I’m sitting in Panera, enjoying a very tasty orange cranberry muffin and a very bad latte. (Can’t have everything, yes?) It’s not a quiet little place, but they have free internet, and I’m stubbornly attempting to not pay the Doubletree and extra $10 per day for an internet connection. (They do have free, somewhat intermittent wireless in the lobby, so I’m using that as well.) I’m already paying them an extra $14.95 for parking each day, which just bugs me. I want all fees to be included in room fees, thank you very much.
But I ramble …
Panera has music playing. It’s so soft that you can occasionally hear nothing, and occasionally hear snippets, but when a double oboe concerto (or something like that … I’m guessing, as I don’t know the piece, but the first composer that comes to mind is Albinoni) came on I could hear the oboes for the most part, but nothing else.
I prefer silence. If they are going to play music I’d prefer to be able to hear it. This “not quite there” music is annoying. It tells me they don’t really care about it, and that it has no value. (But also tells me that they probably think “classical” music makes them “classy”.) My ears keep stretching … trying so hard to grab the pieces … and they are getting very weary. Now there’s a piano work on … I can hear the piano, but I can’t tell if it’s a concerto or a sonata, as the volume is so low. I’m guessing sonata; I think I’d hear the orchestra at some point!
Side Notes:
There are lots of blonde women in SoCal.
One of the big headlines on the news station today was something about women getting a “permanent” for their eyelashes so they stay curled. Really.
I have brown hair, and rarely wear makeup. I have a bit of fat with my skin and bones. I don’t look like I belong here. 🙂
I share your annoyance with “not quite there” muzak, although sometimes fully audible muzak can catch my attention. Years ago, in New York, I would once in awhile hear some really fantastic flute playing coming through the bland arrangements. I was sure I recognized my old teacher, Julius Baker. And I was told he actually would do some Muzak recording gigs now and then, when he had the time. Well, who knows? At least I may have been hearing one of his students.
The background music that REALLY bugs me is what you sometimes get while you’re on hold on the telephone… You know.. the one where some music is playing — perhaps even some really interesting music — except the recorded voice interrupts every 15 seconds to say “your call is very important to us “. I can only suppose somebody thought long and hard how to transform an annoying wait into an infuriating one!
Funny … I didn’t realize any “names” would have recorded the muzak tracks. What a kick!
I have always wished there was a “push button #2 if you prefer not to be bothered by our choice of music” when put on hold. Yes those constant interruptions are annoying!