A couple weeks ago, the music critic Tim Page posted a shortlist on Facebook of “perfectly good music that I never need to hear again.” He included Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, acts 1, 2, and 4 of Puccini’s La Boheme, Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five,” and the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band.
“I’m a guy in his late 50s,” Page tells Kurt Andersen, “and I’ve been listening to, say, Sgt. Pepper since I was 13 or 14,” Page explains. “I don’t need to hear it again.” It’s not that he doesn’t like the Beatles – quite the opposite. It’s just that he thinks the album has been played to death.
Aural fatigue is an occupational hazard for a music critic. “By the fourth or fifth time I covered Madame Butterfly,” Page says, “I’d said pretty much everything I had to say about it.” (He still ended up covering it another 25-30 times.) But everyone who loves music has some pieces – of good, even great music – that we just can’t bear to hear again.
â?? What’s a song or piece you don’t ever want to hear again? Tell us your pick – and why – in a comment below, and we’ll put together our Do Not PlayList. Here’s what we’ve got on it so far:
At The World, we believe strongly that human-centered journalism is at the heart of an informed public and a strong democracy. We see democracy and journalism as two sides of the same coin. If you care about one, it is imperative to care about the other.
Every day, our nonprofit newsroom seeks to inform and empower listeners and hold the powerful accountable. Neither would be possible without the support of listeners like you. If you believe in our work, will you give today? We need your help now more than ever!