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Getting There: Music composed for Metro light rail - really!
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While hearing the first notes of "March of the Metro," composed for the Phoenix Symphony, I realized there's so much left to be learned about light rail . . .
Wait, you mean you DON'T know about the Metro's official music? The one featuring, according to a reviewer, "glockenspiel, timpani, trumpet fanfare and comic glissandi woven throughout the piece?"
Let me take a step back, and explain what I meant by "so much left to be learned."
| East Valley road work update |
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| A. U.S. 60 between I-10 and Rural Road
Eastbound U.S. 60 narrowed to three lanes, eastbound Mill Avenue on-ramp closed until 5 a.m. Monday. B. Loop 101 at Loop 202Northbound Loop 101 narrowed to two lanes, northbound Rio Salado Parkway on-ramp closed until 3 p.m. today. C. Southern Avenue at Signal Butte RoadEastbound and westbound lane restrictions on Southern. D. Indian School Road between Pima Road and 81st StreetIndian School reopening to two through lanes in each direction this week. E. McDowell Road at 76th StreetMcDowell restricted to one lane with no left turns. F. McQueen Road between Queen Creek Road and Appleby RoadMcQueen closed through Dec. 5. G. Queen Creek Road between Crismon and Signal Butte roadsQueen Creek will remain closed through Monday. H. Ellsworth Road between Cloud and Chandler Heights roadsEllsworth traffic restrictions to change; left turns will be restricted. Got a commuting gripe? Call the Gripe Line, (480) 898-6411, or send your complaints, questions or comments about commuting to gettingthere@evtrib.com or by regular mail to Getting There, Tribune, P.O. Box 1547, Mesa, AZ 85211. |
Now, we know all the facts about Metro, such as the length of the line (20 miles), the number of stations (27), the cost ($1.4 billion) and all that.
But until light rail opens on Dec. 27, out there is plenty of stuff no one has anticipated - "unknown unknowns," to borrow a phrase from former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Some of these unknowns are unfortunate: What will be the most confusing and/or dangerous segments for pedestrians and motorists? (Let's take bets when the first brain-dead driver tries taking Metro's bridge over Tempe Town Lake!) What technical glitch will first surface? (I heard Washington, D.C.'s, Metrorail faltered in its 1976 debut because, whoops!, the designers of the cars forgot to take into account the weight of passengers.)
But some of these surprises could be cool. Perhaps Phoenix Greyhound Park will turn into a hipster hotspot. An as-yet-undiscovered gem of a restaurant may soon find itself swamped with commuters.
And, bringing me back to the start, might we see more goofy tributes to accompany an orchestral composition?
According to the symphony's Web site (www.phoenixsymphony.org/events/2008-09/metro.aspx), two longtime Valley residents and arts supporters decided Metro needed a musical celebration. They called the symphony, which then called a composer.
"March of the Metro" enjoyed its world premiere earlier this month, but you can hear a version online. (Be warned the music is in the notoriously thin-sounding MIDI format, which makes the cheesiest of electric keyboards sound like a pipe organ.)
It reminds me of something you'd hear while waiting in line at Disneyland. Maybe that's not bad - a ride is a ride, isn't it?
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