Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Wren Rosewood's avatar

I’m on the autism spectrum and react really, really strongly to music - I cannot listen to “background” music without reacting because it’s not in the background for me but in the foreground!

If I am in a restaurant or mall or anywhere music is playing, when I know the words I am unable to stop myself from singing and dancing. It’s extremely challenging for me to hold a conversation unless it’s about something related to the music or musician. (So, like, if a Mariah Carey song comes on, I can either only sing the song or start rambling to you about how in 2001 she was mocked for having a breakdown despite the fact that her ex-husband was actively sabotaging her career and stealing her material to give to Jennifer Lopez. Justice for her and Britney and all women who are screwed over by the patriarchal music industry!)

As a result, I am very upset by the increasing use of music everywhere in public spaces because it completely derails my brain to focus only on the music. I work in town/urban planning and cannot even escape it in my municipality - I was the only person on our downtown design team who didn’t want music on Main Street. Everyone else was like “if we play a top 40 mix (that excludes rap because racism) then everyone will stay and shop more!” And I was like “no…it’s too invasive and will stop people from being able to just relax and think while they shop” and no one else understood my point of view AT ALL! Meanwhile I’m over here trying to explain that I associate certain songs with certain chain stores and shopping malls due to their playlists and how I don’t want to do that with Main Street and I just get more weird looks. (And yes, that includes classical music. I sing along to classical music using the word “do”.)

So, all that to say…great interview! The topic of music and space really fascinates me as a music lover and someone in the urban planning field.

Expand full comment
Courtney's avatar

I live next to an extremely ritzy coastal area in LA. All the 7-11 stores started blasting classical music as the housing crisis got worse here. I love classical music and get mad about this for a lot of reasons, but the one that always sticks out to me is this idea that classical music is annoying and something to be used as punishment. This is a hugely interesting topic and I’m so glad this writer did this exploration.

Also on country music--I am a native Texan who worked in a country bar in college so I love the stuff, but get why people wouldn’t like it. I think Brandi C. has done a lot to make the genre more inclusive over the past several years.

Expand full comment
28 more comments...

No posts