Welcome back to Crosstalk Podcast.

I'm Tomaya.

Hi, I'm Andrea.

What is the loudest sound you heard this week?

This week, Yep, the loudest.

Probably just a few minutes ago, actually.

I went outside and there was an election car going by.

Oh, was it quite loud.

Was it near here?

Yeah, it was literally right here.

Oh my God, I did not hear it.

No, it was really loud.

So an election campaign truck?

Yeah.

It's going around here.

Yeah.

And then if you heard a loud sound from a background, it's our special guest speaker today.

Yeah.

Which is, well, not a speaker, but it's our special guest.

Yeah, actually there were a couple of cars outside doing election campaigning.

OK, yes, yes, I heard.

So Japan, the election season started and a candidate used to get this campaign trucks with loud speakers, yes.

So they drive around neighbors and repeat candidate's name.

Right.

They just, they have a kind of a loudspeaker attached to I guess the top of the car.

I, I haven't seen trucks.

I've only seen cars like station wagons, yes, and there'll be maybe two or three cars in a row and they'll drive around literally waving at people and shouting the candidate's name and giving a short message like why you should vote for them.

Right, right.

So what do you think about this loud election campaign in public?

We don't have this kind of style of campaign in America, and I can probably speak for most foreigners in Japan, everyone hates this.

Everyone hates it.

Everyone hates this.

No one.

I've never talked to anyone who thinks it's interesting or nice or you know, anything.

Everyone dislikes it very much.

Yes.

Because it's noisy and it disturbs work and it disturbs sleep.

Pretty much, yeah.

And I I understand the purpose, the meaning of this, you know, campaign trucks, but the volume is too.

Loud.

Yeah, it is too loud, and I always think there should be.

I'm sure there are regulations for how loud things can be, like when you're announcing on loud speakers, but it seems like that would be too loud.

I think so.

I don't know what's the regulation, but it seems like regular rule doesn't apply to this, you know, campaign.

I guess I don't know.

I wonder Or they just keep it like very just barely under the maximum limit.

Maybe.

Yeah, yeah.

Sometimes it feels like it's the construct construction site.

Yeah.

The only thing is, like with construction sites, if it's in front of your house or in front of your business, it's all day long, right?

This is just a few minutes a day.

So the election cards are annoying, but they go on, you know?

But construction is like a long time, right?

Usually yes.

But to me, this Japanese unique style of election, campaign and campaign car feels like old fashioned.

What do you think it?

Does, because nowadays, you know, everything is online.

But this is one thing that has not moved online.

It's still very much like in real life, yeah.

It stays on the same, yeah.

And yeah, I'd prefer reading candidates message online.

Yeah, yeah.

That's much more efficient, I guess.

Right.

But who read candidates message?

Probably no one.

I wonder.

Yeah.

Like on, for example, in America, the person would have a website first of all that tells what their policies are, what they believe in or what they stand for.

And then they do go around, but they don't yell.

They knock on doors and they shake your hand and they'll talk to you or they'll do and or they'll do like public speeches in like shopping centers or on, you know, on street corner, not on street corners, but like in public places.

So people who are interested could come and hear the person speak and ask questions.

But mostly it's going around handing out pamphlets.

OK, Yeah, it's not not too noisy.

Yeah.

I like it.

Yeah, it's much easier.

Yeah.

So we are going to talk about noise today, OK.

But it's not only about election involved.

Right.

So it's something more casual and light.

OK.

Other kinds of noise, yes.

OK, my second question today is, OK, what's the most annoying sound in your daily life?

Oh, I haven't thought about that.

To me, yeah, Phone notifications.

Oh really?

You know, doesn't bother me so much.

It does, so I turn off all of this notification alert OK.

I do too, and that's why it doesn't bother me so much, right?

And I also there this has a demerit.

I can't notice friends messages.

OK, yeah you have to make a effort to look and see if anyone sent a message.

I think for me the most annoying sound would be the TV when when I'm not watching it when I'm not specifically watching a program.

Like if it's my husband often has it on for like BGM background noise.

I don't like that because no one's watching it.

It's just making noise.

OK.

Yeah, and it's usually very loud because he's an older man and he's kind of hard of hearing so.

Oh my God.

It's it's a bit.

It's a bit noisy.

Yeah, it's noisy and it makes me feel anxious, like I feel panic, like panic attack actually.

Oh, and you cannot concentrate.

No, I can't concentrate because the TV is really loud and then usually he's talking to me and then the dogs barking or you know, this lots of noise going on at the same time.

So I feel really like panic stricken sometimes.

OK, it's a.

Real problem, yeah.

The TV noise for example, white noise like a storm.

I don't know what it's called in English, but anyway the white noise can be relaxing tone I think.

You know, yeah, I think so.

I've never, I've never had TV be white noise.

So it's usually people's voices or loud music or CM, you know, commercials.

It's just, it's too much.

Yeah.

Yeah, usually.

So I have another question.

What sounds What sounds make you feel calm?

Oh, this is easy rain.

Rain, yeah.

At night, not in the winter because it's just cold, but like in the summer, the spring, you get ready to go to sleep and you're like, oh, it's raining outside.

I feel like I could sleep really deeply if it's raining outside.

OK, that makes sense, but to me, ocean waves.

OK, no, that's a nice sound.

Anytime I hear, you know this ocean wave sounds, I feel calm and I'm relaxed.

No, that's a relaxing sound.

Yes.

Also for me, the sound of birds, birds chirping.

Oh, OK.

Not, not Al Sagi, because they sound like dinosaurs, but like a nice little season.

Man, that's a nice, that's a nice sound.

Is it OK?

I never thought about it, but I guess it is.

For some people, bird sounds are cute.

I don't know if this microphone catches this noise, but we've heard bus brake noise.

Yeah, just now.

Just now anyway, so if noise is call me thing, here's a question.

Where do you think is the loudest state in the?

US in the US, OK, I'm going to guess New York, actually.

New York.

Yeah, because all, all of the all of the images and videos I see like on Instagram of New York are usually people playing music outside or rapping or dancing.

It looks like a very noisy city.

Yeah.

Lots of St.

performers, trains, buses, there's airplanes going overhead.

It seems like it'd be very noisy.

I would guess that same and then I've actually I found a map that ranks U.S.

states by a noise score.

Oh, interested.

And the loudest state is New Jersey.

New Jersey, yes, OK, The people in New Jersey are loud.

The people are loud.

Sorry New Jersey friends, but it's true.

You know it's true, but the state is it, Yeah.

Why so?

According to their article, there's so much traffic, freights, overhead, public transport, night flight and construction.

Oh, OK.

I don't I don't know if this is true but the website I checked was saying this is the this is the reasons OK.

Well, I don't know much about New Jersey.

I've never been there and honestly, I don't plan to go there ever.

So I don't know.

It's just not one of those places that is like I want to go to New Jersey.

So yeah, I'm not interested in it.

But yeah, it is like a busy, like they have big cities and it is very densely populated because it's on the East Coast coast, kind of up by New York.

It's very close to New York.

OK, so this is a big city I guess.

Yeah, they have big cities here, OK.

This leads to the next question.

Where do you think the quietest state?

Quietest state?

I'm going to guess Arkansas because it is a very rural place.

Not a lot of people live there.

There are some big cities, but not many, and it's kind of like a wilderness area, OK.

So the answer.

Is Arkansas Alaska?

Oh, no.

OK, That makes sense.

Actually, that makes sense.

Yeah.

Yeah.

OK, that totally makes sense because Alaska is also very unpopulated, right?

They don't have a lot of people living there.

Yes.

And there's a lot of nature there.

My image of this Alaska is very cold place.

Yeah, in the winter it's super, super, super cold.

And there's no public transportation, I think.

No, there's not much anywhere in America, but especially in Alaska, Yeah.

So no bass, no taxis.

I don't.

No, I've never.

I mean, I've been to Alaska, but just at the airport.

They do have airports.

I think in the cities they probably have buses, but between the cities, probably not.

But that's standard for America.

OK, but here's another question.

Do you think quiet always mean better?

For me, yes, definitely.

But for everyone else, it depends on you, I guess.

Yeah.

So yeah, for me, quiet is definitely better.

I'm I talk a lot on my job, but when I'm at home I like to be quiet and I don't like to talk to people.

Yes, I guess so.

I Yep, maybe for you quiet it's better.

How about for you?

What do you think for you personally for?

Me personally, I think quiet it's better.

The reason is simply I'm I'm the quiet person.

I think so.

Well, I'm just yeah, I say that because like when we're together, when you talk a lot, you talk to me a lot, but like, you talk to our guests and our customers, but you're not like super, super talkative.

I'll go in and you don't have a loud voice.

Like I can have a loud voice because I teach, I have to, but you don't have a loud voice.

You seem quiet to me, but for.

Some people quiet, feel lonely, boring.

Yeah, I can see.

That I can totally understand that, yes.

If you're a social person by nature and you're not able to be social, I think it could be lonely, yes.

For example, when I'm somewhere really quiet, like a museum library.

Yeah.

I.

Sometimes feel like I want to shout.

Because the.

Library would have a good acoustics.

Right.

Probably for.

For example, singing probably.

Yeah, probably, yeah, But you.

Know I've never, I have never done that, but I've just always imagined this in a quiet place.

That's actually true.

Like when you go to big museums, they're always very quiet, right?

Right, I'm just.

Thinking like the big museum in my hometown, it's super quiet and it's nice, but it does.

I understand like there is a little bit of a like a pressure to be.

It's as quiet as possible, like don't make any foot noise and don't breathe kind of it's like a bit too much, a bit too heavy.

Yeah, yeah, there's there's some pressure there.

I don't.

Know much about library in US or super?

Quiet.

Oh yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

But what do you think about libraries in Japan?

Do you think these libraries are quieter?

I think.

The libraries in Japan are pretty quiet.

The staff are very quiet.

Like they won't even talk to you on the desk.

Oh.

Right.

Yes.

They're super quiet, yes.

Oh, by the way, I hear an election card in the background.

I don't think it'll pick up on the microphone, but yeah, they're going around today, yes.

This is because.

Japan's having their election next week, right?

Oh, is.

It next week?

I think so.

Oh my.

God, I need to think about who I need to board.

Yeah.

Please do.

Yeah, anyway.

We had a Yeah talk.

About libraries, yeah.

Here's a special guest.

As I told you before, we got a election campaign card.

Yeah, this is the.

3rd 1 today.

All right.

That's it for today.

Thanks for hanging out with us.

All right, we'd.

Like to hear from you guys what is the most annoying noise in your life right now?

And also what is the best noise in your life right now?

Send us your answers on Instagram, Spotify or YouTube.

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OK, this is Crosstalk signing off bringing you English your way every week.

Keep.

Listening and keep shining bye.