too much entertainment

[matadorpoeta]

a few years ago i was in a restaurant, and there was this really annoying music playing, and then i walked into a clothing store, and there was different, even more annoying music playing. and i realized that no matter where i went, there was always music playing. i thought to myself, "do we really need to be entertained while eating? while shopping?"

do the store owners think that if there is a moment's silcence, we'll rush out of the store/restaurant? and so for a couple of years it bugged me that there was music playing everywhere whenever i left the house.

then i saw a car drive by with tv screens behind the front headrests. and i saw commercials for dvd players in minivans because, God forbid, your children should look out the window. then of course they started turning cell phones into televisions, then came the ipod, then i noticed that they installed small flatscreen tvs in all the elevators i ride. then they installed tvs on the bus. last week i stopped to buy gas and found there is now a tv screen that automatically switched from random ads to video entertainmnet once you insert your card into the pump.

yesterday i went to the dentist, and while the lady cleaned my teeth, above me, there was a high-def flatscreen so i could watch extreme skiing.

 

[Rome]

In order to remain at optimal docile and consumption levels I recommend you let the entertainment do the thinking for you. Unsponsored thinking contains side effects that may be hazardous to your health.

 

[Kai]

Originally Posted by matadorpoeta

then i saw a car drive by with tv screens behind the front headrests. and i saw commercials for dvd players in minivans because, God forbid, your children should look out the window.

If you have ever been on a long road trip with children, you would have a different view of dvd players in cars. I think that maybe the only reason I (and my kids) have survived some trips is that they were too busy watching movies to fight with each other and wonder aloud "are we there yet?"

 

[savage]

Have you been into any stores that don't have music playing? It tends to feel like somehtign missing. Usually galleries don;t have anythign going on and it's so quiet its' like a library and everyone talks in hushed voices. As one who works in a shop all day, music is quite nice to pass the time.

In restaurants there is usally background music, but if the place is busy you can't even hear it.

 

[fatty]

i don't like loud music in restaurants because it's hard to talk. Soft background music is acceptable. Coffee shops can get away with nothing but the clinking of mugs and the expresso machine. Remember kids, dance music in restaurants is bad.

 

[matadorpoeta]

Originally Posted by Kai

If you have ever been on a long road trip with children, you would have a different view of dvd players in cars. I think that maybe the only reason I (and my kids) have survived some trips is that they were too busy watching movies to fight with each other and wonder aloud "are we there yet?"
who hasn't been on a long road trip with kids? and who hasn't been a kid on a long road trip? it's called human interaction, and it's a good thing.

think back to the road trips you took as a child, and i'll bet you have some memories of being bored out of your mind and fidgeting in your seat. you will also have some good memories of asking questions, playing with your brothers or sisters, and having those special moments between you and whatever you were looking at out the window. don't deny your kids those same memories and don't turn them into a.d.d. americans addicted to artificial stimulation.

 

[Jovan]

Originally Posted by Kai

If you have ever been on a long road trip with children, you would have a different view of dvd players in cars. I think that maybe the only reason I (and my kids) have survived some trips is that they were too busy watching movies to fight with each other and wonder aloud "are we there yet?"
Good point. But I can also see matador's point. I have noticed a disturbing trend where we seem to need to watch movies and TV everywhere. In the goddamn WASHROOM of a sports restaurant I go to here, there's a TV. It's positioned exactly so every guy standing up in a urinal or stall can watch the game if one's going on and not miss a beat. I think it's ludicrous. I'd rather my customers watch where they're aiming their hose than the game, myself.

 

[Get Smart]

I agree with Matador. I've had this rant with my fiancee way too many times. Esp with the cellphone entertainment, it's like people can't be alone with their own thoughts for more than 2 minutes before getting so distracted they need a technological pacifier. And now with Amp'd mobile, you can download movies and tv shows on a "pay as you watch" program...who the F wants to watch movies on a screen about 2" wide???

 

[Bandwagonesque]

Originally Posted by Get Smart

I agree with Matador. I've had this rant with my fiancee way too many times. Esp with the cellphone entertainment, it's like people can't be alone with their own thoughts for more than 2 minutes before getting so distracted they need a technological pacifier. And now with Amp'd mobile, you can download movies and tv shows on a "pay as you watch" program...who the F wants to watch movies on a screen about 2" wide???

+1,000,000

 

[Renault78law]

I'm with Matador too. Sometimes, I wish I didn't own a TV. And I utterly refuse to keep a television in the bedroom.

Another example is the countless number of ipods I see on a daily basis. Everyone's a detacher these days. C'mon people, that's the world out there that you're missing out on. Sights, sounds, interaction, for good or bad, it's life. Live in it.

Another thing I need to get off my chest: Running outside without listening to music is MUCH better than grinding out a workout with the ipod blaring.

 

[Kent Wang]

More stores should subscribe to DJ mixes. Factory People often has dance parties at their store with DJs. But other than those times they have the employees play CDs. I told them that they should have DJ mixes only as they are professionals and certainly more qualified than the retail employees.

 

[shellshock]

target doesn't play music, and the day that i noticed it, it seemed so eerie and quiet in there that i had to ask one of the employees if they normally played music or not.

i agree it's getting really out of control... and i prefer my own soundtrack to life as opposed to other people making one for me.

 

[Rome]

...as typed by people on an internet board.

 

[Jovan]

Yes... what is your point?

 

[matadorpoeta]

Originally Posted by Rome

...as typed by people on an internet board.
yes, i recognize the irony, but it's all a matter of balance.