Have you ever telephoned a company or organisation and found their "hold" music strangely inappropriate?

yes. I once was researching Diabetes for a school project. I called this Foundation's hotline and the "hold" music was, believe it or not, that horrid Archies song "Candy Girl".

Instrumental, but still...

I haven't noticed

no

I called blockbuster to extend my rental of a DVD because it was already late and I hadn't watched it. Imstead of music they had the audio of the movie they were playing in the store playing on the phone while I was on hold. I don't know what the movie was but some guy was saying something like "first I'm gonna tear your arms off, then I'm gonna make you wish you were never born....". I thought it was appropriate considering the late fees blockbuster charge.

I call them Ballbuster Video...I even write that in my check register when we pay for movies there with a check

This hasn't happened to me.

I don't remember ever being put on hold.

Ballbuster! I can't believe they send accounts out for late fees if you rack them up then don't go back. No where else does that. I remember Ballbu$ter sending me a letter once saying that all fees had been waived and 'could I come back' because I wrote "refused" on one of their bills.

No

Not that I recall. I have noticed that this happens to Homer Simpson frequently. Incidentally, Shakin' All Over was written by Frederick Heath and first popularised by his band Johnny Kidd & the Pirates in 1960. The Who was only one of many artists who did cover versions of this song. It was also covered by The Flamin Groovies, The Guess Who, Suzi Quatro, Steve Marriott, Adam Ant, Chris Spedding, Mott The Hoople, Agent Orange, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Smithereens, The Damned, Alex Harvey, The Wild Things, Iggy Pop, and Generation X.

Candy Girl is by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. Perhaps you are thinking of the song Sugar Sugar by The Archies. It has a lyric "You are my candy girl..."

Oh that's it! Don't know why I thought the title was different. It's so obvious.

Our own. It was once playing the soundtrack to a Warner Brothers movie all day. Don't know how that happened. (We're Paramount.)

I'm not sure because lately I've been on the phone, or on hold with the phone co. a lot, and I've been to irritated to pay attention to what dumb music was playing. But, I'm sure it was something bad...What gets me is when the "hold music" is really LOUD...that's annoying.

What do you mean, "We're Paramount"...?
Just wondering...

No, but I can think of a few that would be inappropriate.
For example:
Van Halen's "Jump" for a suicide hotline

It was Paramount Picture's hold music that was playing the Warner Bros soundtrack. ('We' because I work there.)
I do the same as you do to hold music - hold the phone away or tune it out if I can. Some of it is pretty obnoxious these days.

Ok, I didn't mean to sound nosy or anything, I was just wondering. Sounds like a fun job to work for Paramount..

Other than it being elevator music, I didn't really have a problem with it. I did call legal aide to file for divorce and they was playing country music, which is known for being sad and sappy, while I was on hold but thats about it.

That means they were afraid of your balls!

Good example! To me, ALL musics when on hold are inappropriate. They should not have such irritating krap to listen to, because not everyone enjoys the same kind of music. If they MUST have online music, why not some of those classical pieces that are supposed to calm you, increase your learning power, etc. -- or some of the supposedly researched "new age" type music that is supposed to be able to do the same thing -- to calm the customer, increase his/her ability to learn, etc. Is there anything TO these claims at all? WHO the heck chooses the stuff that we are forced to listen to anyway?

In a restaurant I worked, in Austin, Texas, one of our regular customers was a very old man (people said he was 90, and this was back in 1982). He had created 'Musak', which was the installation of and the widely-distributed "elevator" type music I think you're talking about.
In the late 80's, people got sick of 'Musak'. So, corporations and doctor's offices and department stores all began tearing away from the stronghold that company seemed to have on everyone. It's interesting to hear someone interested in it coming back. Like...full circle or something.

It is at times. To be honest, though, only when someone says "You work at Paramount?" am I reminded of how interesting it might be. The rest of the time it's just another job - one, which I happen to really like, by the way, thanks for asking.
Where do you work?

Ya think? Yeah, maybe they were....

Yuck - I detest any kind of "elevator-type" music like "Musak." This is not what I am talking about. There was a book some years back about music that is especially good for helping people to learn things faster; and some of the so-called "new age" experimental music professes to help one relax and other claims (and so do some of the various "new age"-type videos that one is supposed to watch via their VCR). But these are not the same things as that awful "elevator music." Nope, I'm definitely NOT interested in THAT coming back. I think one of the kinds of classical-type music that is supposed to help you learn things/concentrate better might be from Beethoven. I do not have a background in or a like for any kind of classical music (which is no doubt why I never followed up after reading that book a long time ago). But I can't seem to remember the KIND of classical music represented by this style at the moment. Anyway, this is not the same thing as the stuff known as Musak.

I think you're referring to the healing/thought-provoking powers of the music of Mozart. His music has become known by psychologists to be the calming of most, as well. There have been science labs that have proven (scientifically) the healing power of Mozart's concoctions.
There was a doctor who devoted 50 years of his profession (or something wild like that) testing these theories, successfully proving the healing power of Mozart's art.

You might find this interesting to read:
http://www.positivehealth.com/permit/Articles/Sound%20and%20Music/heather64.htm

That sounds right! Mozart is probably the one I read about way back when. Scientifically proven, huh? I was not sure if it'd been scientifically proven or not. Thanks for all this. What is the *kind* of music (besides just the word 'classical') that Mozart did? I keep forgetting the term...

Tell you the truth, I'm not sure of a specific 'term' for his music, other than "classical", that is...

Awright, I'll ask my neighbor about this term and get back to ya.

Mostly, the organiZations have sickening boring music.