No Sugarcoating & No Bullshit: May
Written by Jo Hayes
Saturday, 31 May 2014 04:00
Hello Uber Rock readers (just thought I’d change my opening line for once), it’s time once again, for some more nonsense, to hopefully amuse you this weekend.
I’ve been racking my brains about what to write about this month, and I thought of something which has been getting to me lately, and that is with two of my neighbour’s loud music. Now, it isn’t the volume, but what they insist on blasting through their speakers, that makes the difference between pure annoyance, (and developing Tourette’s), to turning off your own stereo to listen to theirs, and then being pissed off when they turn theirs off.
Neighbour number one tends to shake the building with Rap, and lots of it, plus some shite I remember kids at school calling Garage (crap dance music, as opposed to some good Garage Rock). Maybe some Techno thrown in…ugh (I think it may be time to get the rusty screwdriver out to gouge my ear-drums with again). Thankfully this is only during the day, which I’ve only noticed as I’ve been off sick, and when his partner gets back from work, it seems to stop…phew.
I think if you’re gonna to do it wrong, do it right, blast some AC/DC or Sex Pistols through the speakers – like neighbour number two, who seems to have an excellent music taste. The other day I was sitting trying to do a boring end of module essay (it’s as exciting as it sounds), and I was stuck in a rut with my ending, thankfully it was neighbour number two’s turn to be noisy – out came AC/DC’s ‘TNT’. It didn’t help me with my essay in the slightest, but provided a welcome distraction for a bit.
I guess it’s all down to personal taste, and I’m sure if the tables were turned, and I was blaring out Buckcherry, Motörhead, (and whatever else took my musical fancy), through the walls, I might get some complaints, or the likes of neighbour number one would then punish me with Rap.
I haven’t actually complained yet, as it seems both of my neighbours with their vastly differing music tastes, are sometimes at competition with each other, to see who can play their music the loudest. Sometimes when neighbour number one is out, or resisting joining in, I try and join in, but my stereo isn’t loud enough to drown out their noise, and it ends up being a very weird hybrid of Glunk and Rap, or Punk and Garage (if only it was the Garage-Punk I knew!)
It’s funny really, as we all say hello when passing each other in the hallway, and we never mention our music wars.
I guess you can apply music wars to travelling on public transport, when you’re sitting next to someone who sounds like they’re having their head kicked in from the inside (with a noise like ‘doof doof doof doof’ – yes, I’m full of musical terms me). You turn your headphones up to compete, with a feeling of smugness – then either give yourself tinnitus or miss your stop, all because of trying to retain your sanity. Plus old grannies and others will now turn their murderous glare on to you (maybe an exaggeration there).
Maybe tolerance is the key to withstanding a Rap assault from my neighbour, or some better speakers, and saying how much I hate Rap, doesn’t even compare to how much I hate the X Factor bands, thank goodness they don’t seem to like them (or have I spoken too soon…)
This isn’t the first time neighbours music taste has been called into question in relation to my multiple moves over my lifetime, I remember when I moved into the Young Ones style house (I think mentioned in an earlier blog – we even had our own ‘Vyvian’, not that he was aware of this), we had problems with the neighbour in the flat below us. Without fail, every weekend morning, and some mornings during the week, ‘Crazy Claire’ as we called her, would slam the keys on her piano at 6am, and start screeching. ‘Vyvian’ would then turn his music up full volume, after being stirred by the crazy lady, this then woke me up, then I turned up my speakers full volume – which had my other housemate shouting, and my other sane neighbours probably wishing we’d move out (I was only 17, so that’s my excuse). Music wars in this instance didn’t help, and after a while the novelty of ‘Crazy Claire’ and her screeching wore very thin.
Anyway, enough nonsense and ramblings for this month.
Until next time…
Jo