They think this is a good thing?

[vettecat]

It seems that Oldies 103.3 will be playing nothing but Christmas music for five continuous weeks. Ugh! Completely aside from the fact that it's not our holiday, and the fact that it's not even Thanksgiving yet, I would think the same songs being repeated over and over that many times would drive anyone up the wall. But it was nice of them to send a postcard (advertising a contest) warning us they'll be doing this... I sent them an e-mail thanking them for the alert, so we'll know not to turn to their station for the next few weeks. (Does anyone really want to hear nonstop Christmas music for that many days straight? It's not unusual for customers to come in to our store during December and say, "oh, it's so nice to not hear Christmas music for a change!")

On the other hand, I was listening to Mike 93.7 in the car yesterday, and one of their station breaks said something along the lines of, "We could play some Christmas music, but then you'd fall asleep... so we're playing this instead." I thought that was kind of refreshing... maybe I'll write and tell them so.

Comments

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Many years ago, I was shopping in a local supermarket in December. The Muzak was playing exactly what you expect it to be playing.

And then, for some reason, it started playing Paul Simon's "Slip Sliding Away."

There were audible sighs of relief all over the store.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I think everyone reaches saturation after a while...

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

It's not the first time they've done this, though it does seem to be the longest time. Past years it's just been Thanksgiving through Christmas Day. That's one of the reasons I stopped listening, too - the occasional holiday song is nice, but that's kind of like being choked to death on it....

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

That's it exactly. Too much of anything gets to be nauseating.

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

I've been making it a point, with smaller stores, to tell them that Christmas music is a good way to keep me out of the store. It occurs to me that since starting my current shopping circle, being primarily Costco and Trader Joe's, that I have had to deal with such music a lot less. Stop'n'Slop (sic) and other megamarts tend to play That Music, and I am *so* glad I spend less than an hour a month in such stores. Now to cut down that hour...

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I don't run into it that often these days either. But I'm certainly not going to seek it out...

[folkmew.livejournal.com]

Well, admittedly, in spite of it not really being "our" holiday either - we do celebrate it. In much the same spirited, fun, love filled, agnostic UU way that my parents did only with tinges of paganism thrown in for good ritual. ;-)

Anyway - one of the things both Ed and I DO love about Christmas is the music. (I have no idea if Hanukkah has wonderful music associated with it but I bet it does. The only thing I grew up listening to/singing was the abominable Dreydl song. However, I've heard good Klezmar music and I've had the privilege of hearing wonderful cantors a few times so I know there must be better stuff). Anyway there are a lot of wonderful Christimas songs and recordings. We DO, I must admit, tend to put on our "Christmas music mp3 mix" on eternal loop at our house. However there are several hundreds of songs in it at least and we do not start that til well into December.

I'd be very annoyed about the radio station. Write em and complain and while yer at it annoy them by insisting on equal (or at least SOME) representation for your holiday!

Blah. (hmm - as a note - LJ's spell checker doesn't recognize either Klezmar or Dreydl. Now I may not be spelling them right but still, that's suspicious to me.)

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Several hundred songs sounds like a lot more than the radio stations use! I did write and complain, though I'm not asking for "equal time" - I just want them to go back to playing "normal" music. (BTW usual spellings are "klezmer" and "dreidel" - don't know if that makes a difference.)

[donnad.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's really annoying and it is my holiday (so to speak.)

I am quite annoyed that the stores had holiday decorations up before Halloween. I wonder every year why I have no holiday spirit left by Christmas. It's because I have used it all up and just want it to be done with. ComeChristmas and I'm just sick of all the commercialization. It's easy to have holiday spirit for the four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But beyond that it's really hard to keep it up. If I'm supposed to start having holiday spirit before Halloween, by Thanksgiving, I'm done. I just want it over.

I don't put my holiday decorations up (yes, I have a tree) until two weeks before December 25th, and I take it down in the week between Christmas and New Years. I start the New Year with no signs of Christmas in my house. The neighbors next door had their tree up and lit when we got home last night. Yeeps. too early, way too early.

This year, we plan to have our shopping done in the next week and we will not set foot in another store or mall (other than grocery stores)until after New Years. Maybe I'll be able to have some spirit left over for the actual holiday this year.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

It is sad that their stretching the holiday until it snaps takes away the fun for the people who do care about it. I think you're smart to try to insulate yourself so you can still enjoy it.

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

It seems that Oldies 103.3 will be playing nothing but Christmas music for five continuous weeks.

Okay, that's more than a bit stupid. They're going to lose regular listeners for at least five weeks (probably even more over the long haul), which will annoy their advertisers (who, after all, want their advertising actually heard by someone), and perhaps have a temporary group of "drop-in" listeners (who might want to listen to the Christmas music as they shop and decorate and such).

Christmas is one of my own religious times -- a time of peace and family and baking (Mike and I started the cookies last night)(thank ghu for freezers!) and sharing and hope.

But I don't play the radio for Christmas music. And the only time I subject my (Jewish) husband to it for any concerted time is when we're wrapping presents. (Even then, my faves are things like Nat King Cole and Mannheim Steamroller, so we're talking pretty good music, all in all. And the Gay Men's Chorus. And some more MS...)

The decorating thing is what's gotten particularly annoying. Day after Halloween, I was in CVS...the witches were coming down, and the Santas were going up. I agree with donnad...that's just wrong.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

It seems stupid to me, as well. The number of people who want nonstop Christmas music for that long has to be smaller than the number who get tired of it... and not everyone in the former group will even know they're doing it. I wonder if/how they actually do track the change in number of listeners.

I like that your celebration involves baking. Baking is always important. :-)

And, yes, there should at least be some turkeys between the witches and the Santas... don't more people celebrate Thanksgiving than Christmas?

[c1.livejournal.com]

Of late, I have had less and less tolerance for Christmas, and it's supposed to be my holiday. It starts with the crass commercialism, and includes the utter inescapability of it.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I have wondered whether people who celebrate the holiday get as tired of the oversaturation as those who don't... I'm both relieved and sorry to know that is indeed the case.