There’s music in the air…

Our reading room has undergone fairly Draconian changes during the last 5 years. View boxes and rollerscopes have bid adieu. We now have workstation desks, PCs everywhere, big monitors, surge protectors, racks of wiring, and jacks in and out of the walls. It got a little unsightly, and I requested new carpet and new wall colors, as well as a nice desk and some shelving for our reading room coordinator. Then we brought in a little artwork (not university-approved) to spruce up the place a little. It almost looks right but is still too industrial. The little halogen recessed lights help a bit, but it still needs some serious “feng shui” to be correct.

But, that is only one dimension of the room and its environment. What about tunes? In medical school, I lived with a few classmates in a great old house, and we learned early on about our differences. There were ones that could be overcome, and ones that could not. Food choices were easy and beer choices even more so. Who cared about your laundry detergent, favorite soap, or favorite soda? Just share everything. But, the music in the air had to be agreed upon. One of my roommates could not deal with music when he was studying. He found it a near-constant irritation. We all bought him earplugs.

Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same, eh? I must have music. It’s that background rhythm to my life, the counterpoint to the clickety-click of fingers on keyboards, soft discussions about an interesting case, ringing phones, beeps, and overhead pages. I live for it. Most of the residents do as well. There are precious few who demand silence, and most of us can at least agree on something to listen to. Almost all the surgeons have music in the ORs, and, for many, the OR staff knows them by their choice of “closing music.”

I’ve found myself wondering lately about which music is right for the reading room. Do certain genres go better with CT than with MR? Is Radiohead always the right choice for MR? What is the right beat for barium? I’d like to share a few thoughts (basic knowledge of music genres is required to continue).

Nothing canned! No elevator music. Nope. Never. You’ve got to choose it, and it has to be a conscious choice. No bad, heavily reworked orchestral copies.

Hip-hop or rap doesn’t cut it. Not that I don’t like it. I do. There are too many disagreements about whether or not it’s music.

Country? Not for us. In this case, I just don’t like it. I grew up with bad country music from a small AM radio station, and I’ve had a life-time’s fill already. Bluegrass is okay, but only instrumental bluegrass. The occasional nasal tones of the voices are not for everyone, but that’s the way it is. I grew up with bluegrass and still love it. It’s a great rhythm to read to.

Classical is a divisive force. Calming, yes, but often soporific. Much of it has to be counterbalanced with double espressos. I love chamber music and baroque music. Some don’t. We draw the line at opera. Sorry. No bellowing Italian in my reading room. Yep, I saw Pretty Woman, and I don’t care.

Jazz is a fairly unifying force. But the slow stuff can really make the day plod. Bright and cheerful tunes win. We like classic jazz: Monk, Miles Davis, Coltrane, and some others; and also fusion jazz. Kenny G? Please...triple espressos required.

Hard rock? Metal? Alternative? Well, another divisive element. I love it and a few others do, like most of our residents. However, it’s not for everyone. It is particularly useful, though, to run people out of your reading room. That lesson was learned when I was a resident on call in the ER reading room late at night. I have found particular utility in metal and some really driving loud stuff to keep folks from tying up my phones and just sitting around drinking coffee. They scoot like their hair is on fire. After the room is cleared, you can leave it on a bit and enjoy some thumping.

Classic rock? Yeah, baby.

Blues? Hot or cold opinions, depending on the style. How depressed do you want to be?

A strict and absolute no for children’s music, soundtracks, comedy tracks, folk and international music. We have another strict no-way for dance music. You have to sit still at the workstation. You can’t play vacation-oriented music the week before or after your vacation. Either you’re looking forward to it too much, or not getting anything done, pining after your beach stay. I guess that music is likely not present in all reading rooms. However, I think it helps ours and makes the day go just a little quicker. Now, get out of here or we’ll crank the Metallica.