Friday, October 1, 2010

Body beating music and sitting ducks.

All of us have favorite music. We often have favorite artists or music genres. I'm no different.

I used to turn up the stereo at home while cleaning or running the vacuum, until I almost answered the door one time naked and bumped into some Jehovah Witnesses. I'd talk about that but it was not a good encounter.
I make custom CD's to play when I'm in my truck driving to and fro. I make a different one for the seasons and sometimes a different one from one month to another. I enjoy when the weather is warm driving with the windows down and my music up loud. I've been told my moderate hearing loss is from this practice. I know that's not true, it's from trying to figure out what some mumble mouthed speaker is saying on an audio tape I was transcribing by shoving the ear buds deep in my ears. Regardless, I enjoy the feeling of loud music and warm air through the windows.

When stopped at a light or in a line of slow moving traffic, the music from a nearby car will cover up the sound from mine. Sometimes it's not a tune but the beat of the music. Imagine a set of powerful drums inside a close car with a speaker system that brings the physical feel of the music into your body. I think that is so rude! My music is loud but I'm not assaulting. [Eye roll.]

I think you get the picture. I like what I like and you like what you like but don't put what you like in proximity to me. It is upsetting.

As I've said before on this blog I will often play the "Next Blog" game. That is me clicking on the next blog button on the top bar of page. It is a mildly interesting game. I find lots of good ones as my list of followed blogs will attest. But when I am doing this and pause on a particularly unique looking blog, often music will start. Since I have my sound setting on the music embedded in the page starts loud.

People nearby hear that and say, "What's that stupid music?" Of course it's not my stupid music, It's a stranger's stupid music and sometimes the tune gets in my head and I have days of it.

It's like that candidate for Governor in New York who thought sending 250,000 registered voters a piece of direct mail made with paper soaked in the smell of garbage was a good idea. It's reported that weeks later those who didn't toss it have that smell in the house.

Then there are the relentless negative political advertisements. Alright, it's not just the negative ones. I don't like most political ads because they are so repeated. When I'm trying to listen to a half hour of local or national news they crowd out all the drug ads two months before each election. How will those people afflicted with restless leg syndrome deal without being reminded all they need is to take a pill to eliminate the suffering?

The other night I counted 15 ads for a Senate and Representative seat in Kentucky. We also get the Representative seat in Indiana as we're just across the river from that state. Local judges and state Senate seats are contested and a few of their ads join the melee. Some of the most hateful of these are being bought not by the candidate but by non-profit advocacy groups.
The number of and repetition of political ads should be part of the licensing requirement for all broadcast media. In US Mail and even e.mail, we can just toss it or delete it. Unless you skillfully watch all television content through a DVR or immediately hit your mute button, you're a sitting duck.

21 comments:

  1. I love loud music as long as it is my music! LOL
    You have got to love KY Elections! I love the way they never come back to collect their election posters after the elections!

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  2. Charlene: I mostly agree with your article, except for the first statement "All of us have favorite music". I used to believe that, but having played in a band the last 7 years, I've made a discovery. We band members are always arguing about our song list, which songs we should do, etc. Naturally we want to please an audience. The hardest gigs to play are ones like weddings (we don't do "hokey pokey"). To my suprise there are always several there who could care less what we play as long as it's not too loud. To them Musak would be just fine. My conclusion is that there are people who really aren't into music at all. They are interested in other things like bowling.

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  3. Re: Music... turn that muthah UP!!!!!!

    I like my music loud... very loud... VERY loud... :oD

    ~shoes~

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  4. Well, you have been to my page enough times (I hope)to know that you should turn your volume down before you knock on my door b/c my stupid music will be playing!

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  5. Hey Charlene, I normally back off the volume level when my nose starts to bleed and I start twitching uncontrollably.
    Our cd players (Jilda's and mine) play MP3's so we can put about a hundred on one cd. I try to make a new one whenever we are about to head out on a road trip. It will contain all our favorite songs.
    Did you ever see the movie Elizabethtown? Kirsten Dunst makes Orlando Bloome a cd/book to help him get over the death of his father.
    It didn't do much at the box office, but I loved that movie.

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  6. my granddaughters laugh and tease me when they ride with me in the truck, because I have the radio turned up so loud..they laugh and say'grannie's jammin'...but they draw the line at the head bob..

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  7. Missy: Well loving your music, me loving mine was what it was about. When the election is over, in Jefferson County, the candidates and their minions have about a week to get the signs down or the campaign is subject to fines.

    Lonnie: I don't think your marriage is legal in Kentucky if the band doesn't play the Hokey Pokey? SMILE

    Res Shoes: I like it loud too!!

    Robin: Sure. I've actually stopped opening blogs for this. You can be sure I will never have music play on my site in deference to those who may not appreciate my taste.

    Life 101: My ears move vs. bleeding at loud volume!

    Elizabethtown was filmed south of Louisville at Elizabethtown. I've never seen the movie though it was in the papers all the time when he and the cast were in town.

    Yellowdog Granny: I turn mine down when someone is in the truck with me. When Reggie is driving he has his iPod giving GPS directions and always says if I just had an iPod doc installed, he could plug in the device. I'm not getting an iPod device!!!

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  8. i'm more likely to take a dislike to the person running the obnoxious than the victim of the smear.

    my new car has a usb port so i can select from 8 gb of music as i drive along. it's a must have.

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  9. As you, Charlene, with your enviably cosmopolitan mindset will be aware, a 'duck' is an English cricket term for a score of zero. QED.

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  10. It is soooo annoying when some thug pulls up next to me in his tricked out ride with an annoying beat pounding into my car. Can't stand it !

    I also can't stand it when people put music to their blogs. It's so annoying !

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  11. When the radio is on in my truck, it's usually talk radio. But when I put in a CD you would think I am playing so the hearing impaired could enjoy it, too. I like MY music.

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  12. One of the best things to ever come out of a computer is the luxury of being able to find a long forgotten song on Utube. I have had moments of utter bliss upon finding something from way back, and invoking memories I had somewhere back in my subconcious. I have cried and laughed and clapped my silly hands :)

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  13. I have the laptop permanently on mute now, simply to avoid those annoying "Listen to my music as you read" blogs - drives me nuts! I've little patience for TV commercials, too - if it's not pre-recorded so I can fast forward through them, I tend to favour watching BBC, as they don't run any ad's - they are not allowed to - it's worth paying the TV licencing fee for that alone!

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  14. You rock, I hope our paths cross sometime!

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  15. Billy pilgrim: Thanks for the comment. My truck only has a CD player because it was put in when the original radio died. So old.

    Christopher: I had no clue about the English cricket term for a score of zero. I know it's a term hollered in golf when you're about to bean someone with a errant golf ball.

    Senorita: We agree on this.

    Coffeypot: Everyone likes their music. I don't listen to talk radio. It makes no sense.

    Sarah: I agree. Thanks for your comment.

    Shrinky: I lust for a TVR. I've put the word out for Christmas. I only want to watch a commercial one time. In this state KET [Kentucky Educational Television] is similar to the BBC.

    Jilda: Well thank you. You rock too!

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  16. Ooh,love music, but hate it on blogs. I'm surprised I don't have hearing loss because I've been listening to rock'n'roll for 40 years now. To think that the rock generation are old farts now.

    At least the political ads employ people -editors, cameramen, hair & make-up etc. Don't listen to all these lies anymore. What's with all these elections? We never stop having them.

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  17. I love loud music too - with the sunroof open and the windows down. AMEN SISTA!

    The polictical ads drive me NUTS! I get mad and throw all the junk mail away and delete the answering machine messages as soon as they say, "I'm ___ and I'm running for..." UGH! Thanks God I can skip commercials with my DVR.

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  18. Wolynski: Thanks for the comment. In fact the nonprofit advocacy groups funded by unknown corporations are not employiing lots of people of any kind. The thread for each group is the same with new heads and names photoshopped in. It takes no creativity to buy elections just money.

    FrouFrouBritches: Thanks for your comment. I don't have an answering machine just a cell and when I see an unknown or otherwise unidentified number, I just open the phone and hang up. I hope it drives them nuts.

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  19. I have been told that my music taste in the car is eclectic. When I'm on the road, I like The Funk. Funky funk. Loud Funk.

    And I hate the repetitive political ads this time of year. It makes me want to not vote. But I can't not vote.

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  20. Funny. I can't clean my house unless there is loud music on. Music that I have made, on a CD, and gets me going. Like my exercise CD. But sitting at a light, hearing that "thump thump thump" makes me cringe. Here, if you can hear music from a car 50 feet away, you can fined $50 bucks, but that's IF an office happens to be near.

    I really dislike election commercials. All they do is put each other down and don't really say what they can do for US!

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  21. Kwizgiver: I'm sure the same is said for my choices too. I think eclectic is accepted so much better than some others!

    Bina: Loud music is a motivator for sure.

    As to nagging commercials, I love my mute button!

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