Does anyone besides me think the background music in modern TV/movies has become WAY too overbearing?

I find myself using the mute button a lot when watching TV because of the incessant and increasingly annoying background music. I find the synths holding chords and shifting thru major, minor, dim, aug. and seventh chords especially aggravating.

Am I the only one that hates this?

For many years I have refused to go to movies in theaters.
The volume of the sound there is one of the reasons.
Others being, obnoxious people on their cell phones, someone talking during the movie, someone spilling drinks, popcorn etc.

I wait until the movie I want to see comes out on cable, on a movie channel (not a "regular" channel as I also don't "do" commercials).

Not sure if it's the movie makers that think the volume needs to be high, or the theaters (if they have any control over it).

So... +1 on the aggravation factor.

LLOYD S

I agree with both Bob and Lloyd, and without wishing to change the direction of the thread, I find that television commercials also need a mention - specifically the "loudness".

We know there are advertising standards that need to be adhered to and these include volume levels. But advertising commercial producers seems to be able to cram every last decibel at that peak volume threshold, thus introducing the 'loudness war' into advertising. Does it get my attention? You bet - I go straight for the mute button or the channel button every time. And it's just one of the reasons I watch very little commercial television.

Good background music has its place - in the background. There are times when it shouldn't always be there, such as to add suspense to a particular scene, but generally speaking, yes, you're right Bob - it has become foreground music.

My 2 cents
Trevor

Lloyd,



I’m definitely with you on that! On the rare occasions I do go to the movies, I try to remember to take earplugs with me for when they get out of control with the volume.

But the everyday occurrence of watching TV is where it really bugs me. It’s not the volume, but the belief of the producers/directors that tension building music must be in the background of any scene. It gets to the point where I’d rather mute the TV and read the close captioning with a lot of programs.

Hardly watch TV any longer except for the morning and evening news....and Jon Stewart.

Jon Stewart is kind of like a deep fried Twinkie. ...

If you only have it once or twice a year, ... it's delicious!

Any more than that, ................

Same problem in the UK. OK, we import a huge amount of programming from the USA (can someone explain WHY Big Bang Theory is funny?) But UK drama makers are just as bad.
Fun tip - if your film / drama has subtitles, mute the volume and try and follow the dialogue that way.
Wouldn't it be cool if they could 'invent' a side sound channel that only carried the "music". Then you could have it, or not.
Adverts? Grrr! I'm trending now to use my PVR record everything I want " live", wait 30 mins and then start watching. I can FF through the Ads super fast and not lose that Continuity. Here in UK though we have, as well as the commercial channels, the BBC channels which are all Ad Free. wonderful.
Cheers
Ian

Yep it's become an obsession in the UK as well. I HATE watching a tv programme with crappy music spoiling the storyline. My wife watches QVC ( Shopping telly ) a lot as she needs a wheelchair to get out & about and she finds this a great way of getting pressies. They have horrid music when the ruddy presenters are talking. Even a couple of the presenters have made catty remarks about it.

I'm surprised they don't have music on news channels.

My other bugbear is loud music in shops & supermarkets !! They wonder why folk then shop online ??? Duh !!

Dammit. Now look what you've just gone and done...

Lloyd S we also don’t go to movies for the exact same reason, volume. Why does everything have to be so loud!

Trevor, I also agree with commercials’ volumes also! Also many times I don’t have any idea what they are trying to get me to buy. And why do so many have to be idiotic? If you are acting like an idiot in the commercial and I buy from you when does that me?

It’s interesting that this thread came up today. Last night the wife and I went to a dinner show called “A Pirate’s Dinner Adventure” in Kissimmee Florida. The volume was so loud in the appetizer/greeting lounge we almost left. In fact the music was so loud that the vocalist’s mics were constantly feeding back! Fortunately the show was not that loud. At the end they gave out comment cards and I hope more than ours let them know, especially those there with small children and infants!

As one gets older, hearing diminishes and background garbage doesn't help one bit.

Don S.

I actually like the music in a movie to blow my hair back, but I can see how it might bother others. What I don't understand is why my hearing is still good.

About TV, I thought what had recently been implemented in the USA was a regulation that the commercial could not exceed the average level of the volume of the show it appeared within - something like that. I'm sure somebody here knows the specifics.

And, on a less serious note (!), don't knock that supermarket music. Why, some of us get paid for that, and I'm not willing to give up my $5 per year for being streamed on some subscription service. I've heard myself while on hold to Verizon, but I hope not to hear myself in an elevator. That's just going too far.

I'm with Matt! I like my music loud in a theater!