Here at the library, we started playing music in the Coffee Bar around a year or so ago. The university has a subscription to Sirius (though it doesn’t have all the channels), and it made sense to have something playing in a cafe. It fits the cafe vibe, and we’re far enough away from the actual stacks and study areas that it doesn’t impact students needing to focus on work.
Of course, once we had the music playing, I suppose it was inevitable that some people wouldn’t like what music we picked. My initial plan was to stick to classical, because . . . who doesn’t like classical? It’s lovely, and it’s conducive to a studious atmosphere. Unfortunately, my love of classical wasn’t shared universally, so we switch the jazz. That went over about the same. Some people really liked it, but some people definitely didn’t. In fact, the more time went by, the more convinced I became that it didn’t matter what we played; someone would always dislike it.
So at the beginning of the semester, I switched things up to a model where people get to vote for what they want. Each week I post a new poll with 10 different Sirius stations we have access to. People use a QR code to get to it, and whichever gets the most votes gets played for the next week. I try to pick a wide variety of stations, and we’ve had everything from 80s alt to “A Taste of Italy” (which made the library feel like a pizza parlor for the week.)
The winner on Monday was the special halloween station, so as I sit at the reference desk, I get to hear all the songs Sirius has decided fit that theme, and I’ve got to say: there ain’t much. You’ve got some of the classics (Monster Mash, Purple People Eater, Thriller, Werewolves of London) and some movie themes (Psycho, Halloween), but then they start turning farther afield. “I Want Candy” makes sense, I suppose. The candy connection is strong. “Running Up that Hill” is decidedly not a spooky song, but it’s featured in Stranger Things, and so . . . now it is? And is the Pirate Song from the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean ride really thematically on point? I mean, I guess people dress up as pirates?
And why in the world did it decide Skrillex is Halloween?
It’s been entertaining to see the song choices, but it’s also made me realize that Halloween has a whole slew of traditions around it, but that has yet to really translate to music the same way Christmas did. I suppose some of that is that it’s not like people went around singing songs to celebrate the holiday for decades/centuries, but my guess is this is something that will end up gaining traction over time.
Could it be that twenty years from now, people start to complain about Halloween music being played in Walmart starting in August? Time will tell . . .