Chthonic's Vulgar Racket: The Helplessness of NTU Hospital Patients and Nurses

Late last year I drove all the way to National Taiwan University Hospital—a place that exists like the highest sacred hall of the Republic of China—to visit a relative who was hospitalized for treatment. While getting lost among the one-way streets in all directions of the city, I actually found a roadside parking space at the entrance of the NTU College of Medicine library, and couldn’t help recalling memories of frequently lingering there during my student days.

Just as I stepped out of the car, I heard a dull, war-drum-like bass coming from not far away, its slow beat seeming to pulse along with my heartbeat.

Looking around for the source of the irritating noise, I found that on Ketagalan Boulevard nearby—right in front of the Office of the President of the Republic of China—a political campaign rally seemed to be taking place. Gazing at the big screen in the distance, I saw images of Lin Chang-tso—apparently a singer from the band Chthonic—and the incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen on the screen.

For listeners who care about sound quality with their eyes closed, Chthonic’s singing voice is simply a horrible noise like someone dragging a broken violin string at an absurdly high pitch, and their explosive movements are not much different from the chaos of a cockroach after being flipped over.

Compared with someone getting their hand caught in a door and occupying medical resources—which at most takes up one room (do you think you can get a VIP room?)—nobody cares about the noise pollution from the loud campaign rally on Ketagalan Boulevard. Supporters can even be described as celebrating joyfully as if injected with chicken blood, which simply makes a bunch of question marks pop over one’s head 🤷🏻‍♂️.

During the hospital visit, besides the patient in the next bed also finding it noisy, later when I walked around the hospital chasing the long hair of the nurses (pervert), I kept hearing many registered nurses complaining: “They’re really too noisy.” Truly the most accurate comment of the day—let me give you a hug (Officer, this is the guy).

Another weekend visit a week later, this time it was Han Kuo-yu’s rally putting on a show. Although the streets were filled with crowds like scattered pearls, once you actually walked into the NTU Hospital building you could find that there wasn’t much extra noise to hear. Apart from an auntie nurse who, while helping change dressings, casually cursed Han Kuo-yu for showing the lower limit of his ability upon hearing the TV news, no one else was complaining about the noise.

Thinking it over carefully, I realized that the Chinese big drum used at Chthonic’s rally was the fundamental culprit, because low-frequency vibration has strong penetrating power and travel distance, which made everyone in the ward—patients and visitors alike—feel uncomfortable. Perhaps more sensitive patients even had their heartbeats affected.