State workers complain about volume of Christmas music
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Nashville is known around the world as Music City.
To promote that concept in a new and innovative way, the convention and visitors bureau challenged the city to come up with something that would cost the tax payers little while at the same time exposing each citizen to a highly recognizable and singularly Nashville brand.
Public Works PIO Gwen Hopkins explains the genesis of the project:
“4 years ago, Public Works Director Billy Lynch thought it would be a good idea to provide, some music at downtown locations. Since Nashville is Music City, we began working with the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the country music hall of fame to create music boxes. Traffic engineers rewired the signal boxes so music plays out o them and it is no cost to do it. We started with maybe 3 locations on Church Street, with the redevelopment project. The convention and visitors bureau wanted to add more locations, so we did. We recently, added the Deadrick Street boxes when we did the street scape project that we finished in October. The idea was to provide a more pleasant environment for workers, visitors, and to make the downtown atmosphere more inviting. We experimented with public service announcements to promote city events and welcome people here, and encourage them to use litter receptacles. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Early on, we did get some complaints from residents downtown and every time we did get a volume complaint we would adjust it so it is not distracting.”
According to Hopkins-Glascock, there are now 12 music boxes in the downtown corridor. Each box plays music relevant to the attraction it is near. Country Music plays at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Classical music plays at the Schermerhorn. Show tunes play around TPAC.
Regardless of where the music boxes are, for the next few weeks, all boxes are playing holiday music.
All the boxes are playing music except one. Until further notice, Box number 12, at the corner of Charlotte and 6th is silent.
Why?
Because state office workers in the Rachel Jackson Building complained repeatedly.
“The music has become such a distraction that we can no longer use the corner conference room for anything other than storage,” the administrative assistant reportedly writes city leaders
Hopkins says the box volume has been lowered several times, and each time officer workers complained.
To be a good neighbor, Hopkins-Glascock says the Public Works Department decided to turn the speaker off.
“We certainly don’t want to disrupt a business day for anyone. We thought we would change the time, and turn on the boxes only at night when the buildings were closed from 7-9pm, but constant complaints from same office came in so we unplugged that box.”
Messed UP tries to get the office worker’s side of the story, but a representative tells us that nobody in the office will discuss the matter.
While video taping a box across from the Country Music Hall of Fame, I encounter a man named Sean Grayowl. The man originally from South Dakota tells me he is in town visiting his daughter.
Grayowl tells me that Nashville is Music City. When informed of the pressure to mute the music, he tells me this:
“What you are talking about is crazy. When you are on the corner, what better way to experience music. It is crazy they are turning it down.”
We pause for a moment letting a Christmas song fill the air.
He smiles.
“It makes me feel good. It gives me a good Christmas spirit. For me personally, I love the music and wish it would be on the corners. It’s a lot better than buses and trucks.
I asked if the box might be turned back on. Hopkins-Glascock says if enough tax payers wanted it, it would be considered.
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Knowing the current state of the “PC” world, I guarantee that it has nothing to do with “volume” and everything to do with the content of the music. Why did this issue just come up during the holidays when Christmas music is being played?
I’ve been against public music ever since I went to Nashville Sounds games in the 1980s and was subjected to ‘Elvira’ before every game. Now it has to be heard at baseball, football, and other games and events, like we want to hear it. If I want to hear music, especially in these days, I’ll wear earphones and listen to something I want to hear. I stand by the musical lyrics of ‘Silence is Golden’ in public. Cut all the speakers off, and cut off all the street lights after midnight too. Why can’t we let earth be earth sometimes, instead of showing that humans have found a way to screw it all up?