Imagine the awkwardness of scarfing down a cheese quesadilla
without fiesta music blaring in the background, or the eeriness of
eating beef ravioli in dead silence. It’s no fun. Food and
music go together like meat loaf and Meat Loaf.
The only thing more diverse than the food selection at
UCLA’s residential dining halls is the eclectic music that
accompanies it. Students are treated to a wide variety of musical
genres on top of an assortment of healthy nourishment.
“I’ve heard everything from ABBA to Mexican music to
cheesy love ballads by Bryan Adams,” first-year undeclared
student Daniel Zamani said.
This salad bowl of sound stems from a stereo system located in
the back of the kitchen. The declaration of “10 Genres 60
Programs” is attached to the surface of the stereo system.
Below this title is a list of 60 styles of music and their
corresponding channel numbers. They are divided into categories
such as country, jazz, classical, urban, Latin, specialty and
oldies.
According to Assistant Director of dining services Craig St.
Louis, the system is installed by Musak, which also provides music
for office buildings, doctor’s offices and, of course,
elevators.
“Musak is like a library of music,” St. Louis said.
“(Dining hall managers) pick and choose what music they want
to play. There are satellites so it’s like switching radio
stations.”
While Rieber and Hedrick Halls count on these satellites for
their playlists, the De Neve Plaza uses Musak CDs while Covel
Commons plays no music at all.
The right kind of music can ease the digestive process, awaken
sleepy eyes, or send students whistling on their way to campus.
Although the managers try their best to mix the genres and apply
the appropriate music for theme nights (Halloween tunes for
Halloween), some students are tired of chewing to the rhythm of the
Musak.
“(Managers) need to play more current stuff,”
second-year undeclared student Lindsay Walter said. “When my
parents came to eat, they didn’t like the classical music
being played. They said it’s like a convalescent home or some
old folks home.”
Though not as disparaging as Walter, first-year biochemistry
student Ken Millard agrees with the lack of any hits within the
last three years.
“I like a lot of the ’80s music (managers) play like
Duran Duran,” Millard said. “I was really surprised to
hear Jimmy Eat World the other day. They usually don’t play
any current songs.”
First-year business-economics student Sheryl Marx was surprised
to hear “Ring My Bell” by disco one-hit wonder Anita
Ward.
“More upbeat, exercise music,” Marx demanded.
Students also gripe about the volume being so low that everyone
at the table has to stop talking to make out the songs.
“The volume is so low, it’s subliminal,”
Zamani said. “You subconsciously listen to words you
don’t understand like some backward satanic
message.”
Walter took matters into her own hands when she secretly turned
the volume dial louder while eating at Rieber.
“The workers only turn up the party music when the dining
hall closes,” Walter said. “Wouldn’t it be great
if the dining hall were a club? There’s so much space, and we
can use the stations as bars.”
The topic of dining hall music often sparks conversations during
meals. While grubbing, Zamani and his buddies debate about who gets
to pick the music and how someone obtains such a job.
“I’d really like to apply,” Zamani said.
“I would do requests so people can hear what they
want.”