Why is There Always Music?
Quicky:
What makes people think that whereever there is a large gathering of people, there has to be music. I’m not talking about live music, I’m talking about a CD player, or worse yet, a radio?
There was music playing
- when I was on the houseboat on a beautiful summer day (lets drown out the slap of the water against the hull)
- at a restaurant where the clatter and chatter was loud (let’s eat there, I like the radio station they play)
- at a yard sale (I’m so bored I want to listen to my CD’s)
- at a gigantic warehouse sale (these hundreds of people will buy more if we play music)
I’m not talking about Muzak, which is the psychological attack on your credit card
Are people really that afraid of listening to the natural, or even unnatural, sounds around them?
A rant if you will…. (Not entirely on-topic, but just let me vent)
Whatever happened to the good ol’ days of shopping to a quiet, almost imperceptible The Girl from Ipanema played on Zamfir’s pan flute? I mean, I grew up in the days where the red light specials at Wal*Mart would interrupt a totally string version of Do You Know the Way to San Jose? and it was somewhat comforting, lulling you to spend, spend, spend. Now, Avril Lavigne screams from 47 different stores on the mall and Hot Topic frankly has music that chips away at my very soul, not to mention scares the hell out of me. Why, the other day when I called Tractor Supply and got put on hold and instead of The Philharmonic doing Garth Brooks songs, I got the local radio station. It sounded like the ball of aluminum foil had come off the antenna of the boom box they had up next to the phone. And I’m pretty sure that same boom box was providing music for the entire store. I could’t shop in that environment – to me, it would’ve been the musical equivalent of fingernails on a chalk board.
Now, to the topic…
I enjoy music as much as the next guy, but there is a lot to be said for silence. Sweet, quiet, peaceful silence. If I get an opportunity to be here by myself, sometimes I’ll break out my old records (Ah, John Denver and the Carpenters), but most of the time I just enjoy the company of my thoughts. I think people forget how quiet quiet really is sometimes.
People gag when I say that one of my favorite guitar riffs is on the long version of “Goodbye to Love” by the Carpenters. That one and Slash playing in “Cold November Rain.” (Is that the right one, where he’s standing on a Piano?)
Slash…Guns ‘n Roses…November Rain… I knew there was a reason I liked you. Well, other than your blog and stuff.
That’s about all I heard when my daughters were growing up. And MTV actually played music videos!
People need music around because it can change people’s trains of though; elevate moods’ and lift spirits. Why do you think people go to such lengths to have personalized musci around them all the time? iPods, ringtones – people need it!