Step one in curbing noise pollution.
The week's news at a glance.
Canada
Wayne Eyre
National Post
There’s nothing like piped-in Christmas music to smother your holiday spirit, said Wayne Eyre in the Toronto National Post. December is the month when the “auditory spam” that surrounds us is most annoying, but don’t get me wrong—Muzak oppresses us all year round. It started with elevators. It spread to sports stadiums. Now, you can “enter any department store, shopping mall, supermarket, hotel, lounge, dentist’s office, bank, or airplane and behold: speakers emitting auditory wallpaper.” Studies have shown that putting Muzak in stores doesn’t boost sales, but Canadian shopkeepers need to fight back as the Brits are. Two British lobbying groups, Pipedown and No Muzak, have been racking up success after success, persuading the managers of Gatwick Airport, Tesco supermarkets, and other locales to turn off the violins. The key is to complain. Mall managers, hear our plea: “Save the cost of piping in music. Those who hate it will love you. And the rest won’t care or even notice.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Democrats: How to rebuild a damaged brand
Feature Trump's approval rating is sinking, but so is the Democratic brand
-
Unraveling autism
Feature RFK Jr. has vowed to find the root cause of the 'autism epidemic' in months. Scientists have doubts.
-
'Two dolls': Can Trump sell Americans on austerity?
Feature Trump's tariffs may be threatening holiday shelves but they've handed Democrats a 'huge gift'