Entertainment For Lively Minds
Unsuitable garden music.
I've been taking this opportunity in the good weather to use the ipod speakers that my wife bought me for my birthday back in March. Lovely relaxing way to end a working day, sipping vino, sizzling meat on the barbie listening to quality music. But what I'm finding is that i'm running over to the ipod on a regular basis to stop certain songs playing. It just seems that certain bands and artists aren't suitable for playing in the garden where the neighbours might hear. Not talking about excessive swearing just the mere sound of said bands. Tom Waits I adore, but not in this environment. The Fall? nope. Wheras The Ramones, The Beach Boys, XTC, Squeeze and any reggae sounds great to these ears. Any thoughts on the subject?
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Stand up straight, man...
...and have the courage of your musical convictions! If you love Tom Waits and The Fall, then why not let them waft through the air in your garden. Why is your neighbours' approval of your musical tastes so important? And how do you know your neighbours don't include at least one closet Waits or Fall fan, who might hear the dulcet tones of Mr.Waits or Mr.Smith, lilting gently across the garden fence, come a-calling to see who else has such magnificent musical tastes, and a beautiful new musical friendship could be born. On the other hand, they might really hate what they hear. In which case, fuck 'em - you're not their unpaid DJ!
Oh yes, and...
...they might hate Ramones, Beach Boys etc. In which case you've offended their ears anyway, which is what you get for trying to second-guess them.
Nope
The only music I have ever heard him play in nearly ten years of being neighbours is Elvis Presley. I don't think he's a secret Waits or Smith fan to be honest.
In that case...
...I recommend you introduce him to The Cramps' "A Date With Elvis".
Gardener's world...
seem to specialise in good music for plants in the space of one two minute film recently they played elbow, nick drake, arcade fire and vashti bunyon.
They should put out an album "now that's what I call potting shed anthems 12"
or maybe "a Tuber Tunez", or a "CD of seedy music" on the Apple lable of course.
Isn't it
a bit anti-social to have music playing in your garden loud enough for your neighbours to hear?
Don't forget Fraser's Beach Boys adage "One Man's Sloop is Another Man's Junk"
The only safe option is to play that Millican & Nesbit album.
Seconded
Having other people's appalling musical "tastes" inflicted on me is yet another reason not to venture into the garden, quite apart from all the dirt, bugs and green stuff that lives out there. On the rare occasion that I subject my fine porcelain geek-skin to ultra-violet, I always wear my iPod with earbuds. It insulates me from other people's crappy music, and shields them from mine.
Erm...thirded??
As much as I love Nickleback, Queen and Joni Mitchell in the right setting* I have no wish to hear them or anything else other than the birds, lawnmowers, the wind and the trinkling of a water feature in my garden. Don't even get me started on people that feel it's ok to take a accoustic guitar to the top of a hill on a summer day.
*That setting being me in an old folks home with all faculties gone and the kids have deserted me to spend the inheritance on a Hillman Imp.
Fourthed
It's anti-social to impose your music on your neighbours. Used to live next door to a woman who had her music blaring all summer long. She had pretty good taste in music as it happens (mostly soul and reggae) but it was really annoying. I've written here before about one of my neighbours learning to play the electric guitar (http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/stairway-hell) but at least he doesn't do it in the bloody garden.
Our house backs onto a sports ground. There's a glorious weekend in the middle of May when the great switchover occurs. Instead of the sound of a load of cockney oafs shouting and swearing at each other (I don't mind really, I was a park footballer myself for many years) you get the lovely sound of leather on willow punctuated now and then with polite appeals and gentle ripples of applause. It marks the changing of the seasons for us and is a red letter day in the calender.
Between the devil and the deep blue sea
You think you´ve got it bad, my neighbour´s ten year-old blares out Rihanna all day long anfd the 14-year old next door is trying to learn to play the drums.When they come together , I crank up The Jesus and Mary Chain and unleash the dogs of war.
Don't change your i-pod selection
Change your neighbours!
I find the concept of neighbours generally anti-social. If their teenage daughter can play Leona Lewis, I can play Chumbawamba, Malicorne and Eric Dolphy. And will.
(And do. It's an educational service. Gratis.)
P.S. Moving house in 2/52! New neighbours, rubs hands gleefully.
The curse of shuffle
I don't think you specified, but if you're using shuffle when people come over, then that's the way things crumble - cookie wise. Why not either make a summer/garden playlist (make an on-the-go playlist on the train or something, and then put the finishing touches to it at home) or make a smart playlist of, say, songs with a play count of higher than 5, and then stick that on shuffle? That way it'll only be the good stuff that comes out.
Drag & Drop
Talking of playlists - anybody recommend a reliable piece of software that manages your ipod & lets you drag MP3s straight into it, rather than using itunes?
I also find the concept of neighbours difficult. Especially in London terraces. Especially the one next door that got an extension lead last summer, carried his TV into the garden, along with the sofa and a pile of beers and sat there watching full-volume football in the sun. I considered accidentally letting our garden hose run amok or praying for a snap thunderstorm, but settled for the usual pathetic, "don't you think that's a bit loud, mate?"
Air Rifle
.177 or .22 pellet goes through the mesh on the back of most tellys with ease. They conduct electricity too.
No commercial relationship plug
I bought the Logitec MM 50 speakers and they are brilliant - not least because there is a remote control - not only for skipping non-Mrs. Twang approved tracks, but also to adjust the different volume levels...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000FPG1R6/40000259-21/?m=A3P5R...
Highly recommended and at 45 quid absolutely a best buy.
Song volume
Everyone likes to dump on the iPod but it has features that the other machines don't seem to have. One of the best is that you can tell iTunes to always play certain tracks at a different volume. So now your old Neil Young tracks will always have the same volume as the new Kylie Minogue tracks that it rubs up against whenever you shuffle.
Hmmmm
Well iTunes plays them the same but the pod doesn't AFAIK.
Volume does change on my iPod
The music on my iPod plays at the extra volume I specify using iTunes. If your iPod doesn't then it's either broken or a very early generation model.
I'll try again
Didn't work when I tried it before - maybe did something wrong - will try again
Synch
You may have to synch your iPod with iTunes? Maybe you can't do it if you manually manage your music on the iPod?
I am about to retire to a...
...very comfortable hammock, strung-up between an apple and a pear tree. Accompanying me will be my portable compact disc player, containing Saint Etienne's debut album, Fox Base Alpha, and a copy of this months WORD.
Ah Foxbase Alpha
One of the best summer albums ever.
Meanwhile where listening in the garden is concerned....playlist is your friend!
Chas 'n' Dave say relax
I just listened to "The Old Dog and Me" by Chas 'n' Dave which, if you don't know it, is a gentle song about sitting in the garden on a sunny day with a nice cup of tea.
Just thought I'd mention it.
Country Joe
Just play 'Feel Like I'm Fixing To die' by Country Joe & The Fish off the live Woodstock soundtrack. There goes the neighbourhood...
Here are a few suggestions we made earlier...
http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/estate-agent039s-nightmare
No Garden music please
When I am sitting/working in my garden, I particularly don't want to hear your choice of music which I will almost certainly hate. I would like to hear the birds singing and such like and the distant sound of chavs swearing at each other in the park.
Guilty, Yer 'Onner
had friends over for a barbie on Friday night, I like to think I catered for tastes both culinary and musically:
lamb and beef skewers - Michael Nyman ~ Drowning by Numbers
bacon - Suede ~ Sci-Fi Lullabies
mushrooms - Metallica ~ Black Album
burgers - The Van der Graaf Generator ~ Present
sausages - The Sisters Of Mercy ~ Floodland [remaster with the 12min. Never Land (full length)]
chicken, mushroom, peppers and onion skewers - Ahráyeph ~ Marooned on Samsara
lashings of beer too, natch
everyone went home happy
Typical blast
And the neighbors were at home, unhappy......
Don't play it....
I agree with the view that I don't want to have to endure someone elses music when I'm out in the garden on the few days of nice weather we have. Even if I like it I like the peace and quiet (apart from the police copter chasing the chavs up the main road!)
There is only one thing worse - a TV in the garden! Which my neighbours fella has decide is a great idea and watched the sport on Saturday afternoon.
I don't really mind as long as I don't hear it - use headphones with the TV or generic MP3 player and that is fine.
I'm sure I would get a torrent of abuse if I played System of a Down, RATM etc ove speakers in my garden. Although to be fair I'd get the same abuse if I played Laura Marling, Melody Gardot, or Aretha Franklin!! All of which are quite plesent to hear in the sun.
Chinese Torture!
Forget other people's questionable musical taste, the most annoying noise to eminate from a neighbours garden has to be the sound of Trickling Water..... although perhaps wind chimes come in joint first place. Fortunately none of my current neighbours have an antisocial water feature but I've been very tempted to climb over the fence with a tube of evo-stick and attack the wind chimes on several occasions!
LAST SUNDAY...
...The Dead Kennedy's "Too Drunk To F*ck" drew a pretty vitriolic reaction at a family BBQ. I was randomizing through "My Top Rated" at the time so it looks like I need to create a BBQ playlist now!
Too Drunk
Nouvelle Vauge have a nice bossa-nova style cover version if you're interested.
Unless you live in Plaistow....
or even if you do, I'd suggest you avoid 'Plaistow Patricia' by Ian Dury and the Blockheads - the opening lnes alone will have your local authority reaching for the asbo's......instead, try 'The green, green grass of home' by the welsh chappy, 'Fake Plastic Trees' by Radiohead, 'Secret Garden' by Bruce Springsteen, or 'Rose Darling' by Steely Dan. God, what am I doing ? - I've turned into Tony Blackburn........