Cool Audio Thing of the Week: A Live Police Scanner… With A Beat

Cool Audio Thing of the Week is a series where we highlight one quirky, compelling, whoa-I-didn’t-know-that-existed piece of audio that’s definitely worth listening to. This week, it’s SomaFM’s 10–33.

Remember how weird it was a few years ago when Skrillex became a household name? But now, electronic music is everywhere! From taking over top 40 to becoming a staple in major festival lineups, the whole world is bopping to Calvin Harris, Odesza and Galantis, and now, a form of electronic beat has even come to our police scanners.

SomaFM, an independent group of internet-only radio stations, has merged an ambient music channel with a live feed of San Francisco’s police scanner, the result of which they stream as SF 10–33. Listening to it is, paradoxically, as soothing as it’s anxiety-inducing.

In my first five minutes of listening, I started zoning out to a chill instrumental vibe, but then suddenly learned what an 8–11 means(“person with weapon”). Against the backdrop of a beat, the police situation felt dramatized even more, like a soothing yet eerie episode of “Cops.”

Have a listen to SomaFM’s feed above, and compare it with the original SF police scanner below. You’ll quickly learn why movies rely so heavily on background music for dramatic effect.

P.S. SomaFM relies on your donations to remain independent. Go here to support them!

— Cory Zechmann, Editorial Coordinator