Sounds of the town

BOULDER - In every community, there are certain things that sound like home. 

For me, that’s the burble of Boulder Creek. It’s the drone of traffic on Foothills Parkway and U.S. 36 I can hear through my open windows in the summer, and the blast of a train horn as it rolls through town.

Those are sounds that might be evocative of almost anywhere—or at least anywhere with running water and a train track. When I think of a sound unique to Boulder, which is where I live, what comes to mind is the buskers on Pearl Street Mall.

There’s the Zip Code Man, numerically traversing America as he stands tourists inside a country outlined in white plastic on the ground. Jugglers singing the praises of the assistants they’ve handpicked from the crowds: usually small children who stand stoically by as he tosses knives and pins into the air above their heads. And although he’s no longer with us,

I can still hear the voice of beloved contortionist Ibash-I begging passersby to watch as he stuffs himself in his trademark plexiglass cube.

These are sounds that instantly transport me to a certain time, a certain place. They evoke specific feelings: those of amusement, wonder, connection to my fellow human beings, love for humanity.

Signifying sounds can change over time. In Nederland, following the devastation of the Lakeview Fire, the sounds of heavy trucks and beeping machinery have become the soundtrack to daily life

“Right now the sound of Nederland is the sound of tearing things down and building new things,” said Barbara Hardt, managing editor of The Mountain-Ear and co-owner of Brightwood Music, one of the businesses burned to the ground in early October.

Others are more constant. In the sparsely populated hills of Gilpin County, wildlife chatter fills the air, as it likely has for thousands of years.

“It’s kind of like a smirky sound, that sounds a bit guttural," reporter Mindy Leary said, describing the chuffing of her neighborhood moose. “It just embodies the wild nature of Gilpin County.”

The Mountain-Ear wants to know: What does home sound like to you? 

We are accepting submissions for Sounds of the Town, a new podcast series that seeks to highlight the sonic signatures of our area: from Allenspark to Idaho Springs, and all the canyons and communities in between.

Tell us what the sound is, where you hear it and what it means to you. We’ll gather the best ideas from each town, then send our audio experts out to record them. 

A different town and sound will be featured each week on The Mountain-Ear podcast. Tune in every Thursday to hear the latest.

When we’ve got the entire Peak to Peak, Gilpin and Boulder County and beyond covered, we’ll pull them all together into a story for readers in the regular, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.

No idea is wrong. If you hear it and it evokes home, we want to know about it.

I know for me, this project encouraged me to think about where I live in a new way. The hallmarks of this part of Colorado are mostly visual: the mountains, the wide, blue sky, the wildlife. Or they are tactile: The rush of wind, the searing sun. 

I’ve never before stopped to think about what my town sounds like. But now I find myself pausing to listen to what’s around me. It’s gotten me to experience my home in a whole new way—while also slowing me down. 

I would say it’s added more silence to my life, but the truth is, even the quiet moments are bursting with noises, both subtle and obvious. Whether or not you submit something to our project, I encourage you to start listening to the world around you.

Listen to the first Sounds of the Town, debuting next week, at themtnear.com/podcast. Submit your sound ideas via email to tyler@themountainear.com.