Good luck trying to sleep when the workmen at the house next door turn this boombox on full blast.

Outdoor workers  set  standard;
we have no choice but to listen
 
By David Maril
 
To me, it’s astounding how so many people forget that music comes down to personal taste. Too often all of us are forced to hear music others listen to that we detest.

It’s bad enough pulling up at a traffic light in the middle of winter with the car windows closed and you hear harsh sound effects disguised as music blaring from a vehicle 20 feet away.

Or feel your car shake from the vibrations.

Think how much worse this becomes when we are having such a warm, beautiful fall with windows wide open and the music volume up.

The music you like might be something everyone else within hearing distance hates. But as self-centered attitudes become more dominant in our society, being respectful of others grows less important.

The attack of unwanted music is even more aggressive in a number of work areas.

We all experience music invasions in what should be the quietest residential locations. For example, when the owner of the property next door, or across the street from your home, decides to have some construction work done.

It can be repairs or adding something new. Maybe the roof needs replacing or a porch is being enclosed. Perhaps a few overgrown trees are being cut back with power saws.

Whatever the work order, the  trend is, the crews not only bring their tools, they also come equipped with large-speaker radios and boomboxes, also known as “ghetto blasters.”

THE SCREECHING SOUNDS OF POWER SAWS

It’s already a big enough adjustment simply getting used to a week of heavy hammering and the screeching sounds of power saws. However, being subjected to loud music, which seldom is a selection of your choice, makes the situation intolerable.

The least these uninvited “concert hosts” could do is take requests from the neighbors about what they’d like to hear.

And if the music isn’t annoying enough, the loud-blaring commercials between selections on the radio are enough to make you wish for a week of snow, sleet  and heavy winds — to keep the workers inside or away.

We can all understand people enjoying background music to break the monotony of work. But when did it become acceptable to invade the listening space of everyone within a block?

Consider what we have to look forward to if this invasive workplace music becomes commonplace in other venues:

Accountants will be compiling your tax return to the beat of hip-hop while you squirm nervously in your chair waiting to see whether you owe the government a hefty payment for the year.

Doctors will be tapping their feet to reggae music while in the middle of surgery, making you thankful you were put under before the operation.

A STOCKBROKER PAYING ATTENTION TO BLUEGRASS

How confident will you feel about following the advice of a stockbroker who seems to be paying more attention to high-volume bluegrass than a discussion of your portfolio?

Won’t it be more than a little distracting to be taken through a museum showing of Picasso or Matisse by a tour guide carrying a radio blaring music from an oldies station?

Will we ever accept a librarian who refuses to work without playing country music that echoes through the building?

Will you be even more uncomfortable sitting in a chair having a tooth cavity filled while the dentist sings along with an opera recording?

What kind of respect would a policeman on duty get, armed with a CD player blasting out background music from Laurel & Hardy and Three Stooges movies?

Will it reach the point where professional golfers start playing their favorite music while competing in major tournaments? like high-priced baseball players make the stadiums do, when they step up to the plate?

All of which returns to the original question of why so many of us are oblivious to the existence of other people.
 
davidmaril@hermanmaril.com
 
“Inside Pitch” is a weekly opinion column written for Voice of Baltimore by David Maril.
 
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