Sunny Day (The Life Pursuit)
2. (4:02) Camera Obscura- I Need All The Friends I Can Get (Let’s Get Out Of The Country)
3. (7:21) The National - Mistaken For Strangers (Boxer)
4. (10:53) Lucky Soul - Add Your Light To Mine, Baby (The Great Unwanted)
5. (13:20) Ash - A Life Less Ordinary (A Life Less Ordinary OST)
6. (17:42) The White Stripes - You’re Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl) (De Stijl)
7. (19:32) Tegan & Sara - Take Me Anywhere (So Jealous)
8. (22:02) Teenage Fanclub - Take The Long Way Around (Songs From Northern Britain)
9. (25:29) Badly Drawn Boy- A Journey From A To B (Born In The UK)
10. (29:14) The Delgados - Make Your Move (The Great Eastern)
11. (32:27) The Go! Team - Everyone’s A VIP To Someone (Thunder, Lightning, Strike)