What the hell happened to outside music?

[Ancestor]

I was thinking back to when we were kids and we'd going out in the woods or wherever we could get away from adults and party and listen to music. In the neighborhood people would put on whatever (the game or music) while they were working in their garages or bbq'ing or just hanging out.

I had this shit show day and then 4 or 5 hours of frustrating calls and emails to make afterwards. Then I just wanted to sit out on the tiny porch of my super overpriced box that I live in and pound some beer and listen to some Sacred Heart ambiently so that at least the whole day didn't suck.

Next thing I know I get this text from our apartment manager:

"A friendly reminder to keep our neighborhood peaceful by not playing loud music."

Keep in mind that I'm playing this on a G-boom box which although yeah I had it on full volume could hardly be considered loud. Sure as hell not as loud as the guys working on the roof 20 yards away.

Is this woman (see how I didn't use a bad word there?) getting the word "audible" with "loud" confused?

I had the same thing happen at work just listening to Bootsy through my computer speaker which is probably the size of a quarter. This guy behind me literally goes off. So sorry! I forgot I was in a halfway house prison. Two songs.

The law here is not to exceed 56 decibels at night. I've been in plenty of rehearsals when the cops were called out. Once out of the last three times this apartment thing happened this lady comes riding up on a golf cart telling me to turn off the loud music. I shut the door to my apartment and said can you hear it now? You couldn't hear a damn thing. And every time I was jamming it was like from 2pm to 4 or 5pm. Not 2 am. I work nights because that's metal.

I told her, "Look go ahead and call the cops. They're just going to come out with a decibel meter, see it's under legal limit and tell me to try to keep it down."

Meanwhile there's freaking three guys with leaf blowers blowing shit all over my car that's parked in a lot with no grass clippings or trash.

What the hell happened to this country? Everyone just walks around with this scared look on their face and drive from work to the grocery straight home. It's literally like prison. People don't even like you to be outside your apartment.

 

[KailM]

This is why I live out in the country away from people. I can't stand living in close proximity to others.

 

[bostjan]

Loud people in the USA have simply had their behaviour reinforced for many years, therefore people, in general, have learned that being vocal about anything that they see as irritant will precipitate results.

Even here in BFE NEK, all of the bars in the entire country have closed, except two, due to "noise complaints." We're often talking about someone playing a juke box in a building nowhere near any houses. It's all political, though, because no laws are being broken.

 

[TedEH]

I think I'm pretty lucky in that regard - I've only gotten one serious noise complaint, but it was for playing a show at full volume in a tiny bar in a residential-ish area where they didn't warn any nearby residents that a concert was going down. I've played acoustic drums in my apartment and gotten away with it. I'll put movies on, or jam at home with the doors/windows open, and nobody seems to care. I did some re-amping once, and left it running while I went out to the store, and could hear everything from there (so I know everyone can hear me) but never got an actual complaint. Maybe that's a good sign that I don't suck, cause I imagine if I played poorly, I'd get more complaints.

As long as it extends both ways, everyone seems to be cool -> I don't complain about the neighbors kids in the parking lot who blast music and film themselves breakdancing in front of the cars in the lot ( ). I once asked them to stop throwing a football against the hydro (electric) cables that connected directly to my living room wall, cause every time it would go BWAAAAAANG through the whole place, but that's about it.

I've heard stories about people just on the other side of the river in Ottawa complain when some of the bigger outdoor festivals come to town. It's like they forget that this happens every year. And I assume these big concerts/festivals are good for the economy. I don't think anything will be done about the complaints, and I'm ok with that.

 

[bostjan]

I think I'm pretty lucky in that regard - I've only gotten one serious noise complaint, but it was for playing a show at full volume in a tiny bar in a residential-ish area where they didn't warn any nearby residents that a concert was going down. I've played acoustic drums in my apartment and gotten away with it. I'll put movies on, or jam at home with the doors/windows open, and nobody seems to care. I did some re-amping once, and left it running while I went out to the store, and could hear everything from there (so I know everyone can hear me) but never got an actual complaint. Maybe that's a good sign that I don't suck, cause I imagine if I played poorly, I'd get more complaints.

As long as it extends both ways, everyone seems to be cool -> I don't complain about the neighbors kids in the parking lot who blast music and film themselves breakdancing in front of the cars in the lot ( ). I once asked them to stop throwing a football against the hydro (electric) cables that connected directly to my living room wall, cause every time it would go BWAAAAAANG through the whole place, but that's about it.

I've heard stories about people just on the other side of the river in Ottawa complain when some of the bigger outdoor festivals come to town. It's like they forget that this happens every year. And I assume these big concerts/festivals are good for the economy. I don't think anything will be done about the complaints, and I'm ok with that.

You don't suck. I'm pretty picky and I quite like your stuff.

My perception on this topic is that the culture in the USA on noise complaints has changed quite a bit the past 3-4 years or thereabouts. I think that when the police receive a phoned-in complaint in the USA (as opposed to Canada, for example), they are far more likely to go around looking to get someone in trouble, rather than to just show up and say "meh, it's not really that loud," and go back to the station.

 

[TedEH]

We definitely have a lot of that vibe in Canada where you'll get notices from the landlord to "remember to be respectful of your neighbors" in more of a seasonal-newsletter kind of form, and "officially" things are pretty picky about noise, but (at least on the Quebec side) actual complaints are pretty rare. Oddly, drums in the apartment never got me in trouble, but when I got a dog and it barked at the cleaners in the hallway once, the landlord had a fit.

 

[synrgy]

It's not a hard rule, but conversing with one's neighbors ahead of time can often head off these kinds of situations. "Hi! I'm the jerk in number 12. I love music, and I intend to have it playing at reasonable levels during daylight hours, but I don't mean for it to be intrusive. If I'm ever too loud, please come let me know."

9/10 times, they'll never be a problem again, because you're A) no longer a stranger, and B) you were nice enough to meet them and treat them like a fellow human.

 

[TedEH]

^ +1

 

[buriedoutback]

This is why I live out in the country away from people. I can't stand living in close proximity to others.

Same here. When I lived in the city, the guy revving his engine all day, or cranking shitty tunes, or letting his dog bark all day/night, or stomping around like some kind of southbound pachyderm NEVER got complaints... but if my 32inch TV with nickel-sized speakers is on volume level 7 - I get the police at my door or an angry call from the landlord.

F-that. I moved out to the country so I can shoot guns, crank movies, Jam/Record at a satisfying level , have a fire with tunes up, etc and no one hears shit. People suck.

I agree that talking to one's neighbors in advance could possibly help, but IME the 'complainers' would rather just call 911 or post on facebook about their issues rather than actually talk to another human face-to-face.

 

[TedEH]

At the same time, I don't think it's an unreasonable ask for some amount of quiet in your own home, if you were on the other side of things. I think we're predisposed to being tolerant of noises, but I've got a lot of appreciation for quiet as well.

I used to stay with an ex at this place with paper thin walls, where you'd hear the entirety of the neighbors lives. The people above us had zero shame. Or class. We turned their frequent shouting matches into a drinking game.

 

[synrgy]

the 'complainers' would rather just call 911 or post on facebook about their issues rather than actually talk to another human face-to-face.

That's exactly the scenario one hopes to avoid by talking to one's neighbors in advance. When they have a name/face/personality to go with you, you've effectively robbed them of their ability to pretend you're just some asshole stranger purposely trying to ruin their day.

Most of us are anti-confrontational by nature, especially in the wake of the Internet. When somebody 'knows you', they're likely to give you a much longer leash.

'Neighbors' are still 'strangers', until/unless they've been introduced. The introduction isn't a 'magic bullet' solution by any means, but it requires almost zero effort (even if one is a complete wreck of social anxiety, like myself) and more often than not serves as an effective deterrent against 'complaint' scenarios.

"Here's my cell phone number. Seriously, if you're ever having a bad day or for whatever reason just can't deal, please let me know, and I'll be happy to keep quiet."

And, if in response to that, they give you attitude? No worries. You've done your part, now you can cruise without the guilt; their attitude problem is their own.

 

[Avedas]

I live in a tiny Japanese apartment. Made of concrete though. I blast the fuck out of my speakers. Never had a noise complaint.

 

[AdamMaz]

The product of liberalism.

 

[Vhyle]

One reason why I'm glad I bought a house (as opposed to renting), not in an HOA community (fuck that), and we're lucky that our noise ordinance is at midnight. Anytime before then, I can play loud music if I want, and my pain in the ass neighbor who is a stupid asshole anyway can just get over it.

Granted, I'm not really one to throw huge parties or crank loud music at my house anyway. I'm too old for that mess now, plus with the kiddo going to bed earlier than everyone else, it's really a rarity these days. But hey, I have the option.

Murgle murgle, get off my lawn.

 

[GunpointMetal]

The product of liberalism.

Gonna go ahead and guess based on who has complained of noise from rehearsals or my little Jambox bluetooth speaker that its not the "liberals". More likely the same red shirts that move into a 20 unit complex in a city with decriminalized marijuana and call the cops if they smell "something" in the hallways. (Which is hilarious because the cops don't care.)
My neighborhood is pretty cool with whatever until its after 9-10pm. Except the guy with the swastika and SS stickers on his car. Everyone calls that guy in for blasting shitty country music out of his trunk, but seriously, fuck that guy anyways.

 

[wankerness]

The product of liberalism.

Can't tell if troll or utter moron or both

Loud people in the USA have simply had their behaviour reinforced for many years, therefore people, in general, have learned that being vocal about anything that they see as irritant will precipitate results.

Even here in BFE NEK, all of the bars in the entire country have closed, except two, due to "noise complaints." We're often talking about someone playing a juke box in a building nowhere near any houses. It's all political, though, because no laws are being broken.

I'm not sure if this is true on a country/reinforcement over the years level. It's not like people were blasting music in the 1950s, and it's not like those damn hippies weren't constantly complained about in the 60s. I wasn't alive then, though, and for all I know it's always been equally bad. I mean, if politeness used to be higher, then you'd think that being a loud asshole would also have increased over the years.

It's not a hard rule, but conversing with one's neighbors ahead of time can often head off these kinds of situations. "Hi! I'm the jerk in number 12. I love music, and I intend to have it playing at reasonable levels during daylight hours, but I don't mean for it to be intrusive. If I'm ever too loud, please come let me know."

9/10 times, they'll never be a problem again, because you're A) no longer a stranger, and B) you were nice enough to meet them and treat them like a fellow human.

This is very true. I've lived in a variety of housing/apartment situations. Typically everyone was pretty respectful of one another with keeping things down to a decent level, but then you'd get one person that had to open up his door and blast the same three Fallout Boy songs over and over and over every single day for an hour, which made everyone in the place want to murder him. It sounds like the OP might be nostalgic for the days of that one person. Haha. But yes, every time I've lived with a wall shared with someone I actually know (or above someone I know) I've had no issues despite most definitely occasionally making enough noise that would piss some people off.

I used to live above a rotten old lady that refused to talk to anyone and called the landlord anytime anyone made so much as a peep anywhere close to her apartment, and it's been such a relief having normal neighbors since then. My guess is that this might be what's going on with the first scenario described in the OP. If all your neighbors are fine with it and your landlord doesn't care, but there's one asshole that has to bitch and moan about everything, you can bet that the landlord is going to come tell you to turn it down just so he/she doesn't have to deal with the jerk's BS anymore. And sometimes that jerk will be a total shut-in or one of those calcified old creeps that will never, ever become friendly, so you can't possibly reason with them.

Living in a small town, I see some of this on the street level, too. It's usually crazy cat ladies who also listen to Alex Jones and alternate filing complaints with the cops about EVERYTHING they possibly can and trying to come up to you and make you believe in crisis actors or flouride or whatever. They also come to town hall meetings and shut down everything they possibly can, including projects that would improve the town. I can't wait for Soylent Green to become a thing.

 

[Albake21]

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I'd be pretty pissed too. It's apartment life, not being able to play music loud comes with that. I don't blast music or play guitar super loud because I wouldn't want others to do the same.

Also as for work, I'd be even more pissed off. It's work dude, wear some headphones. I sure as shit wouldn't be able to get work done if someone was playing music through their speakers.

 

[ArtDecade]

I move away from people that think I want to hear their crap.

 

[TedEH]

It's work dude, wear some headphones.

In an office, tight spaces with lots of people - absolutely. I don't think the 20+ other people in the room want to hear what I'm listening to.
I once worked in a warehouse with only two other guys at any given time. The nature of the work meant not having a designated workstation for each person, let alone being close to something you could plug headphones into, but we had a radio. So we alternated who got to pick the music each day. Nobody had even close to the same taste in music, but it was fine. I'd blast power metal and they lived with it, they blasted country-rock and I dealt with it.

 

[DredFul]

The product of liberalism.

I don't see how liberalism has anything to do with this but I'd be interested in hearing your view point. Or was this just a satire post?