ELEVATOR MUSIC

'Elevator music', also known as 'lift music' (in the Commonwealth), 'piped music' or 'muzak', refers to the gentle, bland instrumental arrangements of popular music designed for play in shopping malls, grocery stores, department stores, public toilets, telephone systems (while the caller is on hold), cruise ships, airports, doctors' and dentists' offices, and of course, elevators. The term is also frequently applied as a generic term for any form of Easy Listening, Smooth Jazz, or MOR music, or to the type of recordings once commonly heard on "beautiful music" radio stations.
The Muzak corporation is perhaps the best-known supplier of such music. In fact, the term ''muzak'' has become a generic epithet for excessively bland music. However, the Muzak Corporation moved away from this type of image, for the most part, in 1997, [1] and now uses only "original artists" for its music source, except on the Environmental channel.^[1]
"Elevator music" is also a term used disparagingly by jazz purists to describe smooth jazz.

Contents

Elevator music in popular culture

References

See also

External links

Elevator music in popular culture

★ The film ''The Blues Brothers'' provides an example of elevator music in use. The Brothers ride an elevator while a soft music version of "The Girl from Ipanema" plays in the background, contrasting humourously with the noisy scene of a massive police and national guard force in pursuit.

★ The above The Blues Brothers scene is also briefly parodied in an episode of The Simpsons.

★ The music video for the Foo Fighters' song "Learn to Fly" has an elevator music version of the song "Everlong" (another song by the Foo Fighters) playing at the beginning and end of the video.

★ The music video for the Foo Fighters' song "Monkey Wrench" has an elevator music version of the song "Big Me" (another song by the Foo Fighters) playing while Dave Grohl rides an elevator. The song was chosen because Grohl thought it particularly uplifting.

★ The music video for the Midtown' song "Give It Up" has an elevator music version of the song "Give It Up" (The same song by Midtown playing when Gabe Saporta enters the mini-mart)

★ "Elevator Music" is a song by Beck from his album The Information.

★ The film ''A Night at the Roxbury'' contains elevator music used for comedic effect, the signature tune What is Love is played in a muzak style.

★ The film ''Grosse Point Blank'' uses the Guns N' Roses cover of "Live and Let Die" as the main character stands in front of a convenience store, which turns into a muzak version of the same song as he enters.

★ The music video for the band Travis's song Closer features a muzak version of the same song, while Ben Stiller's character walks into the supermarket where the band is playing.

★ An issue of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' mentions the character Ezekiel having an elevator music version of "Helter Skelter" play in his office buildings, as it "keeps the employees on their toes."

★ The popular online game Disney's Toontown Online has memorizable elevator music in cog elevators.

★ In the video game "Conker's Bad Fur Day" right after Conker escaped from the robotic mines in Tediz's base, by getting into the elevator. He asks himself if it could go any worse, to find that the elevator has music to his digust.

★ In the 1999 Academy Award winning film, American Beauty, Thora Birch's character, Jane, says, 'Mom, do we always have to listen to this elevator music?', whilst eating supper with her parents, played by Annette Bening and Kevin Spacey, who won the Best Actor Academy Award for his role.

★ The song Intermission, on progressive rock band Tool's album Ænima, is a muzak version of Jimmy, the next track on the album.

References

1. Encompass LE Program Listing

See also

★ Ambient music

★ Furniture music

★ Background music

★ Toontown Online

External links

★ Elevator Music A Surreal History of Muzak, by Joseph Lanza

★ Anti-muzak site in the UK

★ The King has Just Left the Building: an art project related to elevator music.