Does My Music Offend You, Yeah?

I listened to as a teenager and still do listen to music loud on buses and trains etc, Nirvana, The Misfits, Queens kind of stuff... but all in the ear and for nobody else. I don't want or need to subject anyone else to it to make them see who I am and have them get annoyed whilst they try to endure the bus drudgery into work. Young' uns with the tinny phone's at least get a decent sound system, you may as well play the spoons on the back of the bus!

This video just takes me back to when I was listening to the 93X rock station out in Minnesota, United States. After listening to a rock song from this station, I was hearing a radio fan blasting a complaint to one of the station's host. It all started when this fan was stuck on traffic while heading to work one morning, and was listening to loud rock music from 93X in his car while waiting for traffic to dissipate. While waiting, a furious driver in a car next to his made crazy gestures and rolled his window down to demand the fan to turn his volume down because, "It's not fair for you to subject us into this type of music." This led to a whole ugly argument between both drivers that by the time the fan was done telling his story to the 93X host, the host asked the fan, "That guy realized you didn't drive into his house right?" and both chuckled

I feel ur pain. Ppl [in public] have no right 2 tell us 2 turn down our music no matter how loud cause music's our thing. I mean, I listen to music loudly and w/ my headphones out in the street & in the plane -- a form of freedom of Xpression. Ignoramies who dare tell me 2 turn my music down in public don't realize that music is may way of escape so I don't have 2 listen 2 their loud ass. They think my music is offensive by itz loudness? Their loud bitchery / whining is offensive 2 me.

As a young black male (19 years old) I do have to agree that some people DO play their music way too loud. This is why headphones were invented. I don't want to drive down the street and hear the car next to me rattling because the guy (mainly black) is blasting his music loud. Not to mention the song is probably talking about selling drugs, shooting people and having sex with loads of chicks, yet they fail to mention that they could get AIDS :-). It's no different than the problem with the Nextel walkie-talkie phones. I don't want to hear your conversation, so don't broadcast it to the world. But then, if you look at them while they're broadcasting, they get all pumped up saying "you what the f*ck you lookin at ni99a". Well maybe I wouldn't look at you if you weren't talking so loud.

Anyway, back to the phones. I'm young, and my LG Vu has a loud speaker, but, unless I'm alone or among friends I don't use it to play music. I have head phones. Thank God that iPods don't have built in speakers.

cool piece... really well put together about an all too familiar issue on public transport, but does it depend on what kind of music is being played? i would like to see how people would respond to a middle aged middle class guy playing classical... go on make a follow up!

It's wicked that this shows the kids in a positive light. Everyone should be treated with respect.

What offends me about kids playing music on their mobiles is that it sounds tinny and shit, where's the base? I'd rather they did it old school and blasted out on a ghettoblaster, at least then the tunes would sound dope!

I don't know about the whole bus & train thing because we really don't deal with those around here! But every time I am near a gas station some guy will come driving by with some crappy rap song cranked up so loud it actually has made my ears bleed twice! I will not go in to the way these people dress ,but I think that's just a wrong & in my opinion very stupid! I HATE rap in general,but when it's loud enough to cause some real damage,then I think it's time to ban the genre! You really don't hear people cranking up any other style of music super loud here! The local store plays super loud country & after a recent study conducted just four months ago proved that Rap & country are the two styles of music most likely to cause people to want to kill themselves (True medical facts! I am NOT making this up!) I am calling for a ban on both styles,& a set limit on how loud music can be played in a non concert public space! In concert,yeah go right ahead play the music so the def guy out side can hear it,but on a bus or at a gas station? NO!

I thought this was a great pod and liked the story telling from both perspectives

As a single girl in London i don't find music being played on public transport intimidating, just annoying, and tiresomely rude.

Often i get on the bus and someone is playing their music so the whole top deck can hear. However, i do not feel the need to 'crank up my beats' to drown out them, or the conversations of the two people in front of me. Instead, like any other respectful member of the public, i put my ear phones in and listen to the music i want to hear - what is wrong with that?

Treat people the way you would like to be treated - especially in a confined public space, like a bus. If we all did that then it would certainly be a far more pleasant way to travel!

really cool slice of inner city social commentary and some useful advice on how to turn the volume down on any aussies on the bus........ what's not to like.......big up whoever directed this. nick

This is a good insight to how young people think, we all need to remember we were young once!!

It's a simple case of having respect for everyone around you. Don't talk loudly, don't play your music loudly when there are others around who could be offended or annoyed by your actions. There is a time & a place for everything.

An impressive film, skillfully photographed with an appealing soundtrack.
It's also balanced, exploring both points of view; the boys enjoying their music and the girl feeling threatened.
The boys made the case that there was lots of noise, apart from their own, but the girl felt their particular noise was intimidaing; she was frightened, and didn't even dare to look back where the boys were sitting on the bus.
I also liked the touches of humour: '...no-one would phone me. I just had a phone.'
The film draws attention to a common problem that doesn't seem to get much publicity.

Interesting to hear the other side of the story...even if you don't really agree with it. I do agree that people who talk loudly on their mobile sare just as bloody irritating though !

A really thought provoking, poignant documentary. Well done for raising the awareness on both sides of this subject matter.
I will think a bit differently now.

this is a very contemporary issue well explored. beautifully filmed too. loved the boys conversation about phones. very amusing.

Really liked this as it portrays the two sides really well. Wasn't one-sided. The lads in the documentary came across really well and will probably make me think a little more before I get annoyed in future.

Wow, I would have never thought that a topic about people playing music loudly on buses from cell phones would be documented.

I guess I am not the only one who has noticed the trend.

I don't know about london, but if you were to tell someone on AC Transit in Oakland to turn down their music, even politely, you better be damn sure to expect a big cuss out at the least.

Kids are so rude and inconsiderate. Headphones were created for a reason!

I've often wondered why people feel the need to play music loudly through their phones while on the bus – I think its more a teenage thing than a race thing – as you get a lot more teenagers on buses because its free for them. When you're on a train, older people (who should know better) can be just as inconsiderate, talking loudly on the phone and using the carriage as their own personal office. I guess we all irritate each other in some way – just a result of over-crowding in a busy city I guess.

This is a subject that has come into my mind before... it's really interesting to hear the other side of it...

I can relate

SWF

yeah it does offend me - but it was very interesting to hear both sides and to get some insight into why they do it

It is interesting to hear the point of view of the teenagers who play their music on their phones. What was clear though is that they had a pretty poor argument for doing so. If they did it on a bus I was on I'd find it very irritating.

An interesting idea for a film that gave a balanced view of both sides. It would be interesting to hear more viewpoints by having a larger number of people interviewed.

Oh and I love the Foreign Beggars track. I used it on a film about a fetish wear family. Check it out if you like...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6Tx7fhUmng&feature=PlayList&p=D0AD58E465...

good to see a view from both sides- Simply, consideration should be given to people around you, especially in confined spaces like buses.

anyway, why the hell would anyone want to listen to poor qulaity of music from the speaker of a mobile....?

a good doc, well made, which many people can relate to (on both sides)..

I liked this - it's really nicely done the way the two sides come together in the bus... and it makes you realise that the teens don't mean to be aggressive.

Dave actually pitched this idea to us at the Sheffield Doc Fest Pitch session 2008 - it's an issue that I find incredibly interesting and I'm really pleased that we've finally got a film on Current that addresses it.

What I really wanted was for the film to help us get inside and understand the motivations of the people who play their music out loud. I think he's certainly done that. I love the little anecdote at the end.

I've got to say, in this situation in the past I have asked some 'yoofs' to politely turn it down and got a lot of grief back but they did turn down their volume and change the track to something less aggressive (it was a Monday morning on a packed bus it was pretty grating). They made me feel really ancient but what was really interesting was that even though it was visibly annoying loads of the other passengers, not one of them stepped in to back me up. That was really what annoyed me. Talk about taking one for the team ;-)

Anyway, this film will be part of our forthcoming Breaking the Law Season on Current TV on April 10th and 11th 2009 - keep an eye out for the trailers coming soon and online page coming soon.

Really interesting seeing the two perspectives beautifully edited juxtaposed. This is more about our prejudice and pre-conseptions about ordinary law-abiding people. Really well done.

Does the doco offend me? No. Good work Dave, from Amandas friend Tom.

i like hte way you conclude that the kids who play music use it as their voice; Not sure that the girl fits into the idea as she doesn;t seem to mind music, and just has general fear

Great view from both sides. I am on the fence when it comes to issues like this. It can be intimidating when you are a lone woman walking around in a city. But I used to work with young people and at the end of the day they are often great! It is other peoples misconceptions and prejudice that is the problem.

Great docu!

Its interesting to see that the people who are perceived as being threatening actually come accross as being persecuted as teenagers.

In a London where no one talks to anyone, everyone sits on the bus making assumptions about their fellow passengers and stewing in fear. As few moments to be polite and sociable seems like it could change the world.

nice one! in the 80s it was the ghetto blaster now the mobile phones! and my question is why do you never hear any bryan adams or metallica on these bad boys! anyway great doc dude! INNIT!

A great eye opener!! Both sides well documented! x

Hi All

Thankyou for all your comments, i am glad it has evoked a reaction, so many people seem to have something to say on this subject. Making this film was fascinating. It taught me alot about people's perceptions of these kids playing music out loud and the mentality behind kids doing it. I interviewed alot of teenagers during research for this doc and I heard the same thing time and time again. People are scared to speak to them and to ask them to turn their music down through fear of what they might do, in reality if you ask them in a nice way and treat them like normal human beings they will turn it down, if you ask them in an aggressive way then they will react negatively. essentially they are just being young and playing music, its not done to annoy other people, they like their tunes and they want other people to hear them, right or wrong. Unfortunately the way these kids are portrayed in the media has led to people fearing the worst.

Glad you are liking the music on there, its a great track, the details are:

Artist: Foreign Beggars
Track: Hold On (ft. Skinnyman)
Label: Dented Records

Keep the comments coming

Dave Graham

Yeah I love the music tracks for this film. It's all original stuff, send Dave Graham the director a message about it.

Kids are so annoying. People I go to school with may wear headphones but still turn their music up so loud everyone can hear them... but why would you tell someone to turn their music down? Either ignore them, or maybe start a decent conversation with them about how you think their music is interesting.. just be nice to each other!

I'm a tiny white female... yet walking thru the hoods of philly doesn't scare me... I think this is more of her own personal prejudice than rational fear. People should not be afraid to walk into a black neighborhood! If you treat people with respect they will often be respectful towards you as well.

BTW:
the song at the title around :59-1:02 & throughout the pod is interesting... can anyone tell me the artist/title?

yeah, cellphones with half decent speakers built in were the worst invention ever.

u don't want to hear people talk?! then just PUT HEADPHONES/EARPHONES ON!!! u can hear ur music, and they can carry on their converstaions. people who play their music outloud don't even think. Their song could have things that people don't want their children to hear like cuss words or references to things. people censor what they say, so you should censor yourself, go buy a pair of earphones, listen to your music, and KEEP IT TO YOURSELF

i hate when people act as if loud music is an automatic threat. maybe they really love that song, hey even i'm guilty. i can understand this lady's point of view being a single woman and walking alone, however, if people just want you to turn it down because they don't agree with the certain type of music [and im very anti-hip-hop at times] and just stereotype it in a negative light -- get over it.

good pod.

The ones that are the hardest to love are the ones that need it the most.