Why we need a day without music

last updated 8 January 2015

Kevin Berger

Salon.com

Imagine, for just one day, turning off the insipid music constantly playing in airports, supermarkets, department stores, and restaurants, said Kevin Berger. It would be such a relief to eat a meal or visit the Jiffy Lube waiting area without hearing Lionel Richie croon, for the 10,000th time, “once, twice, three times a lady,” or being assaulted by some godawful Muzak version of “Hotel California.” Songs that “once lifted your spirits” are now being used by commercial establishments to create what they call “retail theater,” where everybody is chipper, humming along, and raring to spend money. In rebellion, “a surprisingly wide swath of Britain” dedicated one day last week as “No Music Day,” with participating radio stations, stores, and music lovers forswearing all tunes for 24 hours. The man who came up with the idea, musician and conceptual artist Bill Drummond, was sick of hearing good songs turned into TV commercials and bad music into “psychic soundscapes” from which he couldn’t escape. Let’s take a cue from Drummond and declare an “aural holiday” in the U.S. Only by escaping the incessant onslaught of mindless melodies can we take the first step toward “learning to listen again.”