“Antlers are so hot right now”
Oh the things New York cab drivers overhear:
His career as a New York City taxi driver began with a graveyard shift, a creative itch, and a brazen interpretation of privacy laws.
It compelled him, most recently, to cruise between art shows along Manhattan’s West Side, hoping to impress upon the city’s cultural elite that with the right soundtrack, even a yellow cab could be transformed into a gallery space
And in between, Daniel J. Wilson — an artist, a documentary filmmaker and, since 2011, a licensed cabby from Bushwick, Brooklyn — secretly recorded the conversations of his passengers, assembled the highlights into an audio collage of the back-seat musings and installed the final product in his taxi, playing the clips for his riders, who listened anxiously for familiar voices. ...
Wilson’s 37-minute piece, called “9Y40,” after the medallion number of the taxi he used during the recordings, draws on a four-week period spent driving on the 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. shift. It includes an observation on fashion trends (“antlers are so hot right now”), introspection from a bachelor (“I am extremely datable and extremely interesting, but I wouldn’t actually date myself”) and a woman’s insistence that her sister is too well-liked.
“Kelly’s not miserable and alone,” the woman said, slurring slightly. “She has a wonderful husband; she has friends. That’s what’s sick.”
