December music
Dec. 6th, 2001 01:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cellioI wonder if there are any restaurants in Pittsburgh that are not playing steady streams of Christmas music. Besides the kosher restaurants, I mean, which don't work for lunch or post-Shabbat excursions.
I actually don't mind the better Christmas music so long as it isn't blaring and thus intruding on thoughts/conversation. Basically, don't make me become involved and I can ignore it, or even appreciate the occasional piece's craftsmanship. I think the insipid stuff is a lot worse than the religious stuff. The radio stations or muzak sources or whatever seem to be going entirely for the secular stuff, like "Rudolf" and "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer", to name three I heard at Sushi Too today. Sheesh. I think if I were a Christian I'd rather hear *no* music than hear *that* stuff. I can empathize with the people who are unhappy about the secularization of their holiday.
The best compromise IMHO for places like restaurants and public buildings would be to stick to instrumental renditions and lose the cheesy stuff.
I actually don't mind the better Christmas music so long as it isn't blaring and thus intruding on thoughts/conversation. Basically, don't make me become involved and I can ignore it, or even appreciate the occasional piece's craftsmanship. I think the insipid stuff is a lot worse than the religious stuff. The radio stations or muzak sources or whatever seem to be going entirely for the secular stuff, like "Rudolf" and "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer", to name three I heard at Sushi Too today. Sheesh. I think if I were a Christian I'd rather hear *no* music than hear *that* stuff. I can empathize with the people who are unhappy about the secularization of their holiday.
The best compromise IMHO for places like restaurants and public buildings would be to stick to instrumental renditions and lose the cheesy stuff.
(no subject)
Date: 2001-12-07 10:13 am (UTC)Especially since the religious Christmas season occurs _after_ the holiday itself, although that's arguably a good time to do your Christmas[CF] shopping for next year. :) I will agree that forced listening to these songs is annoying, but perhaps not more annoying than forced listening to other songs. It may just be that places that normally go for orchestral unobtrusive background music during the rest of the year switch to vocality-enhanced and more noticable music for Christmas[CF].
(no subject)
Date: 2001-12-07 10:34 am (UTC)While I'm here, I should also clarify that I think the owners of these establishments have the right to play whatever they darn well please (just as I have the right to make my decisions about patronization based on that). I just wonder if some of these places want to play RH music but feel compelled to stick to CF music instead, making what to me is a worse environment rather than a better one. I find the possibility ironic.
It may just be that places that normally go for orchestral unobtrusive background music during the rest of the year switch to vocality-enhanced and more noticable music for Christmas[CF].
I think that's a lot of it, actually. There's plenty of cheesy non-Christmas music out there, but somehow the cheese factor seems to be higher now than normal.