What is Muzak?

Subject: What is Muzak?
From: GUEST,SD
Date: 13 Jun 02 - 08:43 PM

Is it background music, really bad music or what?

Thanks

SD

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: Burke
Date: 13 Jun 02 - 08:58 PM

Background music, usually dull. I think it was (is?) the name of a company that supplied recordings of music for elevators, etc.

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: kendall
Date: 13 Jun 02 - 09:11 PM

It is hell for music lovers.

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: GUEST,ozmacca
Date: 13 Jun 02 - 09:16 PM

Not so much dull, as deliberately totally uninspiring and instantly forgetable... I once heard it described as the equivalent of plain grey walls for the ears. I wonder what Mozart and Beethoven would have made of it?

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: catspaw49
Date: 13 Jun 02 - 09:38 PM

Probably a couple of bucks. The original MUZAK Corporation paid royalties pretty well. I like to think of it as "Great songs made eminently forgettable."

Spaw

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: Justa Picker
Date: 13 Jun 02 - 09:41 PM

It is to music, what spam is to meat.

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: Ebbie
Date: 13 Jun 02 - 10:40 PM

The bone and blood are removed from the tune, leaving only gelatinous stuff.

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: GUEST,MTed
Date: 13 Jun 02 - 10:49 PM

Muzak wasn't ever intended to be listened to--it was really meant to cover up distracting background noises--the music was produced so that it never would distract, and would have a generally pleasing and mindnumbing quality. There are all different kinds of Muzak, each especially designed to create a soothing background in a particular situation--I once worked at a manufacturing plant that subscribed to the "Happy Factory" Muzak tapes--

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: Helen
Date: 13 Jun 02 - 10:51 PM

Don't get me wrong - I hate Muzak as much as the next musician. My idea of hell was epitomised in that cult tv series The Prisoner, in the scene where the Patrick McGoohan character finally cracked under the pressure of non-stop non-music and ripped out the speaker wires for the Muzak and a little robot came in immediately and fixed it all again.

Anyway, just to put a slightly different slant on the conversation, I heard an interesting radio discussion about the creator of Muzak, who had been a data cabling expert in WWII (I think) and after the war he started experimenting with cabling (and charging for) music (if you can call it that) into corporate buildings. Interesting historical info.

Helen

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
Date: 13 Jun 02 - 11:17 PM

Try www.muzak.com: Muzak

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: fat B****rd
Date: 14 Jun 02 - 04:37 AM

Muzak is what the majority of people at work have on all F...ing day. All the best from a fB who loves night shift.

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: ozmacca
Date: 14 Jun 02 - 05:37 AM

I have to admit that I gained great satisfaction at one time by playing a certain CD (the one they asked me to play on) over and over in my office on the PC speakers, and only just loud enough to be heard throughout the building - OK, so it's a small building with about 6 workers in it all the time and others wandering through - First couple of times through, people made "smart" comments. Within about four/five repeats, people were humming along to some tracks. By the end of the second day, I got a (very) few comments, and everybody knew the tunes. After the fourth consecutive day, people generally were ignoring it. Now either we struck the Muzak formula (which heaven forbid!) or there's a lesson there for the psychologists among us.

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: Hamish
Date: 14 Jun 02 - 06:58 AM

So I once complained to a hotel about their muzak, They said "nobody's ever complained before" I said "so how many have said they like it?" "None" "Okay so 100% of those who expressed an opinion..." They weren't convinced.

I don't know whether to be pleased or not, but some stores have started playing good stuff as their muzak.

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: Mr Red
Date: 14 Jun 02 - 07:40 AM

elevator not elevating.

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: kendall
Date: 14 Jun 02 - 01:51 PM

I feel sorry for those who must have a noise of some sort banging their ear drums. Empty spaces must be scary, especially if that space is inside your head.

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Jun 02 - 02:26 PM

BS: Do you hate silence?

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: Gloredhel
Date: 14 Jun 02 - 05:31 PM

Thank you for that link, Guest.

Muzak is from the devil.

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: mousethief
Date: 14 Jun 02 - 05:34 PM

It's the one thing that makes one ashamed to say one is from Seattle.

Alex

Subject: RE: What is Muzak?
From: NH Dave
Date: 14 Jun 02 - 09:47 PM

There is another wrinkle to Muzak or more properly not using Muzak locally. If you don't subscribe to the local Muzak service and chose to play your own records, tapes, or CDs, some Muzak Music Gestapo stop by and ask to see your license to play this music.

A local friend said something rude when blackmailed this was as he was playing Chinese music - its an Oriental restaurant, and doubted that subscribing to their service would either get him Oriental music OR pay royalties to the musicians in Taiwan or the mainland.

Dave