Pet Peeve Alert

I'd like to know why, why, WHY people still insist, INSIST on putting music onto their websites. Not talking about people who share clips and sound bites and such, where you can choose to listen. I'm talking about the people who put the music on so that it blares out the moment some unsuspecting soul hits your stupid web page.

You who do this may be lovely folks in your own homes, but I have one thing to say: I hate you.

I know, I know. It's 'cute'. Like so many other 'cute' things, it's also annoying. It 'shares'. It shares your musical tastes, but, news flash, there's a lot of music out there and everyone's tastes are different, and, clearly, always different from those who insist on putting music onto their sites. It creates a 'mood'. The mood creation I can attest to, wholeheartedly. And I'll share with all who have and who are considering putting music on their sites, especially without a large, obvious 'off' button, just what mood it so creates: Rage. Thanks for that.

I had to restart Firefox for some usual lame reason today (the lame reasons usually involve something I've done, but that's not important now). No worries, Firefox is good and kind and saves the open tabs, of which I have like a zillion opened at any one time.

So, while I'm again trying to download the newest version of iTunes properly (it didn't used to be this hard, is all I'm saying), I hear, over MY music -- the music that I have actually playing because I WANT to hear it, my loud rock music, Aerosmith, to be exact (so you know it has to be loud to be heard over the Gods of Rock) -- some funky, pseudo-banjo-country crap.

Now, before knickers and/or drawers get in a twist, I like country music. I even like banjo music, in small doses. What I don't like is faked out, cutesy country or banjo music, and surely not the two put together. Five seconds of that and I wanted to claw my eardrums out.

The issue came in trying to find which website was the offending one. You can't always tell quickly, and this morning (any morning, really) I wasn't feeling all that quick in the first place.

I turned off my music. No, it wasn't some weird track overlay added on that my speakers were somehow choosing to share right now. Thankfully. But it wasn't easily found, either.

I checked each and every website up. None of them appeared obviously to be the offender. And none of them, particularly the one with the damn cruddy music playing, had an 'off' button for said horrible music.

I shut a couple down. Nope, not them. Then, the coffee finally having kicked in, I remembered that one of them, a site which shall not be named (hear that, Society of Southwestern Authors? I'm not calling you out by name for this! Really! See what a nice, forgiving girl I am?), has recently had a major overhaul in the web page department. But I'd been on that site for days, and hadn't heard the stupid music.

I went back. I'd been on the site, but not on the home page, which is what Firefox restarted for me. Sure enough, I went off the homepage and...blissful silence. This ordeal took much longer than it should have, especially when it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Really, everyone, stop doing this. Stop shoving your musical choices onto those of us foolish enough to visit your website. I'd say it's almost as bad as making us look at pictures of your vacation or your grandkids, except I actually like looking at pictures like that. To date, even though I like music in every genre and sub-genre out there, and from all ages of recorded sound, I've never, ever found a website with music on it I liked, unless it was a website for an actual band.

Other than that, it's been a cheerful morning. My iTunes update installed while I was ranting here, I'm calming myself down by listening to the soothing sounds of Adam Ant, and all's well again. At least, until I go to another website...

Love,
Gini