Why are some cities using classical music to ward off hoodlums? “There’s something very poignant about the idea of classical music as bug spray, as pest control. This is one of those many stories about what happens to classical music after it’s ‘classical.’ Even as public understanding of the style has hit an all-time low, the music retains some residual prestige, whether it’s played to children in the womb or hoodlums in the park. They’re choosing it because the music is still in some ways exalted. It’s now ‘magical’: We’ll spray it around like some kind of incense.”