Hello All:
School has been back in session for some weeks, now. And
if your children are in band or orchestra, then surely you are about to attend
one of the first concerts of the year. We attended concerts for both of my
girls last night. With both girls in high school, and both highly-accomplished
musicians (the same can be said for the other kids on stage), the concerts were
phenomenal! I really enjoyed them. But I was a little shocked and somewhat
irate at the lack of simple and common courtesy by some of the audience
members. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to mention a few things about concert etiquette.
·
When the band or orchestra is in the middle of
playing a song, don't stroll down the middle of the main aisle and search for a
seat! Believe it or not, people are actually watching the performance and wish
not to be interrupted by your body blocking their view. Wait until after the
song has completed before entering the seating area. And if you wish to leave
or use the restroom, couldn’t you wait until the song is completed?
·
NO TALKING WHEN THE BAND OR ORCHESTRA IS
PLAYING! I cannot believe that intelligent grownups actually have difficulty
following this rule. And I don't mean whispering; I mean normal level
conversation! (Yes, I actually hear this when attending my kids’ concerts!)
Believe it or not, people are actually enjoying the music. Why, some of them
are actually recording the show and wish not for your conversations to be part
of the music.
·
This one isn't something that most people think
of. Those concert handouts that you receive upon entering the theater: Yes,
they are nice to have as they inform you of the musical selections for the
evening. But when the show starts, please set them down! The people around you
do not want to hear you shuffling and flipping through the pages of a handout
while the band or orchestra is performing.
·
It would be nice if you silenced your phone so
that everyone doesn't have to hear your ringer during the middle of a
performance as well.
I'm sure you can add some additional items and pet peeves
to this list. But to cover anything else I might have missed, just consider
that the kids who perform at these shows have worked very hard learning and
practicing so that they can perform for you. Why not give them (and the people
around you) some simple courtesy during the show.
***
Today's featured writing is a revisiting of the history
of elevator music. The writing has appeared before on the blog, but it's one of
my favorites.
Have a great weekend! And please be courteous during
concerts and performances.
Elevator Music
Elevator Music
I remember as a boy visiting the grocery stores and department stores with my mother and hearing this sort of music piped in through the speakers in the ceiling. As stated before, its purpose was to make a shopping experience relaxing enough so that buyers would stay longer and browse for their selections. As a boy, the music made me so sleepy and I couldn't wait to leave the store!
Here in Chicago there used to be a radio station called "FM 100" that played elevator music all day and night. Anyone old enough can remember, "Beautiful music... on FM 100..." My mother used to drive around in her green Chevy Vega with the radio tuned to FM 100. I hated it! One day I finally asked, "Mom, why do you listen to this?"
Her answer, "Because it makes me happy."
How was I supposed to argue with that?
It's very difficult to find the sort of music that was played in department stores throughout the 1980s and 1990s. This generation of elevator music was typically referred to as Muzak. Most people forget about it, and for good reason! Muzak back in those days was analogous to what pastel does to color. Popular rock, country and jazz songs would have been recreated with the use of synthesizers and deliberately made to strip the song of anything that was enjoyable. Let's use the song, Juke Box Hero from Foreigner, as our example. Dull and soft flute notes would have replaced the vocals, and there would have been some gay and obnoxious percussion for the beats--almost as exciting as softly tapping your foot on the ground and whistling. As for "that one guitar that blew him away"; there would have been no guitar in the deconstructed Muzak edit as that would have been too exciting. The end result was a reincarnated and extremely boring song that resembled Juke Box Hero.
In the early 1990s, Psychology Today did a report on Muzak and cited it as a helpful tool in brainwashing employees at the workplace. People hated Muzak and simply dealt with it for the eight hours that they were on the job. As the days and weeks passed, the monotonous and repeated Muzak would trigger a silent anger in the employee that he or she learned to keep it under control. This control actually served as a psychological acupuncture which forced the employee to become numb to external stressors at the workplace.
The "Muzak" phase of 1980s and 1990s department store seemed to have ended with the growing popularity of "smooth jazz". Smooth jazz is a step up from the maddening Muzak in that the jazz instruments can actually be used to add more color and excitement to the songs. It often mixes heavy urban type of beats with Motown classics. But after hearing the same 40 songs over and over again, it's soon referred to "pukey jazz". The songs make you sick, and they soon takes on a similar psychological effect of the classic 1980s/1990s Muzak. To make matters worse, smooth jazz found its way onto mainstream radio and is often hosted by celebrity DJs who insist that people wish to experience mood-altering and relaxing music. To them, smooth jazz is supposed to change your outlook on life and make you a better person. It’s just further brainwashing if you ask me.
Be thankful that when you visit the department stores, today, real songs are played with full lyrics and instruments as originally created. Elevator music has certainly evolved throughout the decades.
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