7-2-I-search-Maximilian

media type="custom" key="822781" = The Truth on music played in Burger King, Wendy's, and more... = by Maximilian It's a Monday, 3:40PM. Just got out of school, not believing how hard the day was. Then again, Mondays always are terrible. After a relaxing weekend, playing games, watching movies and surfing the web, your instantly thrust back into the school world again, being sent every morning, no matter how tired you are. So anyway, I'm ordering myself a double whopper at Burger King, with a side of onion rings and chicken fries, insanely hungry after having gym and not eating lunch (seeing as no one really likes it) and I can't wait to destroy this burger. All I can think of is that I'm going to enjoy this food so much. I'm so anxious that all I can hear is the man taking my order. Finally, my order comes and I rush to my table, forgetting that I didn't get a drink. I sit down, rip open my burger and just as I'm about to feast, I hear something.
 * Introduction**

My senses are coming back to me, and I instantly recognize it, only I wish that I didn’t. I start thinking out loud," Is that Unwell from Matchbox Twenty?" I instantly shut my mouth, not wanting anyone to hear me. I think again, “Isn’t that song from like 2003?" It is, and yet it's still playing in 2008. Don't get me wrong, I did like that song, but not when it's 5 years outdated. I star losing my appetite, and then it's gone completely when the next song I hear is from Phil Collins. "Oh god, they still play this?" I quickly eat my burger, eat a couple of chicken fries and onion rings, and leave without getting anything to drink. I’ve been a victim of outdated music.

For thousands of years, this terrible epidemic has plagued humanity, leaving thousand filled with a full belly, yet there still is a huge hole left in your heart. I can guarantee you; know one can fully enjoy themselves when listening to these horrible songs. They weren't always that bad, but they are now. No one likes to listen to a song from 2005, NO ONE!!! It just takes away all the enjoyment, except for those lucky ones who bring in their iPod.

After receiving a rough beat down of outdated and bad songs (songs that no living mortal should have to listen to when enjoying their food), I decided that I should look closer into this, find out why must suffer, and hopefully save a few lives, or happy luncheons. I want to know what excuse restaurant owners have for playing these terrible songs, torturing us people, who only want to enjoy some burgers. Could it be that these people just have terrible taste, or could it perhaps be a government secret that has something to do with brainwashing? This is my new duty, my purpose, and I will not stop until the truth is revealed!!! When you first walk into a fast-food restaurant, the first thing that you do isn't listen to the music that is played, but of course think of what food you’re going to get. But if you just stand still and listen, you'll soon realize what I'm talking about. The outdated music that you'll hear will range from many different, usually unknown and dis-likable genres, however a few will be from more popular genres and will just be too old to like instead, and although there are many different types, each one will mentally disturb you in it's own way. The unfortunate truth for many people is that each person will have to stand still patiently and listen to the terrifying music being played. This time is when you have either placed an order and is waiting for or, or your waiting in line. It's March 9Th, about 4:30PM. Today, after much preparation and gathering many tools that might help me in my investigation or as the boss calls it:"an I-Search". So as I was saying, I've been preparing for my first interview, making sure that I have anything that I might need: tools, recorders, communication devises, weapons. My proudest gadget is a special recorder that the boss has given me temporarily, to assist me with this search. So on with the journey. I finally set off with some backup, my 14 year old cousin, just in case things get kind of scrappy during the interview. You never really know when you've gone too far with the questions and just might be getting too much precious info. When I first picked this topic, I knew that I would have a difficult time getting a lot of information, seeing as I wasn't really that close to any Fast-Food Restaurants. In fact, the only place that I could reach was a Wendy's, which was about 6 blocks away from me. On the long and treacherous journey, I came into contact with many potential roadblocks, one of the worst including a GameStop which had my name on the free sample WII game. Still, I was able to arrive at the Wendy's, all in one piece.
 * Body**

I tell my bodyguard to come in with me, and to be care full. I swallow my fear, summon up all my courage and walk straight up to the counter, passing the many people in line who each give me a nasty look. Summoning up even more courage, knowing that this might be one of the most dangerous interviews I would ever do, I ask for the manager. The man who had received my question looked at me as though I was too insignificant to even be acknowledged, but for some reason, turns his head and calls up his boss. After a second of holding my breath, expecting the worse, I'm able to exhale, knowing that I'm not in too much danger if my interview would be up in the front, where there were too many witnesses. I then dismiss this thought, realizing that each person in here could be working for the manager.

I quickly clear my head of these thoughts, and prepare for the manager. I don't know what comes over me, but I instantly upchuck all my fear (and some lunch as well in my mouth!)And all my courage is quickly banished. I take a deep gulp and make sure not to stutter. I quickly tell the man the reason I am here, that I'm doing a project for school and need to ask him some questions. I instantly dismiss all my old, original questions and quickly make up a new one, being careful not to offend this man, never knowing if he's got a taser hidden beneath the table. My first and final question is, “Why is it that you play this type of music in your Restaurant?" The man gives me a quick and simple answer, telling me that the reason why he plays this music is "to give the restaurant a friendly environment and attract customers, and allow them to enjoy some music while they're eating." He also tells me that his goal is to make the customers feel as if they are at home, with their own family." After that question, I quickly thank him and leave, watching my back and making sure that no one places an on bug my sweater.

As soon as I arrive at home I start removing my recorder from my pocket, making sure that I collected the whole, short interview. When it turns out that I did, I start laughing, mostly in shock of my health, but also at the answers that I received. I couldn't believe that the guy thought of the music that was played as friendly. If you ask me, friendly was the last thing those songs were. But he was right about having the customers feeling at home. That was exactly where I wish I am when I hear these horrid songs.

After quickly writing down the results of my interview, I realize that I should get a few more, better answers, and quickly search the web for the phone number of a nearby Burger King. I call and get no answer. I soon realize that the Wendy's manager must have warned the other restaurants about me and I'm being locked out now. I quickly dismiss my paranoia, and try another Burger King, and get an answer. I quickly tell the employee why I'm calling, after he asks me who I am and what my purpose is. He tells me that I can't talk to the manager and instead ask him my questions. My first question is simple," Why do Fast-Food Restaurants play such outdated songs?" The man laughs and tells me that the songs are not old, and are in fact chosen from the number 1 hits of radio stations. I conclude that the songs that are played are part of a mix tape, possibly one of destruction or mind control. " I then ask him if,"The selections of songs have anything to do with legal issues." The man says, “No, but they have to be family oriented."In case you didn't know, family oriented means that the songs cannot have any explicit words, meanings, or any sexual references. Seeing as almost everything is not family oriented, we are left with these terrible songs to listen to. That statement basically explained everything to me, or if my hunch was correct, what they wanted me to believe.

But I was still not satisfied with these answers. I decided to try one more manager, just to see if I would gather any helpful results, and luckily for me, I got exactly what I needed. I searched on the Internet for any phone numbers for a nearby Burger King. I luckily have some very close; "connected friends" who can help me with my research by jacking me into these extremely classified websites, where I could gather some extremely classified information. Unfortunately, I hit another Roadblock. For many different Burger Kings, my questions were either left unanswered, or were scoffed at. I then began giving up home. But finally, I arrived at an extremely helpful answer. One of the managers said to me that the music they play comes from a company called Muzak. Muzak, as I've learned from extensive research and some help, is a company that is the biggest supplier in music. I then did some more research on Muzak, and learned allot about the company. I first realized that this company was the main supplier of elevator music, music that is played in grocery stores and malls, and ultimately; Fast-Food Restaurants. I remembered from my previous interviews, that the answers were not always very sure. This made me think that perhaps Muzak has been supplying all Burger Kings, Wendy's, McDonald, Subway, KFC, and White Castle. I decided to do some more digging around, to find out some more information of Muzak, possibly figuring out why they play these terrible songs. I also wanted to see if I could perhaps find any contact information so that I could perhaps call the CEO: Steve Villa, and ask them if there were any reasons on why they played really bland music, and even worse, why they sold it to different companies. I still ask myself if the managers actually like the music that is played, or if they even knew what was being played.

It's been three hours since my research has begun on Muzak, and unfortunately I could not find any phone numbers. However, thanks to Wikipedia, and an article in the New Yorker, I feel that I now have all the information I need on the truth of why restaurants play bad music: Established in 1934, by Major General George Owen Squier, Muzak was originally created during an attempt to create a signal using electrical lines. This eventually led to the creation of a company called Wired Radio Inc. This was used on the intent of sending radio signals to private receivers. Squier then altered the name to Muzak, inspired by the word "Kodak". However, due to the already growing usage of radio, Muzak was steered into the direction of playing music for restaurants and hotels. For a large period of time the company had to use obsolete equipment, but it was then purchase by Warner Bros. The company was then expanded, and after WWII, things only went uphill. It was after this that things got terrible. The company began performing psychological experiments so that the music would be more effective. The pace, sound, and instruments in the songs were altered, and set to a pace that would not affect the Employees work. This music was created by Muzak itself, possibly so that they would not need to pay record companies. The tempo and dynamics was altered, so that the music would blend into the background, and long pauses were added as well. This was the dreaded creation of Elevator music.DA-DA-DA!!! Believe it or not, I have not been alone in the search for the truth of elevator music, but there have been people who have researched this terrible company, only to find terrible secrets, and alas the people disappear, terribly. However I did find a few interesting facts about not only the affects of Muzak, but also some unusual history. My first example is this line that comes from Wikipedia: "A growing awe among the public that Muzak was deliberately targeted to manipulate behavior resulted in a backlash, including accusations of being a [|brainwashing] technique and court challenges in the 1950s." Make sure you read that over again. Are you done? That's right, brainwashing.

Muzak has been accused of brainwashing, and for the same reasons as I accused them for it as well. The music that they play has been altered to affect the human brain in certain ways, ways that even I can't explain, all that I know is that they are very complicated and involve certain dynamics and long pauses in the tempo. My second example is an article that named: The Soundtrack of Your Life. This article was illegally given to me by another friend from some extremely confidential source that goes by the name "the Internet". In the article the writer talks about the company of muzak, the history, the creation and production of the terrible music that they play, and overall the companies success today. In fact, I also learned in the article that there were in fact 24 songs by Led Zeppelin, 300 by Kanye West, 191 by 50 Cent and 84 from Gwen Stefani. What angered me was that if there were so many different versions of so many different and great songs, why it is that most of the time all you hear are terrible, really outdated, and sometimes just plain annoying songs. Perhaps they are songs that we like, or perhaps I'm just being way to darn picky. Overall, it just doesn't matter because I've got to hand in this report to my boss tomorrow and if you ask me, I feel that I've done way more that needed. I feel that I've been able to somewhat answer my question, going farther than the system ever wanted me to go, taking risk that could mean the loss of my left hand, and made more enemies than my 4Th Halloween party. I've hopefully answered the question on who is at fault on the music we hear in that old Burger King 5 blocks from our house. I've answered the question on why the music is so bad, and I've answered even more, but I'll explain it all in my conclusion.

**Conclusion**
So, after my extremely dangerous and short quest for answers, I arrived at the answer I was definitely not expecting. Well really, two answers. 1, the songs that they choose are all from a major company that has been doing this for more than 50 years, and that horrible is called Muzak. I also learned that the music we hear is so unpleasant for us younger people is because we are not used to hearing music that is so quiet, background like and made for people who work stressful jobs and need some calming down, and although we people have extremely stressful days at BSGE, we still just don't like to hear boring, altered music that is so instrumentalist. After such a tiring journey, all that I can tell to those who have read this is To always carry your IPods everywhere you go, and those who always do this, just keep it up because you do not want to hear Phil Collins when eating a Double Whopper!

**Works Cited**
Owen, David. "The Soundtrack of Your Life." The New Yorker 10 Apr. 2006. __The New Yorker__.

"Muzak Holdings." Wikipedia. 3 June 2003. 14 Apr. 2008 