Fading into the background

In all honesty, there have been a few lapses in my music non-listening this past week. But to be fair, have you ever tried muting the telly every time there’s a nice ten-second interlude between scenes, or worse, every time the adverts come on?

Yesterday I really couldn’t be arsed with it. The whole evening I sat far, far away from the remote control and just watched TV as normal, expecting to maybe hear something incredible in the music that I’d been avoiding for a week. But no – despite not listening to any music for a week (and none of my own choosing for two weeks) the music in the adverts was just as uninspiring and inoffensive as it was the week before. In fact, if anything it annoyed me less. The same goes for music in shops, as I found out earlier on today.

It makes me wonder – why do people make such a fuss about background music? This article about Green Party politician Lord Beaumont’s campaign to ban “muzak” suggests that it can have a severe effect on people’s state of mind. Admittedly, they do mention its presence in fairly stressful situations, but I really can’t understand people complaining about music in shops or similar places. Likewise, I don’t believe that certain types of music can make people buy things, however interesting an idea it may be. To me, even after avoiding it for a week, background music is still just that – in the background. Of course, that could be a completely different story in a couple of muzak-filled weeks’ time.

From one extreme to the other

And so, after yesterday’s discoveries, today I find myself craving music.  Literally.  All day, from the moment I woke up, I’ve had different songs going through my head over and over again.  From Russian Circles to Fall Out Boy, I keep being tormented by my own decision to deprive myself of music.  I’m actually starting to get a bit jealous when I see people walking down the street with earphones in, not because they’re listening to anything half decent (which may not be the case at all) but because they have the choice to listen to whatever they like.  And there’s still another week to go before I’ll once again have that same freedom.

For the rest of you who have not been so foolish, here is the song that has frustrated me more than any other – reasons why will become clear soon – Harper Lewis by Russian Circles.

It’s getting OK now

After finding myself almost instinctively grabbing my mp3 player for the first time in a while yesterday, today once again saw me automatically reaching for the headphones when I sat down to get stuck into what, for me, is a rare activity – writing an essay. I listen to a lot of music ordinarily, more often than not in the background, but when I’ve got thousands of words to write music becomes as much a tool to me as a spellchecker.

The funny thing is, I didn’t realise before just how much I relied on music, albeit background music, when writing. Truth is that before I did it out of habit; it was just natural to have music on. But earlier today, with the radio taking the place of my CD collection and my housemate’s music bleeding through the floor from downstairs, I just couldn’t concentrate. Even when I turned off the radio (Danny Kelly talking about football is no help when you’re trying to write an essay on investigative journalism) the muffled noise from below was still a massive distraction. And suddenly it occurred to me that, all this time, I’d been using music not only to help myself concentrate, but to shut myself away, to cut myself off from everyone else. Not on purpose, obviously, but without me even realising it had become “the norm”.

And now, even in the few hours since it became apparent, I’ve noticed it in others. And what’s worse is that because music is so readily available nowadays through computers, iPods, and television, more and more people are doing it without realising. So, for the first time since I started this experiment, I’m not annoyed that I can’t listen to music. Instead, it almost feels worth it.

Weather

As I left my house yesterday to brave the biblical downpour that covered south-east England, I can honestly say that for the first time in 10 days I very nearly reached for my mp3 player for company.  It might seem odd to associate weather with music, even though I’ve talked about it in the past, but as soon as I saw the rain a million and one different songs flooded into my head.  But I managed to stay strong and resist the temptation.  The rain was so bloody loud I probably wouldn’t have been able to hear what I was listening to anyway.

Suffering in silence

Nearly two days in to the new regime, and this is definitely going to be much, much harder.  I’ve got the radio on as I write this and, even though I’m listening to TalkSport, I’m still having to turn the volume right down every now and again to avoid any music that comes on.  And not just in adverts, either.  Even though I’m listening to a football talk show, it’s full of music.  On the trails, underneath the news, even actual songs that the presenters are playing short clips of.

And radio isn’t the only problem.  As I said earlier, I tried to watch Top Gear and simply couldn’t do it.  Until you try to avoid it, you don’t realise just how much music there is throughout the programme.  And while it probably does a very good job of making a race between Jeremy Clarkson in a Bugatti Veyron and Richard Hammond and James May in a light aircraft seem even more exciting, it’d be interesting to watch a whole episode without a constant barrage of music.  After all, in a programme full of any number of supercars, there should be enough treats for the ears already without having to add a soundtrack.

Just for the record…

Hearing your housemates come in at 1:30 in the morning before going on to play drunken Jenga is not fun.  Nor is watching Top Gear with the sound turned down. 

Change of plans

Ok, an update.  To be completely honest, I haven’t been doing all that well with the whole “no music” thing.  In my last post I talked about all the music I’d heard while in my mate’s car, and the next day it got even worse.   I’m the kind of person who finds it hard to say no to people, especially when what they’re offering is a) free and b) a ticket to see Frank Turner on the last night of his tour.

So, off I went, on the train to Winchester (still no mp3 player, but given that I was on my way to a gig that’s not really anything to boast about).  Long story short, I went to the gig, had a very nice time, listened to lots of music and, truthfully, didn’t feel at all bad about it.

That was Thursday, and on Friday the downward spiral continued.  I mentioned in my first post that I was a musician with certain gigging commitments, so I would still (rightly or wrongly) be allowed to make music with my band.  At the gig, however, I didn’t just turn up, play the set and go home.  Oh no, that would have been rude.  So I watched the other bands as well.  Two days, two gigs and, within five days, a complete failure to do what I’d promised to do for three weeks.

Well, not entirely.  Though I may have failed miserably in my attempts to avoid listening to music, I have learnt that, in England in the 21st Century, we are surrounded by music.  Avoiding music completely is literally impossible without changing my whole lifestyle.

So that’s what I’m going to do.  Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to do this properly.  No music whatsoever.  Not at the pub, definitely not at the SU, not even on TV programmes.  I will not be allowed to make music, and I’m doubtful as to whether or not I’ll even allow myself to whistle.  If I’m in someone else’s car when they’re listening to music, in go the earplugs.

I’m not just giving up music, I’m giving up the lifestyle that I’m used to.  And I think I might just regret it.

If at first you don’t succeed…

I have to confess – yesterday, I listened to music. Not intentionally, admittedly, but there’s no getting away from it. And even though it was in my mate’s car and I wasn’t choosing what was on the CD player, I can’t argue that I was pretty actively listening to it. It’s hard not to when you’re on the motorway and the music is so loud you can’t hear yourself talk.

Essentially, my avoiding listening to music lasted all of about two days. I still haven’t put any music on myself, but I have definitely listened to it. So I’m going to start again. And this time, I’m going to try to do it properly.

Hot Fuss

Right, one day down and, so far, so good – if a little boring.  It’s hard for me to say how I felt yesterday.  Obviously, it wasn’t the first day that I’ve ever gone without listening to music, but it probably was the first time I’ve made a conscious decision about it.  And to be perfectly honest, I didn’t really miss it.

Today, on the other hand, might be a bit different.  I’m not sure what the weather’s like where you are, but right here, in the heart of Surrey, summer has arrived – if only for a day – and, on a day like today, there’s nothing better than sitting out in the garden, pint in hand, with some good summer choons on the stereo.

Not for me.  Instead, I’ll be sitting in the garden, pint in hand, with hundreds of second-long sections of random songs that I won’t be able to get out of my head.  Ordinarily when that happens, you have two choices.  Option A – You can listen to the whole song, enjoy it, and then move on to something else.  Or you might choose Option B – Get sick to the back teeth of said song, listen to something else and, again, move on.

But what if you have no such options?  Well, that’s what I’m about to find out.  And if in a few hours I end up being tortured by the Killers in one ear and Jack Johnson in the other, don’t be surprised if I don’t post tomorrow.

The Beginning and the End

Last week, during a discussion about immersive journalism, someone mentioned blogging about giving up football. No chance, I said. Ever since I can remember, football has been a huge part of my life. And with the Premiership title race and relegation places still to be decided – not to mention the FA Cup and Champions League finals – I couldn’t even imagine not knowing the all-important scores.

Afterwards, though, I had a thought. If not football, then why not give up my other great love – music.

Thing is, with modern computers, iPods and digital radios, we are constantly surrounded by music. I can’t remember the last time I sat down just to listen to an album by anyone without it simply becoming background music, the soundtrack to whatever essay I was writing or websites I was visiting at the same time. The other day, as I was setting off on the five-minute walk to Sainsbury’s, I picked up my mp3 player without even thinking. I couldn’t say if it was out of habit or out of necessity; either way, some part of me just couldn’t bear to be without music for all of about 15 minutes.

Of course, to properly “give up” music altogether, I’d have to become a recluse and live with earplugs in 24/7. So, what I’m actually giving up is actively listening to music. My mp3 player, the media player on my laptop, even the old stereo downstairs are all out of bounds for the next three weeks.

However, it’s not as simple as that, either. As an active musician, I often go to gigs not to watch bands, but because I’m actually in one of the bands playing. Because of this, I also need to practice, so for the sake of my bandmates (and any unsuspecting audiences) I will still be allowed to make music. Perfectly fair if you ask me.

Also, as a radio journalism student, I will still be allowed to listen to the radio, though I will be on a strict diet of TalkSport and Five Live rather than Radio 1 and Kiss (yeah, right). I will also be allowed to go to any places that play music (pubs, clubs, my Students’ Union) purely because it’s impossible to go to such a place without being subjected to music (and this is the important part) of someone else’s choosing.

So, those are the rules, and this is it. The beginning of the next three weeks of my life, and the end (for now) of my actively listening to music. This won’t be pleasant.