elevator music

who invented elevator music? who decided to play hollow love songs in the jungle of consumerism? who decided to rob music of its soul by relegating it to background noise? who decided to produce ridiculous songs for this very purpose?

i hate retail. i hate the way corporations and companies manipulate ideas and experiences and twist them into shapes to fit company goals. music isn't the only thing that has suffered. it's a wonder there are any humans left in the lower working class, what with employees having to put up with this fascade day after week after year.

too many good things have been exploited until their only identity is found in something related to making money. businesses use simple, sappy music and "friendly associates" to give customers the impression that their store is somehow less sullied by the "squeeze every last drop" mentality, and has retained a "personal" quality. really the business has found this to be the most effective way to increase profits. what effect does this have on first world society? we spend most of our time buying, selling, and consuming. shopping is almost a cure-all antidote for boredom.

because the pattern i discussed is repeated so often, the "human qualities" have lost their own substance, namely, the quality of being human. what do i mean by "human"? i mean a state of being that involves intellect and emotions and experiences that define humans as all that they are. the mindless emotion in most elevator music, and the heartless economic ambition of a chain retailer are not what i consider displays of "humanity", at least not at a desirable or fulfilled level.

people have traded in wonderful encounters and experiences and things for the stripped-down versions you find in the mall. more, easier, faster, cheaper - less important. even if you don't consider the fact that all of this convenience is facilitated by millions of impoverished sweat shop and slave laborers overseas, and that in the process of living this "advanced" lifestyle we waste disgusting amounts of resources; just the time and authenticity we lose is concerning.

take music. most people's favorite songs are the ones They play constantly in stores [and on Top 40 radio stations] in order to produce an almost mindless, consumerist mental condition. most of the songs don't mean anything, and the ones that do are impossible to appreciate because the only time people ever hear them is while shopping. With or Without You by U2 means a hell of a lot to me, even when i hear it at work, but that is only because i am a U2 fan in my real life, because my boyfriend is teaching it to me on the bass, and because i recognize it as a genuine piece of art. someone who didn't have the advantage of my experience with the song would not react in the same way as i do when it comes on over the store speakers, even though they might enjoy it more than say, natasha beddingford. the idea of consciously listening to music that you've decided you truly enjoy has almost been lost. and everything is like this.

why read if you can watch tv? why watch tv and become enthralled by it if you can distract yourself with homework at the same time? why talk to your boyfriend on the swings at the park if you can text him? why cook if you can buy ready to eat salad? why buy interesting clothes at tiny thrift stores if you can buy what everyone else is wearing at american eagle and throw away all your t-shirts from last year? why take time to do anything or think anything or see anything yourself if someone or something will do it for you? why explore? why create? why philosophize? and no one has a real life.

emotional experience has to be divorced from consumerism. satisfaction has to be divorced from convenience. happiness has to be divorced from things. people are becoming the puppets of their spending habits. time is more important than money. time was never money. people are important. God is important. ideals and ideas are important. a real life is important.