I'd venture that if you're really having a good time, you're more likely to be listening to what your companions are saying than to the music. Think about it. You can probably rattle off a dozen memorable nights out. You'll undoubtedly remember who you were with and perhaps what you talked about. You may remember what you ate. You don't have a clue what music played in the background, do you?
1
I’m an audiophile with a large, comprehensive collection of vinyl who loves music and makes discreet time for listening to well-recorded music as an experience unto itself.
Unless the music is specifically and discreetly suited to a particular culinary theme so as to create an ambient totality, I also agree that music interferes with the dining experience. All the very best restaurants seem to understand this (I’m thinking in particular of Chanterelle’s, gone but not forgotten), as they do not play music.
2
Just had NYE dinner at Kajitsu with my girlfriend as we sought to enjoy his playlist. Yet we were told it’s only played at Kokage downstairs (and it is) as Kajitsu observes zen convention to keep tranquil and silent.
Just clarify here in case anyone’s misled again. Regardless, Kajitsu’s certainly worth a try.
3
Not a fan of this playlist. I find it trite, precious, and passé. Sorry.
4
@Teddy
as Eddie Harris asks " Compared to What ? "
6
So he was annoyed by someone else serving him his music taste, so he did the same? I get he might have more authority in the matter, since he is a musician, but still - where's the point? https://freeyourmusic.com/blog/using-pre-made-playlists-or-making-your-own/
2
We know the Japanese food presentation appeals to eyes, which is a good dopamine invigoration. Good music must accompany the tasty food to perfect the total dining experience. Sublimity is the key - relaxed beautiful background music. I praise Ryuichi's professional advice and assistance. When you dine, everything matters to decide if you should come back to the same restaurant. Not just the food and service. Interior decoration, music, and of course, hospitality and great conversation.
5
Mr. Sakamoto, if you could now convince the vast majority of family style restaurants to turn off their TVs...
11
And all this time I thought I was one of the few bothered by music in cafes and restaurants (not to mention grocery stores, etc.). I cringe when I hear Top 40 from any era (by its very definition it means music that has been played to death over and over and over again). I recall trying to have dinner while disco tunes from the 70s played in the background (I ended up leaving the place); my formerly favorite café insisted on pop music (I no longer patronize it), and recently, Whole Foods drove me bananas with sappy love songs (I cut my shopping short). I just wish these business owners were a bit more attentive to such matters. And, a plea, could we just ban Top 40 . . .
3
The vast majority of restaurants here in the USA is suffering from sound pollution due to lack of damping materials and the often annoying generic soundtracks on top of that are not improving the experience at all and simply add to the noise. I prefer live music over any recording and any sensitive piano player etc. can easily create a unforgettable and unique atmosphere.
1
Brillant playlist. I'm always looking for the right mix for dinner parties and certainly have been annoyed at music quality when dining out. My guests always comment when the music is right. We are moody beasts so it's never the same, but the fact is clear-- the right atmosphere makes a meal and lousy music can cast a shadow on even the best cooking. I love that you can get different vibes at different restaurants and having a serious musician setting the stage is value added. Thank you very much, I look forward to the next mix!
1
No music, please, for dining.
That's because I love dining and I love music.
5
At the Pain Management doctor's office, early morning, there for my epidural steroid injection for excruciating back pain... AC/DC playing in the waiting room full of people in pain. Highway to Hell. It's funny now. It wasn't then. I made the idiots in control of the sound system turn it off.
2
I love Portillo's restaurants because I was born and raised in Chicago and love Italian beef sandwiches and hot dogs and since I now live in Florida, this food is hard to get except at a Portillo's. Yet, because the music is so very loud, I get my sandwich and sit outside on the patio where mercifully, the music is reduced to a whisper.
Go ahead, turn up the music. I won't come at all. If I have to shout at my friends in order to have a conversation, I won't be coming back to your restaurant.
3
Background music has become ubiquitous and unavoidable in all OUR public spaces, whether pumping gas, shopping at super markets, standing in elevators, or dining in restaurants.
I find making a purchase or trying to enjoy a meal is harder to do when constantly subjected to loops of mindlessly canned music. It's more than annoying when out with elders who just want to have a quiet conversation but can't hear over the din.
In rare cases music fits the atmosphere of the establishment but more often then not it's a bombardment of noise pollution.
We'd be better served if we'd appreciate Sounds of SILENCE.
3
I've never chosen a restaurant because of the music, but I've sometimes left because of it.
Playlists for fine dining restaurants are like menus for the symphony hall.
No, thanks.
3
Why do restaurants insist on playing music - here's one possible answer: When I was much younger, I worked for a time at a mall "pub"-type restaurant - what we would call today "fast casual." The owner was a really obnoxious person who had a small chain of these places. He said one day at a staff/employee meeting that "studies had shown that people drink more when there is loud music and very cold air conditioning." So, that's what we had. It stunk as a place to work, and I never noticed any repeat customers.
4
I was fascinated by the insights of the various chefs. Perhaps next we could hear prominent DJs and music programmers pontificate on all things culinary.
1
I do not enjoy going to any restaurant where the music is blaring and loud. I don't know what makes people thing that blasting music is enjoyed by everyone. I don't mind quick back ground music which one can talk over but when is is loud it is a turn off. I many times complain about the music being too loud. I do not like to shop in any store where the music is so loud that I can't hear myself think. I just want to run out because I'm so uncomfortable. We need more of Mr. Sakamoto's music. I'm not sure if businesses realize how irritating loud music can be to customers who are trying to shop and think about what they are buying.
7
I wish Mr. Sakamoto would take over the music in the large retail and grocery stores (Safeway, RiteAid, CVS, Walgreen's) where I am a customer. Their awful overhead music is the same and repeats and repeats throughout the day. I feel oh so sorry for the staff who must endure really bad tunes during their shifts. I feel prompted to contact corporate offices of the companies I named and tell them about Mr. Sakamoto.
6
Why must there be music in a restaurant? Why the compulsory noise? The assumption that there must be music is strange.
7
Snooze. But thanks for the pull quote (way too far down) informing us that Mr. S. objects to loud restaurant music. Who doesn't? As for"elevation," that's in the ear of the victim.
2
I got a kick out of Mr. Sakamoto's criticism of Brazilian pop music. And his "But the music in your restaurant is like Trump Tower."
I own a record shop in Brazil (in Salvador, where Mr. Sakamoto's oftimes musical partner Arto Lindsay spends a lot of time), and several years ago a restaurant with tables outside opened up...and of course the owner put a big speaker into the window facing outwards, and of course he blasts the worst Brazilian pop drivel at a level forcing his customers to yell to each other rather than converse. For a country with such an amazingly great musical culture it's amazing (can't think of a better adjective, if not "gob-smacking" maybe) how much commercial dross is produced and "consumed" here.
As for the "Trump Tower" comment: Assis Valente of Santa Amaro, Bahia (Brazil) wrote a song called "Brasil Pandeiro" -- rerecorded in the '60s by Os Novos Baianos -- the lyrics treating the samba of Yoyô and Yayá (archaic Afro-Brazilian terms of respect for a man and a woman) in the White House. If that's ever to happen it sure won't be during the next couple of years or so.
The music may be heard here, in the context of Trump's derogatory description(s) of several places with Africans and people of African descent: https://www.bahia-online.net/donald-trump-samba-in-the-white-house/
1
I want to preface this by saying that I love music. I love listening to music all the time, and would if I could.
That said, this piece gave me permanent eyeroll, and the playlist (although some pieces are nice to listen to) sounded like every other pretentious background shopping music playlist lingering in the background of expensive hotel lobby bars across America. How about this, the person working in the restaurant or bar all day should pick the music. Their personality is the ambiance of the place anyway, there would be plenty of variety, and it would be a fun experience without the pretension this article reeks of.
1
@Leslie E I hadn't yet listened to Sakamoto's playlist and I must say I hadn't heard most of them ever and with good reason. Awful selection and I sure wouldn't want to listen to it in an expensive restaurant. In fact, I really don't need music at that point as I enjoy conversation with my dinner guest(s).
2
Why does there need to be music in a restaurant?
6
@Liz- CA I know I don't go to a restaurant to hear music. In fact if I can plainly hear the person next to me or setting across from me because of the music. I won't be back.
1
@Dave I think you meant can't, and I agree.
@Liz- CA, no, Dave meant "can," as he often dines with me.
1
I would add the following beautiful piece
https://open.spotify.com/track/4EXl6Ph1ZLG8oBuVKsTRLT?si=LLykqsoySgWAiru...
Delightful read, funny even, yet thought provoking. Doing exactly what good music, good food, and a cerebral ambience in atmosphere should do.
Music for the eyes, and the ears soul,
it's what nourishes us.
I found this article rather amusing, but also gave good incite on the human condition and the obsession with the aesthetic. As evolved beings, we grew to be a bit snobby when it comes to food, clothing, and situations. A thousand years ago, we would not care about what brand we wear. But now its become so part of our nature, that, naturally we want a chef to cook our meals, and our music"chosen by a person who knows music up and down and sideways: its context, its dynamism and its historical and aural clichés". We are so tangled in our ideas of beauty, that we allow it to affect our experiences in eating. The way the restaurant sounds, looks, even the texture of the table cloth. This is not a bad thing though. It shows us that we have grown intellectually and we can care more about how we look and what we eat. We do not just eat from trashcans like raccoons, or run around naked like a dog. By caring about the artistic features of this world we can say that we are the more superior species.
1
Katsura Rikyu is not 1000-years old. It was built in the early 1600s.
1
In the mid-sixties I was lunching with Jacques Singer, the music director and conductor of the Portland, Oregon, Symphony Orchestra. Annoying music was playing from a speaker above our booth. Maestro Singer asked the maitre d' to have the speaker turned down or off. Nothing happened. He asked again, then once more. Nothing happened. Singer rose, climbed onto the flat surface on the back of the booth and reached for the speaker housing. The maitre d' quickly appeared and loudly said, "Maestro, what are you doing?" Singer explained that since his request had been ignored, he was going to yank the speaker out of the ceiling. The maitre d's face turned red. "A moment, please," he said and rushed toward the back of the restaurant. The sound system volume dropped to nearly zero, and we proceeded to have a pleasant lunch. "Whatever works," Singer said with a smile.
6
@Doug Ramsey
Not previously familiar with the maestro, but I have a new hero....
2
Luv it. I have felt like doing that many times!!!
@Doug Ramsey
Bravo!
I, too, am very tired of bad and annoying music in public places, or even good music that I just don't want to hear when I'm eating or shopping, or music that is just too loud, especially when I'm trying to hear and participate in a conversation. How about no music? I seem to think that there was a time, not really all that long ago, when some restaurants did not play music. Maybe I'm wrong.
And wouldn't it be really great if gyms did not play awful music very loudly? Wouldn't it be really great if gyms did not play music?
4
Thank you.
The best sound in a restaurant is silence, so we can converse (and eat) in peace. Restaurants: no music, please. Lack of music would be a priority for my wife and me in choosing a place to eat.
9
I have practically all of the the jazz music and a number of the Brazillian tunes on his list. (I saw Pat Metheny perform the selection listed live years ago).
I have a better idea. How about no music in restaurants? To go anywhere nowadays---restaurants, gas stations, hotels---wherever, and NOT hear music is rare. Quiet in public places has become a luxury today. It shouldn't be.
7
This is not just a problem in restaurants, but everywhere, it would seem. I have walked out of chain stores (Macy's and Bed, Bath & Beyond come to mind) because the thumping, insipid, repetitive music was so annoying. Macy, in particular, has different music going from one department to the next. (Rock out in cosmetics, and God knows what you'll get in hosiery.) Throw in the commercials at the gas pump, with unadjustable volume, and we are all dying from noise. Stop it.
4
What a narcissist.
He assumes his taste in music is better than mine.
I can assure him, it is not.
6
Irritating. laborious. Only occasionally appetizing. I came to the same conclusion as many posters: No music, thank you. Unless I DJ of course.
1
While I generally read the NY Times for the sports, and NOTHING else, occasionally it does come through with something original and useful. This article and its accompanying music list make up for the other dross that usually makes up the Times content.
Thank you Mr. Sakamoto.
VR
1
What’s the special tonight? The special. Special? Yes, the special? It’s what? Would you write that down, I can’t hear!
No more. If the “background” music precludes conversation, we turn right around and out the door.
3
This article is a good as well as general example of why my wife and I prefer to mostly cook and eat at home with friends. We may want Beyonce with hiyashi chuka, Edith Piaf with Szechuan, Tuvan throat singers with fried chicken. What I listen to while I prep, cook and eat completely depends upon my moods and tastes in the moment. And lets be clear, this article is steeped in choices, desires and eating establishments deeply connected to the new New York $$$$ restaurant scenes. Honestly? Sometimes I like a little Hot 97 radio with my deluxe burger and The Daily News at the Malibu Diner counter on west 23rd street. Hey, I'm a New Yorker, give me some noise now and again.
Many of Mr Sakamoto's choices would give me indigestion.
1
Well, I am annoyed by music in all places public. I recently observed music choices in public space in 4 cities I visited, Tokyo, New York, London and Oslo. Tokyo, where I am originally from, came the worst, and space designers must be completely tone deaf, whether it’s Ginza Six, the most well curated shopping building, or Team Lab’s newest museum. Norway, for some reason I do not know, had absolutely no music anywhere I went, from cool boutique hotel, modern art museum, airport, restaurants, to even my friend’s house and boat, giving me the most serene experience ever. Given everyone has a different taste in music, and especially people with trained ear has hard time listening to other people’s playlists. I would say leave all public spaces silent and let everyone BYOM (bring your own music).
The perfect BGM for any menu : NOBGM = silence. Music in commercial settings is simply marketing noise. It’s not that I dislike music - it’s that I’m a musician, so don’t consider music secondary or accessory to, for example, buying underwear, or necessary audio ’filler’ on a commuter train platform. Can’t we let life be its own soundtrack, and leave music its own place, worthy of consideration and true listening?
1
Ben Ratliff says: "It was also not very loud, and here we arrive at an issue that may concern older customers more than younger ones." Why, Ben Ratliff? What is the rationale behind such a blunt and biased assumption? In my fifties, I dislike loud music in a restaurant (or anywhere, for that matter) as much now as I did at 21, 16, or 5, and I know many who feel the same.
2
In addition to the food menu and the wine list, provide an audio choice list (like those on airplanes) that might consist of various music genres, comedy, poltical opinion, news, etc. to be individually delivered via head phones. Sure, you can't have conversations when they are utilized, but you can if you choose not to use them.
There is no reason that the restaurant can'e also charge to use them.
Absolutely! This has been a HUGE pet peeve of mine since forever!
As someone who hosts a radio show that features local, independent artists it drives me crazy that in a city that has so many locavore restaurants and bars the same love and attention is not paid to the music that's played in those establishments.
2
Now that, Matt, is a brilliant comment! If we are going to have all of the food produced as Lia ally as possible shouldn’t we also be hearing some local artists? What a great way to expose them to a new audience and create a unique environment. Great idea!
BTW that playlist the guy made is about as awful as I can imagine for a restaurant. Maybe a funeral. A very sad funeral.
1
My biggest problem is the volume. My wife went to a restaurant for Valentine's Day dinner. I had been there with a friend and the music volume seemed tolerable. They had it so cranked up on Valentine's Day we had to shout at each other and the waiter. We mostly didn't talk otherwise. I love music of all types and I play music loud, but in a restaurant on what's supposed to be the most romantic day of the year? I'd never go back there. Maybe it's just my age, but sheesh. As far as programming it -- one man's meat is another man's poison. As long as it's in the background, and not making it uncomfortable to be there, I'll live with just about anything. The best recorded music in our area (that I was aware of) was, IMHO, at Red Hot and Blue, of all places. Great Memphis soul and blues. I don't think anyone could complain going to a Memphis-type barbecue place and hearing that music. Now, oddly, the McDonald's near us has a wide variety of jazz a lot of the time. I stop there sometimes on my way home from an errand and just get an iced tea or bottled water just to chill and listen to jazz.
1
For the ultimate example of restaurant background music, please see John Mulaney's story about the Salt And Pepper Diner. One of the funniest comic routines ever recorded. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnkrL42R7gk
1
A small point: a piece of music cannot be "riveting" and "unobtrusive." Sorry.
5
Two things that put me off my oats: live folk music at farmers' markets, and loud drunk young women in restaurants. My sistren, you sharpen your voices to be heard above the din, and you sound like car alarms.
4
Finally, attention is being paid! Obnoxious, bass-heavy, shrieking "popular music" makes it impossible to talk with your dinner companions, or simply enjoy your meal. I have come to hate shopping because the noise of obnoxious music is so distracting I can't think. Stores and restaurants are closing left and right, but no one seems to realize that noise pollution is a contributing factor, driving customers away.
1
I'm sure that few share the same POV : I simply hate music in restaurants. Period.
Be it heavy metal, classical, african, pop, jazz, reggae, mariachi, Indian, Asian … name it I just don't want it.
When I eat I want silence or the murmur of other parties' conversation when I'm alone, or sharing a conversation when I share my table.
Without music.
I am a Bach and Miles Davis lover, but I don't want to hear either of them when I eat, wether it is pizza of fancy Chez Panusse dishes or Japanese delicacies.
I did not invite Bach at my table and I feel it is both an insult to him as it is to the food served as they shadow each other.
You cannot have pleasure in food, share it with a conversation and have music at the same time. One has to go.
As a matter of fact I thought of writing a small "where to eat without music" guide that would list all the restaurants respectful of both things essential to life : food and music.
What stopped me, is that you cannot write a guide about the absence of something. At least I don't have this talent !…
I fear I stand very much alone on this.
7
@vincent7520 I could not agree more, I am one of those people who always asking them to turn down the music. You sir are not alone.
2
Music at restaurants has been a pet peeve of mine for decades. Some keep it relatively quiet, but too many places turn up the volume too much or have televisions on at most every angle I can think of. I would prefer no music to too much.
Good food and appropriate music that matches it have always made for an enjoyable experience for me. Like Mr. Sakamoto, if I don't care for the music in a place, I will not linger.
4
Yes, a pet peeve of mine - music everywhere. I actually don't mind it at the grocery store or CVS - I usually find myself singing and dancing along. But at the poolside? On a snorkel boat trip?! Or worse, when someone brings their own boombox to an outdoor picnic area. I just want to relax and enjoy the sounds of nature for a while...
The constant onslaught of noise is even worse than seeing ads on every possible surface.
5
I don't mind music in a restaurant. In fact, I like music in a restaurant. But ... I would never want to listen to this kind of music in a restaurant. It might be just the thing for the vegan Zen vibe, but it would drive me out the door, never to return.
2
Loud restaurants are my pet peeve! Especially ones where only the bass line of "background music" is audible, no treble. It's an aural hammer that raises the heart rate. If this is deliberate to get diners to eat fast and get out, then I resent it. I do not return. Restaurateurs take note! Pay attention to acoustics of the room. Textiles absorb sound, use them. I lament the loss of old school restaurants with carpeting, table linens and greater than arms reach between tables. There was a favorite on UWS that was forced to give up their lease to be replaced by a more hipster establishment. Alas!
3
I'm listening to Sakamoto's playlist now, and it is quiet. Pleasant enough for background music. Individual taste in music is completely subjective.
1
I HATE music at restaurants! It is the number one reason I will never go back - no matter how good the food is. BGM is an assault on the senses when I am usually looking to relax over a meal and have a conversation. I would prefer silence to listen to street sounds and conversations. But if we have to have background music at all, Mr Sakamoto's soundtrack is at least relaxing and unobtrusive to listen to.
1
Discovering this article and reading these comments were like a revelation: "somebody else besides me cares about this!" Restaurants, grocery stores, and waiting rooms drive me crazy! I'm very sensitive to music and I can't stand listening to all the auto-tune and tennypop crap. So I'm with most of the comments here. Silence, please, and let people wear their own music.
One thing we really really need is a GUIDE to finding quiet restaurants. I have used all kinds of search terms in different cities I visit, but what music a restaurant plays is never mentioned. I wish we could establish a national database of a) quiet restaurants, and b) restaurants with relaxing and soothing music, rather than music you expect to hear in a dance club.
How can we establish such an online guide? Any ideas? (Thank you Mr. Sakamoto for taking control of the situation. I loved your music in "The Last Emperor.")
7
Why do we need music at all when we go out to eat? That, along with the absurd ubiquity of televisions in restaurants, is why I rarely do it any more. I understand that restaurant crews need music behind the scenes to make the work go easier and I'm fine with that but when I'm paying, often big bucks, to enjoy someone's company or read my book while being served at a table, I don't want ANYBODY'S playlist inflicted on me (and by the way I'm a musician myself), no more than I want to be confronted with ESPN or CNN or Fox from every corner whenever I look up.
6
@Michael Ryle
Ditto. I pay good money in a restaurant for the food and service and for the precious interchange of ideas with whom I dine. The music detracts from all of that.
3
@Michael RyleI It's difficult to find a restaurant my son will eat at anymore because he so LOATHES the ubiquity of televisions!
I find some of his selections nerve-racking, but it's better than televisions!
2
One of many, ever increasing, highly disturbing signs of the decline of civilization, id est, that so much editorial space has been allocated to this.
So, everyone else has to listen to only the music that HE likes. Can't we all just turn off the constant music, put down our phones and actually talk to each other when we eat dinner??!!
9
@cjhwick Guess you didn't read the article, LOL.
"I asked Mr. Sakamoto whether the exercise of creating a restaurant playlist was as simple as choosing music he liked. “No,” he said."
. . .
"It was also not very loud, and here we arrive at an issue that may concern older customers more than younger ones. Mr. Sakamoto objects to loud restaurant music, and often uses a decibel meter on his phone to measure the volume of the sound around him."
1
@skeptic Guess you didn't listen to the music, LOL. It's exactly like his own music. Either way, turn it off and listen to what someone has to say, for a change!
Why do we need music in every place we shop or eat? What's wrong with quiet? I can play music at home or in my car.
When I want to buy some broccoli at my local supermarket, I'm not interested in hearing their selection of music… I just came for the broccoli.
I don't want to hear songs I hated 40 years ago and would never, ever put on for myself.
I don't need to hear "Stuck In The Middle With You" for 500th time because I already didn't like it the first 499 times it played!
Gimme a break.
I actually told the manager of the grocery store he was torturing people who just want to shop and go their merry way - don't need to hear top 40 from from 40 years ago! Been there baby!
I told him if he wants to play The Stones on a loop, I'm down for that. In other words, I'll listen to it if I can choose it.
Otherwise just quiet and me and my broccoli will suffice please.
12
Background music in a NYC restaurant? I wish. Many NYC restaurants are crowded, small and loud.....real loud with the din of patron sounds bouncing off the walls and absorbed by meat and bones and sadly, continually by the wait staff and workers. Many of the playlist tunes are quiet and deserve to be heard in a more proper venue (e.g., night club, theater, home).
2
I'm sorry but the 'improved' playlist is awful.
4
There is an art to music in a restaurant and few restaurants do it well. The music is often bad or some combination of bad and too loud -- more a distraction than a companion to your meal. Part of it is acoustics, too. Flat surfaces, polished steel and open kitchens refract sound. More attention needs to be paid to this.
6
Remember that, especially in a smaller establishment, the music you hear is for the benefit of the employees, not the customers: in order to get through their grueling shifts with their minds and spirits intact they want something loud (which encourages individual concentration on the task at hand rather than conversation, which could get distracting and tense) and high-energy (for the same reason you have fast music at the gym: to power you through the physical stress and mind-numbing repetition of the job.) It can also be used as a way of marking cultural territory - if the people doing the hardest work for the lowest pay are all from the same country, whether it’s the Dominican Republic, Bangladesh, Cameroon or Ukraine, then allowing them to play the music of their culture in their language empowers them and lifts their spirits, whereas if the owner imposes their own music reflective of the dominant white culture on the working environment it can be a form of spiritual oppression, a constant sonic reminder of who’s in charge.
Meanwhile the idea that the music should be tailored to the customers’ dining experience and not the workers’ is its own form of oppression, since the audio space will be catering to those spending amounts of money the workers could not even comprehend spending on a single meal.
In other words, a restaurant is class warfare, and its sound system is its symbolic battlefield.
6
@James Jacobs Ah, the kind of upper middle class "solidarity" I frequently encountered in DC. Well-meaning but ultimately rooted in privilege and pity.
Those of us who have cleaned, cooked, and served for a living are capable of doing our jobs without music or our own choice of music despite our supposedly soul crushing, dream busting, menial jobs. We may even like our jobs and take pride in our work even though you clearly think they are awful. Those of us who serve customers may even want our customers to enjoy their experience so they return.
We even have our own individual taste. So we may like the restaurant's music and hate what the cook plays in the kitchen. But mostly we tolerate whatever music is played the same way we tolerate other unpleasant aspect of our jobs. Because we are adults, and jobs are jobs.
12
"A restaurant is class warfare and its sound system is its symbolic battlefield." No, I don't thing so. A restaurant offers good food in pleasing surroundings with good service at a price point that its target audience can afford. Among other things, that requires a pleasing soundtrack. If you don't like the music, get another job.
3
Please bring me a menu, and skip the music entirely.
3
The is a rather interesting playlist and imagine it its the restaurant well. I do enjoy BGM if it is not at peak volume and somehow reflects the mood of the restaurant.
Too bad some of the bad Brazilian pop was not listed so we'd have a point of comparison!
1
Save the music for the concert part of your date.
4
This article is reminding me about another aspect of the cruise I recently took - no televisions or music in the great dining room, except for a fancy night when a harpist played in person. I can't think of any other restaurant I've been to that was both a tv-free zone and no loud BGM. The only place I love an upbeat soundtrack is the grocery store -- it propels me in a way I don't want to be at a meal plus I'm by myself at the store but want to talk to my dining companions. Thought-provoking article - thanks, NYT!
7
Very few European and British restaurants play music and it's heavan! In the U.S. it gets so bad that I feel like I'm in a dance club, rather than having a dining experience.
The owners force their musical tastes on their customers and by doing so interfere with the pleasure of enjoying the food and being able to carry on a conversation without yelling.
And the music as intursion is not just in restarants, it's everwhere. With the exception of Ryuichi Sakamoto's selections, nothing ruins a restaurant expereince more than the loud and often obnoxious music that is played.
10
Interesting music and sounds, but around our house, dinner time music is Diana Krall 'Live in Paris', set at 3 out of 10, rather than cranked to 11.
6
I think almost all restaurants would be well advised to lower to volume of all noise, not just music. People want to talk and to hear their companions. At least most people do.
A nice quiet restaurant is bliss.
16
@Justin
"People want to talk to and hear their companions." Do they really? Why then most diners these days are tuning each other out with earbuds on and staring at their assorted electronic devices with not a word passing between them? May be the loud music is to cover up the awkward silence that they will otherwise have to face?
I left the music playing while a wrote a few other comments ( a small part of my morning routine ) Is it possible I was better able to arrange my thoughts, to remain tranquil in the face of DeVos, McConnell and plastic guns? An interesting effect, the opposite of what I expected. (We might have to weaponize this.)
Thanks Ryuichi.
2
It's a sign of the times that there was no mention of a live musician whether it be a pianist or a guitarist. The art of playing a songlist by a live musician which was once common has disappeared. A great loss in my opinion.
8
They have playlists? If one dines out here, that would come as a surprise. Most restaurants here deliberately create a noisy echo chamber and then crank up the annoying "music" as loud as they can. Someone told them noise equals excitement=profits. There is no quiet area where one can converse or enjoy leisurely dining. The noise drove me out of movie theaters, and now restaurants that don't sound like a train wreck or a battlefield are driving me out of many dining venues too.
7
Excellent news. Thanks so much for that great playlist. I once went to a coffee shop in San Francisco that ran the exact same playlist every day and the songs were horrible. It was funny but kind of sad too.
5
While the new playlist is certainly less obnoxious than a lot of restaurant music, it's still droningly soporific New Age elevator music. This, from a "master musician"? I'd rather have silence.
I'd like to have five minutes alone with the "genius" who decided that ear-splitting din in a restaurant would encourage diners to eat and drink more. It only encourages me to leave and not return.
13
The most beautiful restaurant music of all is the quiet conversation of other diners enjoying their meal and each other. It is the most appropriate background sound. Most of the time, but not always, music in the background is simply out of place. Sometimes it is unbearable and, when that is the case, I'll ask that it be at least so soft as to be insignificant or, worst case scenario, I simply leave. Music isn't the least bit necessary in a restaurant. l think it's now just conventional and in the same boat as inattentive service or not seating an early diner when the rest of the party hasn't arrived: disrespectful, unnecessary, and annoying for no discernible reason.
14
This is a playlist that does the opposite of intent. It has the ironic effect of drawing attention to itself, compelling the listener to concentrate on it. Some of it rises to the level of art music. It's not the kind of music I listen to but I can appreciate it and may grow to like it, but not in a restaurant. I'd be distracted.
2
I only got through the first four songs. I'm sorry, but they were too relentlessly new age melancholic for me. I do, however, join those who dislike loud music in a restaurant, especially loud, bad music. So, this music would indeed be preferable to a lot of what I've heard out there.
6
My appeal to owners of restaurants who pipe in music at inhuman decibel levels is to mention that I came to eat their wonderful food, not dance to their awful music. The bass line shudders through my digestive tract, the percussion is sharper than the knife I'm wielding. Add to that mix in some places, TV's with the sound turned off. Talk about obfuscating the purpose of eating out! As Sabina says in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", if we were eating what we're listening to, we'd be dead.
13
Back in the day, I worked at a Mexican restaurant in London. For six months (and possibly after I left), the managers chose to leave one album on repeat. I have heard every song in the Gypsy King's breakout 1987 album Gypsy Kings. To this day, I can sing the refrain of Bambeleo. If it happens that I hear the ending of any of those songs, I can begin to hum the tune that follows next on the album list. It was torture. It was a bad job with bad managers who seemed to use music to further break down our spirits.
8
@Adam - true. Restaurants are the #1 source for cases of earworms - tunes you can't get out of your head.
3
We could have a "diner's choice" music option - rather like the jukebox players at old diners - where each gets to inflict something on the rest of the diners. And it could include a silent option.
1
I love this story. As someone who is extremely aware of background music for personal and professional reasons, I've long stifled the impulse to do a version of what Mr. Sakamoto did and beg the owners of a restaurant or medical office or even a supermarket to please shut it off or pick someone else to coordinate the music.
Most of us don't have the talent that Mr. Sakamoto possesses, but many of us are sensitive to our aural environments. It's heartening to learn that it is something one might be able to discuss and perhaps even affect with a few suggestions.
9
Once while dining in a restaurant, the music was so obnoxious, I waited for an opportunity, snuck into the back "employees only" door, found the cursed system, and pulled the plug. It was very satisfying and unnoticed until we finished eating and made our exit.
6
In the UK they have Pipedown which works to get music out of restaurants as well as stores. They have been effective in getting the large department store M&S to stop playing music. Of course their national health pays for hearing aids so it is worth it for them to help people maintain their hearing. But since in America we have to pay for hearing aids there is no incentive to protect our hearing.
Years ago we stopped smoking in restaurants. Let's try the same with music. Have sections in the restaurant where you can turn off the speakers and ask people if they want to be in the the music or quiet area. Let's let the people decide. I often, no always, ask them to turn it down, preferrably off. I even go around and ask other diners if they care if the music is turned off. The majority are happy without music. Let's save our ears.
There is a place for music in restaurants - live music, preformance and such, but it should be a sometimes not an always and we should have some choice. Now I rarely eat out except in summer when I can eat outside and without music.
So get the music, all music, out of restaurants and let's bring back conversation. And if you're alone, you can always bring a book.
15
I read a study recently concluding that loud music in a restaurant encourages diners to choose less healthful foods and more of it!
2
The best restaurant music is NONE. Modern eateries are already too noisy as it is. I am sick to death of not being able to hear myself think (let alone converse with a companion) due to the clanking of kitchen equipment, the clicking of heels on the uncarpeted floors and the ever-escalating chatter of other human beings trying to make themselves heard amidst the cacophony.
28
I’ve read many of the comments to this article. I was actually quite surprised by the overwhelming consensus for a no-music preference. My immediate reaction to the article was that Mr. Sakamoto, who I much admire, provided a solution. He loved the food and space, and for sure, did not want to make a decree of no-music, but rather, and only with his patience exhausted, offered and provided a modification of the atmosphere.
I’d mainly agree that music and televisions are implemented with little discretion. The best bar I know of in Manhattan never has any music or TV sound. One bartender would even quiet down the crowd when conversation levels escalated.
However, the fact that Mr. Sakamoto, a Japanese man dining in one of his favorite Japanese restaurants, personally curated a mindful and purposeful playlist makes me want to dine at Kajitsu (despite the exorbitant prices) and experience this firsthand. I sense there will be ample quiet space and room for contemplation/conversation around the sounds. I wonder though that now it has been publicized if the restaurant has to report the music selections to ASCAP or BMI.
5
I recently stepped into a cafe in Beverly Hills for a solo pre-theater dinner. I was the only customer. The staff was playing thunderous rap music, the very last music on earth I want eat with. I asked them to put on something else, ANYTHING else. They turned off the music, and soon several other female customers came in and had quiet conversations with each other. A big mistake, to let the restaurant staff choose the music they want to work to, if it is the same music the customers have to listen to, and I think that is often how music is chosen these days!
10
No doubt, the beat of the music they were listening to helped them get through the motions of their soul-deadening jobs. When I'm cleaning the kitchen, I often put on toe-tapping rhythm and blues music. When I'm eating, I like no distractions to the pleasure of the food and my company.
1
A few months ago, I asked the cooks, in a restaurant I occasionally frequent, if I could change the music they were listening to (the music playing was high-energy techno and did not match the beautiful sashimi on my plate.) They were very gracious and allowed me to choose a slower, thoughtful type of music and it was interesting--I watched the rest of the restaurant patrons visibly relax , slow down and enjoy their meal.
Starbucks understands the role of music in the establishment of a mood. It would be nice if other public establishments followed suit.
6
Could someone explain to me why we have to listen to music while dining? Whatever happened to conversation? And why is the music played so loud?
15
After reading your article yesterday I researched Mr. Ryuichi Sakamoto's career and music and realized his documentary was playing in Vancouver. I also learned so much more about this fascinating man.
Thankfully the documentary, Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA, was playing in Vancouver and got to see it yesterday as well. A wonderful documentary. So thank you for this great article. I've re-read it this morning and I am listening to his wonderful Kajitsu playlist as I write this comment.
8
I don't understand why we should have to listen to music in a restaurant. I love music, but it should be listened to...not played as background noise .
11
Great idea, but the list itself demonstrates how fraught this really is: I didn't find the selections especially good. They obviously reflect personal taste a great deal. Just as I would agree that I would not want Brazilian music (in this case just bad Brazilian) in my favorite Japanese restaurant, so too would I not want quite a bit of this.
This should be done the way museums design their galleries for specific installations (I work at one). It must not intrude (base line), yet at the same time it ought to either enhance the experience or at least complement the work. I'm not hearing that here.
5
Just was forced to listen to Tina's "What's Love Got to Do With It" in an Urgent Care waiting room.
14
@RWV - My father's doctor's office has a TV in the waiting room that's always tuned to Fox News. While there's something mildly amusing about Tina's "What's Love Got to Do With It" being piped into an urgent care waiting room, Fox News is likely to give paintents dyspepsia if not high blood pressure or a mild heart attack.
4
Elliott Zuckerman believes that music worth listening to should be listened to, and not treated as background.
3
In case anybody is reading (that owns a restaurant) -- having to shout over a meal is the reason we'll never come back to your restaurant.
22
Spent yesterday stranded in the Dallas/Fort Worth airport. Fine, I can deal. BUT they played SMOOTH JAZZ which is a way to describe intolerable fake sax riffs.
Thought I would die. Wished I could die.
Who EVER thought this pretend jazz was amenable to the masses?
Thank you thank you Mr Nakamoto for solving ONE place in this aurally challenge world.
13
Even if you agree with this, most restaurants will never have this sort of nuanced guidance. So why not treat music worth listening to as music worth listening to. If it's un-distracting enough for a restaurant, just skip it and leave everyone in peace. If that's asking too much, keep the volume so low that the fact the music is lousy becomes irrelevant.
6
" When they started playing music at the gas pumps I knew it was all over."
Yes, Yes & Yes
20
I'm a musician who lives and works in New Orleans. I was dining in a well-known chain restaurant one time when the music that was being piped in over my head became so much of a distraction I had to talk to the manager. The music was being played backwards and no one except me made that realization. The manager cocked his head and listened and said , "how did THAT happen?" It just shows how ambient music is ignored and unneeded. If I hadn't pointed out the mistake it would still be backward.
19
Forget the choices I want the job. Just this morning I complained to my YMCA for suddenly pumping music into the workout room. Top 40 Station with Commercials. In this day and age?
Customers are lucky if they're "subjected" to Sticky Fingers deep cuts or either Bill Evans of the jazz world.
But if I was truly programming the world's public places it would be silence. Let us talk (and eavesdrop.)
13
This person excluded the nonpareil bassist Jaco Pastorius "for reasons of personal taste"?? Had that sentence appeared early in this article rather than late, that would have been all I needed to know. Thank goodness his son clued him in.
5
@A Readeryeah, Sakamoto came off like a big snob right there. Jaco was a boss, mentally disturbed, but still a great.
1
Come on, a "deep cut" from Sticky Fingers? Everyone in my generation had that album and the songs on it are all too well known to feel like one could pull something obscure from it. I mean even commercial FM will play that song.
How about great music that truely has been overlooked over the past few decades like Lowell George era Little Feat?
4
On the volume issue: we find ourselves avoiding most restaurants and brewpubs anywhere near peak hours. If I cannot converse easily with groom across the table, the experience--no matter how fine the food and drink--is a loss. We appreciate reviewers who include noise level info. And parents, if you must bring your kids, and if they must get plugged into devices because for some reason they can't be part of your table conversation, please: dim the screens and have the kids use earphones. (Duh?)
9
@Lisa
Amen, Amen, Amen especially on anyone playing electronic devices out loud.
Am I the jerk if I have to tell someone not to blare their videos in public?
8
There was a small up-scale restaurant I tried twice, but couldn’t bear because the blues track was so depressing with the bluest of blues that my meal was ruined. The food was reputed to be good, but I couldn’t say. I said something to the manager, but perhaps more a fan of the blues than customers.
5
Restaurant music is such an annoyance. It almost seems designed to irritate, as if they want in to hurry the patrons along so they can re-sell the table. I don't go to concerts to eat, and I don't go to restaurants to hear music. It is rare, but so elegant, to be in a restaurant where the only sound is conversation.
7
@Spdx Table turnover is, indeed, one reason for music as a distraction - having worked in restaurants where the music was selected by the kitchen rather than wait staff. But the number one reason, I believe, is that we're supposed to feel as though we are partying hard, really enjoying life and the company of the rest of humanity. Which is why it often sounds chaotic in restaurants. Who wants to eat in the silence of a sepulchre? Well, me and my dining partner, for instance.
4
Well, apparently it's difficult to select restaurant music. I played this playlist tonight at home, and while it is beautiful, it is introverted and melancholy, and i found myself weeping a few songs in as the music reawakened a recent difficult loss. It's relentless, and doesn't pick up till track 11, a Bill Evans piece that is a thankful release. Then it dives back into the depths, dragging me with it.
yeah, this isn't going to work for most restaurants, I don't care how thoughtful they are. But it's interesting to imagine the artistic bubble that Sakamoto lives in.
8
I don't care what music is on in the restaurants I patronize, but I hate the bare-walled, bare-floored places that seem designed to produce as much noise as possible.
I can't have a quiet conversation with my companions if I'm surrounded by loud conversations and the clattering of dishes.
Sometimes, I'm tempted to leave some of these "trendy" places and come back to lay thick carpeting and hang velvet curtains.
20
For those who are Apple Music devotees, here is the playlist by Ryuichi Sakamoto:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/new-york-times/pl.u-qxyl0bJu2xr2r3
2
I find most of Mr. Sakamoto's playlist fitting well at a lava lamp Zen Garden.
5
BGM is in every building now, and mostly thoughtless. Led Zeppelin while I am picking out peaches.... really?
3
Were they playing Led Zeppelin's The Lemon Song?
4
Lovely idea but a deadly dull playlist. Mr. Sakamoto's preferences are a snooze.
2
Anything Sakamoto likes, I want to hear. He collaborated on one of my top-10 CDs, "Casa" with Jaques Morelenbaum and Paula Morelenbaum. Thank you for playlist. GV
1
Music in restaurants; wow, I could go on for days. But now I don't have to, after reading this article. I agree with Mr. Sakamoto that music, or in my mind, it's absence replaced by horribly loud conversations reverberating so loudly you can't hear your dinner companion across the table, can make or break a good dining experience.
I love his music and have his most recent, "async", and would love to see and hear more restaurants follow this lead. Music in a dining establishment should be like an ingredient used in the food served. Quietly noticed, but not overwhelming.
I've had so many meals in the past few years that were quite good, sometimes exceptional, but after leaving the restaurant my voice is hoarse and I sadly realize how unappetizing the conversations ended up being because having to shout while numbed by background music and being interrupted by servers, etc., does not a good experience make.
7
This is the article that interested me the most this week. I saw the title of this article, and I thought, I have to read it. I was not disappointed. It was totally worth my time. I found this article very interesting because I love music- good music. So when I read about the "thoughtless" music, I was happy that somebody had finally addressed it. I had also noticed the music at restaurants and public places in general. Whose idea was it anyways to play music in public? Maybe people don't want to listen to music, or no matter the kind of music, they won't like it. If they want to listen to music, they have their own. But, for example, playing something like pop music at a restaurant might ruin the mood. I'm glad this article was published, and maybe some people might start thinking about the music they play in public. Or, an even better idea might be no music at all. I mean, you don't want someone to go somewhere, and leave just because they don't like the music. Imagine someone walking into a restaurant, looking and listening around, and walk right back out the door. Kind of hurtful, right? If they walked in and heard people just talking in hushed tones, they might think something like,"This seems to be a pretty respectable place, and I think I should stay and eat here. Although I listened to Mr. Sakamoto's playlist, I thought it didn't really suit a restaurant, but it did get the point across of the need for better music in public places.
3
It wouldn't suit all restaurants but does suit the overall aesthetic and dining experience of this one.
Appropriate music for each restaurant is an enhancement.
What a terrific article, and it touches on something that is pervasive in modern culture--overstimulation. I consider the loud, thumping music so ubiquitous in shopping malls, restaurants and just about everywhere else I go noise pollution. And we hear the same stuff played over and over again. Mr. Sakamoto´s musical selections are luminous, but I agree with previous comments--why not just simple silence? I see a new niche opening up for enterprising musicians to fill--soundscape designs for public spaces a la Brian Eno´s Music for Airports.
9
Thanks for this, which is really comprised of 2 or 3 articles in one, imo. That it is featured in the Food section is slightly misleading. Could be featured in Health, too. I wish people would stop labelling the wish (physical need?) for people who want to hear their companions and/or possibly even relax thoughtfully over a meal as exclusively the domain of older people. Sensory overload, stress, and anxiety are impacting our health for the worse. Perhaps no BGM is the best BGM in most dining and other public space settings.
5
Is this playlist meant to be shuffled or played in order in a loop, so different diners get different listening experiences?
sort of like a arty minimalist dentist office where the dentist is trying to creep you out a bit before filling a cavity.
just put on matt halsall's "fletcher moss park" and get the green tea fired up!!! :) more on the dorothy ashby/charles stepney cadet studio warmth end of things. classy baby
2
How about something really radical -- NO MUSIC. And while we're at it, let's go back to designing restaurant spaces to be quiet instead of raucous. A few years back I walked into a bar in Paris. Something felt pleasantly different, but I was deep in jet lag and at first it was just a vague feeling. As I settled into my beer, I began to unpack the sensation. The first layer that registered was that there was no music track playing. Next, although there were quite a few people in the bar, the noise level was low. A burble -- that was the word. Paying more attention, I realized the burble I was receiving was the result of quiet but earnest conversation taking place at the various tables. Talk. Not loud. Not shouting, not laughing, not roaring. Just talk. Aah. What a glorious sound it was.
33
Such a well-written and thoughtful story. Both my wife and I are musicians. Given a choice, our restaurant playlist would be silence.
22
Music is one of the most important things in my life. Been collecting and listening for 45 years - I own many hundreds of recordings in a dozen genres, including the new age-ambient-chill sounds Mr. Sakamoto favors for these Japanese restaurants. So here's my point: I don't listen to the music being played in restaurants, barely even notice it. Two reasons: (1) ordinary restaurant noise makes it inaudible, or nearly so; (2) I'm engaged in continuous conversation with my dining partners. Whether a great music fan or a casual one or not at all, nearly all restaurant patrons pay little or no attention to the music.
I like Mr. Sakamoto's playlist, and will listen to it at home, as I am now, but like other such lists, I've no interest in it for restaurant dining.
6
nice story; bad playlist unless you want to snooze while waiting for your omakasi sushi to arrive. i'm not sure restaurant music should be so soothing and only listened to first 15 minutes but fell asleep at my desk.
1
A very entertaining story and one to think about
A shallow follow-up question: what are the clothes’s labels that the musician is wearing.
1
Great article, and it couldn't come too soon. I've been a performer (classical guitar, Brazilian bossas, milongas, jazz, blues, folk from the outer reaches) and have played in restaurants for years. It's always a pleasure when I've been told, "Thanks for the lovely music," because I know that patrons usually get hammered by stale pop, the usual top 40, too loud everything. The experience of good food should always have a musical equivalent, canned, or live.
8
Ryuichi Sakamoto is my favorite composer. I have followed his career and treasure all his compositions.
That said, the playlist that he recommended for Kajitsu is not one I find conducive to fine dining. My (Japanese) partner and I listened to it today, and we agreed this list seemed more conducive to light meditation or falling asleep.
I am also a pianist and composer and agree that BGM in most restaurants, shops and health clubs is atrocious. (The author of the article should give NYT readers enough credit to understand the acronym without explanation.)
I live in Tokyo where for some reason it's thought that hardcore rap or Jamaican music is always appropriate everywhere. I, too, have approached managers at many restaurants, shops and health clubs and asked them to adjust the music. I've had to explain why the BGM is inappropriate (gospel/R&B music at an expensive French restaurant). The music has been changed at my request, but I think it's mainly to keep me quiet and not to have to listen to my complaints.
It would be excellent if fine dining establishments would hire a curator to create appropriate playlists to enhance, not detract, from what should be a deeply satisfying experience.
8
This article fascinated me to no end...with all the blather and hot air permeating the public sphere as of late, it was delightful to enjoy a nuanced and discerning discussion in what I feel is the all-too-important challenge of living beautifully in the world- in this instance through the conduit of music. And if this wasn't heady enough, I almost cried hearing the opening notes of "Promenade sentimentale" by Vladimir Cosma in the playlist excerpt from my favorite French movie of all time "Diva"...It does my heart good to know someone cares and I would gladly toss all my professional credentials out the window if someone could tell me how to get a gig at a sound design firm!
9
I totally judge a city by how much the coffee shops, restaurants, shops pay attention to their music. I've been at JFK and LIKED the music. NYC is #1, LA #2, everyone else, miles away (not that I've been everywhere). Tokyo, I was there 10 days and heard one reasonable sounding modern trap type song in an underground mall. It leaves an impression of the entire city for me. Tokyo, no risk, NYC high risk, everything else, on the spectrum between.
4
I'm a musician and the ubiquity of (bad) music EVERYWHERE in American life is a symptom of our inability to deal with ourselves and our culture. It's become just one more corporate advertisement. When they started playing music at the gas pumps I knew it was all over.
Don't get me going on ubiquitous TVs.....
"All humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone."----Pascal
42
@LS i love you
3
You think music is bad? I've been to a couple of places where they had fox news on the TV behind the bar. I feel like the right thing to do is to tell the manager he's making his customers stupid, but I usually just turn around and walk out.
22
But still, turn it down please.
10
So much thought and effort goes into the playlist and then it’s used identically for both restaurants even tho Kajitsu “follows the Zen, vegan principles of Shojin cuisine” while Kokage is “a more casual operation that incorporates meat and fish”.
These two restaurants seem to have quite different vibes. Wouldn’t each require it’s own playlist?
4
I own a small sharing plate restaurant and I create the playlists. The room is small like Moto's (miss that place) and looks a bit like Rye with a lovely wood bar. The playlists run with the night (we open at 5); some start with light ambient for 2 hours then gain energy and depth, others start with the likes of Doc Watson and Al Bowlly and move into tracks that, I feel, have similar feel. There is nothing worse than having 2-3 tables and music blaring! The volume is kept at a level that when we are full in the later hours, you can barely hear it. I eschew auto-tune, dance, pop, jazz, country and any music that is too profanity laced. We get asked about tracks from time to time but we don't get complaints (to date). I work on the lists a little each day, adding new music and removing stuff that did not work. I feel the volume should never be such that you have to raise your voice; never intrusive. It should be a compliment to the experience. Allowing the music to be washed out with the myriad conversations (that only get louder with imbibing) seems like an acceptable volume setting to me.
12
Give me some Tom Waits and a jar of bourbon. Food too, if it’s around.
2
The best music is no music. Just the sound of silverware jangling and quiet conversation, the sound of a civilized experience. Today's restaurants are a gauntlet of misery.
24
@ D Silver Los Angeles
This being a Japanese restaurant, the jangling silver is for the Gaijin, but it would be natural there to hear the sound of jangling swords. Recall that "the sword is the soul of the samurai".
1
@D Silver I usually need to take out my hearing aids in restaurants. I find I can manage to hear my table mate's conversation without being overwhelmed by background clatter as well. And I am becoming much more adept at lip reading.
I do not know who is the bigger snob: the musician or the writer of this article. I eat in the San Gabriel Valley, at places that the NY Times, among other newspapers states serves some of the best Asian food available in the US, and none of these fine-dining places have the pretentious set up for the music described by and desired by this writer. On the contrary, what you hear are the sounds of people , young and old, having conversations, commenting on the food, enjoying a meal. I think less of the musician who is so snobbish and intolerant, the writer, and the NY Times for paying the writer for spewing this nonsense.
6
these would make me fall asleep in my soup.
4
This article was published as a favor to Saky to publicize his new movie. Before last month, I never heard of Saky, and I read the NYT daily.
I agree with Mr. Sakamoto in premise. However, in that restaurant, I would explore modern textures created with traditional Japanese instruments to create cultural-consistent atmospherics.
Unfortunately, no mention of audio quality/equipment is mentioned. Most commercial installations are pedestrian at best. Full, even distribution of audiophile-standard reproduction equipment with superb tonal balance and equal energy are required to do the music justice.
All details matter for the full-immersion sensual sonic experience to be in concert with the delicate aromas and intense tastes emanating from the cuisine. The careful balance of all these elements are requisite to attain the elevated dining experience appreciated by discerning clientele.
5
@T R Black Good points, especially about the gear used and its placement. Unless the owner wants to rejig the whole system, Sakamoto is off the hook on that. I like the idea of music with more traditional Japanese instruments. Perhaps it has been included in their playlists.
I'd like a restaurant that plays Scarlatti sonatas.
11
@Rick/ softly
3
@Rick If the Scarlatti sonatas is recorded music, my choice would be pianist Vladimir Horowitz.
1
@Tonjo Yes! Sonata in E, K 380, Carnegie Hall 1951.
The Satie piece in this playlist is OK but the others are pretty unappetizing. Truly, "de gustibus non est disputandum."
And I say this as a Sakamoto fan.
2
While I greatly admire Sakamoto Ryuichi`s music, this is a jarring example of an entitled 1%-er issue.
6
@expat How is he entitled? He offered to share his talent with the restaurant and they were free to refuse. What exactly is wrong with that?
14
@expat
Nah - maybe for upscale restaurants - but the general issue of being assaulted with noise almost everywhere you go is something that affects most all of us. Noise is what unwanted music becomes. We have few quiet places anywhere.
I started doing a similar thing a few months ago when I volunteered to dj at a friend's hard cider tasting room. The music is different as it's not a restaurant but the effect is the same. I have people thank me every night I'm there for my musical choices and I'm confident they don't know a lot of my choices. Thankfully they are accepting in that way. Bravo Mr. Sakamoto, you are my hero!
6
I really enjoyed this story and finally, someone is doing something about the horrific noise pollution we must endure just to eat good food. Not just anything either, Mr. Sakamoto has provided the restaurant with a beautiful gift, and sanity for diners. The worst is the obnoxious elevator music, or as many have said, mindless pop songs blaring so that speaking at normal volume is impossible. Most restaurants seem absolutely clueless about the affect it has on their patrons. Blank stares usually if you ask the waiters to please turn the music down or off, or worse, they do nothing.
18
Mr. Sakamoto is a genius and the best musician alive. How lucky Kajitsu is to have him care.
As a music geek, I understand him perfectly well and feel the same.
As an architect, I never understood why restaurants invest so little in their musical apparatus. Good speakers and subwoofers are not that expensive and make an enormous difference.
5
We recently dined in a small local restaurant on a busy Saturday night, a day and time we usually avoid. The place was packed and the noise level from diners was booming. Needless to say, conversation was difficult if not impossible.
During a lull in the din, we were amazed to hear music playing over the sound system. What were the owners thinking? We just had to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
5
A rather pompous endeavor by an "exemplary" musician..
4
Feeling grateful for today's column about the thoughtful choice of music in a restaurant. The choice of the playlist and the volume/noise level affect both the taste of the food and the ability to have a conversation with the person with whom you're sharing the meal. I look forward to enjoying Japanese food in this welcoming environment next time we're in town. I hope that more restauranteurs will consider adopting Mr. Sakamoto's philosophy.
8
I don't know of anyone who has ever left a restaurant or a store because the music wasn't loud enough or there was no music at all. I've left plenty of commercial establishments because the music was intrusive. As was said in a previous comment, one person's music is another person's noise. It's as if the whole world has aural ADHD.
21
One of the more depressing developments in modern restaurant design is the deliberate use of hard, noise-reflecting surfaces. Apparently, many regular restaurant-goers like noisy environments: it feels more like a party. It’s one of the main reasons—now that indoor smoking is banned—that I eat at home.
11
@WmC
It's true - at one spot - with high recommendations -that I wanted to try - - just sampling a drink proved to be an endurance test because of the level of noise, which included voices growing louder and louder to be heard over the jangle of background sound. Eating there would be about as comfortable as dining in a prison mess hall. Since I didn't have to wait to be paroled, I left.
1
Listening to the playlist now and it is exquisite. Can't wait to try it out with the food. Start with the more casual side and work my way up. What a great preparation for a pilgrimage to Japan by the by.
7
Love that this topic has come up in a public forum!
Yes, wonderful music please, to fit the ambience intended by the restaurant’s food and decor.
9
Beside the fact that the noise level everywhere, but especially in restaurants and ESPECIALLY in New York City, is horrendous and likely to damage everyone's hearing, those of us who already HAVE a hearing loss are hopeless unserved by restaurants who think loud, bassy, terrible music will make us happy. I used to consult the Zagat guide to find restaurants that weren't 'DA BOMB' but there were so few I just gave up and looked for where I could sit outside. Then they dragged the speakers outside. We're doomed.
16
With the advent of the Walkman, life, for many, gradually acquired an almost perpetual soundtrack. A meal no more requires music for enjoyment than a walk in the park. As a professional musician, and knowing many like myself, silence is my favorite music, broken ideally by myself expressing my own musical thoughts.
21
I never thought a musician would say that his fav music is silence. I wish you could elaborate.
@DNAlevelC
Solipsism, personified.
@BH Mine too.
I am amazed at the comments promoting silence while eating which is entirely beside the point! Probably this is due to the almost universally poor and thoughtless approach to background music. I want to go listen and then I will know what I'm talking about. But I must say that the sensitivity written about here is appealing in itself.
7
Silence is golden.
26
Just back from Berlin. Most of the restaurants I ate at (as well as the stores I shopped in) had no BGM. What a pleasure! So much more mental space! And there's still plenty to listen to.
28
@mijosc Exactly!
Just why is there "music" in a restaurant, anyway?
Seriously...
21
Obviously if you have taken any interest in everyday BGM on your travels then you know how easily it can go wrong. In fact it goes wrong so often that wrong is almost the new right. Poor selections, Christmas music, inappropriate volume. The wrongness is so ubiquitous you rarely question it as you feel like it is you that must be wrong. Well you're not wrong - start questioning!
This article inspired me to write a blog post on the topic which unfortunately is far too long, apart from the opening paragraph above, to fit in here so I'll shamelessly give you the link:
https://www.theslowmusicmovement.org/blog/good-music-for-nice-restaurant...
It details my brief experience during a job trial for one of the major BGM companies and a few thoughts on when those companies actually work and the types of business where they most definitely don't work. Kajitsu obviously being one and smaller cutting edge, creatively overachieving or quality obsessed businesses in general.
2
The worst music ever for a restaurant is at Charlie Bird in Soho - so loud and vulgar that I will never go back.
2
The only tolerable music in any restaurant setting (pace Mr. Sakamoto) is jazz piano, non-edgy, not bop, but jazz standards rendered beautifully and unobstrusively. Anything else is torture, pure and simple. Most NYC restaurants play music at levels that are far too loud. While we're on the subject, good restaurants don't have hard, acoustically reactive surfaces which cause ambient sound levels to be annoying and distracting, with the result that customers shriek to hear one another.
7
Not many people could get away with a stunt like this, but Mr. Sakamoto certainly can.
2
Silence might be best, but the worst is music with no personality-- that soul sucking pop music that you would never listen to by choice. It's awful anywhere-- in a restaurant, when you're shopping or somewhere in between. And such music is never programmed by anyone working around us. Even the best restaurants in my neighborhood have given up curating any kind distinctive aural palate. It makes me feel dislocated, as if I'm in some kind of suburban mall in the 1980s.
8
Did these commenters complaining about music in restaurants actually read the article or listen to the playlist? The article was about addressing terrible music in restaurants and the playlist is WONDERFUL!
I do not want to eat in a restaurant without music. I love it when it's well done. So there, all you curmudgeons!
6
@Jen why is wanting silence curmudgeonly?
4
Would that more restaurants - and especially coffee shops - took this to heart.
3
If nothing else it reminded me that I had not listened to enough John Cage in the past year so thanks for the nudge to cue up John Cage - The Perilous Night · Four Walls (1991)
5
This article reminds me how much I still miss the days when heading out to an NYC Italian restaurant meant heading out to the romantic, rich sounds of Frank, Dino, Sammy, Jack, and always someone named Vito. I was stunned the first time an Italian meal was accompanied by LiteFM playing through the speakers. Further, the waitstaff had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. This was in the early 90s. Also, the same day, I was addressed as "ma'am" for the first time - but I digress.
14
A radical suggestion (I thought, until I read similar comments): How about peace and quiet to eat by? As Marge Keller's husband says, "we go to restaurants to eat and concert halls to listen." I would like that to be taken completely seriously.
34
This is a wonderful playlist, and I hope we can convince Mr Sakamoto to share more of them.
3
This is just one person's opinion, even if he is a professional musician; he has likes and dislikes, which predictably will disagree with other professional musicians (including his son). He does not want to hear Miles Davis when he is eating his sushi; I might and do not wish anyone to tell me what I SHOULD hear when I am eating. There is no universal solution to the pairing, nor should there be. His soundtrack had lots of techno/electronic noise which I would rather not subject myself to when I am trying to eat or quietly converse with a table partner. "Light Drizzle" as a case in point; more like "Icepicks in the Brain" to me.
Silence on the soundtrack is a good compromise.
15
I am also of the belief that since decibel levels in many restaurants are now offensively intrusive, critics should have a sound level app on their phones and include an average ambient level with each review.
Food: 3 stars;
Decor: 5 stars;
Service: 3 stars;
NOISE LEVEL: 110 decibels= power saw.
19
@Coco Pazzo The first question I ask of friend who have tried a new restaurant in town, "How noisy is it?". I'll immediately cross it off my list if the answer is, "Loud."
3
Oh yes!!!! Thank you for this article (and thank you Mr. Sakamoto for your music). Music is never background for me--I am very attentive to it and sensitive to it (although I have very catholic taste--what kind of music do I like? Good music. . . ). If it is playing--whether an elevator a restaurant or now, inescapably and unfortunately in United's new Polaris lounges, I pay attention to it (which I think is what the artist and or composer would wish). Often it is actually a physical experience and if it is bad, it is terribly distracting (if not painful), especially in a restaurant and I just have to leave. Kajitsu is such a extraordinary restaurant, with such exquisite attention paid to the food, it is surprising that the music seemed an afterthought. Thank you for rectifying such a significant oversight Mr. Sakamoto, and contributing the enjoyment of a meal there . . .
5
Silence. Please. One person’s music is another person’s noise. I long for a restaurant whose soundtrack is the quiet hum of conversation, without musical competition. Keep dreaming...
37
Now if only someone could train waitstaff to allow patrons to converse w/o interrupting them by asking them if everything is good or other such questions. We dine out with people we love and want to visit with.
4
@D. C. Miller It takes about two seconds to nod your head politely and say "yes". You have no obligation to small-talk with your server.
4
@D. C. Miller: The servers always seem to interrupt the middle of someone's funny story or a lively discussion of some controversy or a brainstorming session about someone's personal problem.
Guess what, if everything isn't all right, we'll TELL the server.
I largely agree that silence or low volume and inconspicuous music is best for a seated dining experience. By contrast, fast/casual outlets typically use louder, brand-appropriate (at least in their minds) music in an effort to make their food consumption experience more palatable (sorry). The Performing Rights Organizations (PRO's) ASCAP, BMI and SESAC (they're not music publishers, but represent publishers' interests) exist to assure that the artists whose music is played in public are appropriately compensated for a use that the creator and/or performer did not contemplate, that is, to enhance somebody's dining or shopping experience. The artist's agreement with her publisher(s) and record label allow those parties to license her music to BGM service providers, who then contract with the businesses to provide stock or custom playlists, along with licensing coverage. Music played from devices or consumer streaming services is not licensed for use in businesses, which is why the PRO's are so vigilant.
6
The music is everywhere: Restaurants, waiting rooms, the grocery aisle, the workplace, shops, sporting events. Canned, pre-concert music at rock shows blares until the reason you purchased your ticket comes on stage. Reflective moments in places where you thought you would be fairly alone and safe to contemplate your reasons for living are shredded by aural assaults on your reverie by classic rock emanating from a boom box set spontaneously on a picnic table a block away. You can't escape it; it's an indelible part of virtually every aspect of modern public life. I hate it.
It's not the music I hate, of course. It's the chronic nature of the racket--the ubiquitous, unrelenting din that must be tolerated when I step outside my door. It's the melodious (odious?) white noise coming from the ceiling at the supermarket as I try to make a thoughtful choice among seemingly endless variations of chunky salsa. It's having to roll up my car window when a vehicle with thumping bass approaches, lest my upper plate be dislodged by the deep, gum-rattling reverberations and dropped to the mud-caked floor mat. The scourge of non-stop music can be costly.
I'm being only slightly tongue-in-cheek. What's so frightening about engaging in conversation without having to compete with an establishment's playlist? Why do we need musical accompaniment to virtually everything we do? What's wrong with quiet, with silence?
40
@RJ Steele-while pumping gas too; the latest insult!
2
@RJ Steele "What's wrong with quiet, with silence?" When heads are empty music is needed to fill them. Always remember, nature abhors a vacuum.
2
Most musicians know this story so well. I spend most of my days reaching out with my ears to hear to identify sounds, arrangements, details, intonation etc it can be nearly impossible to turn it off when I go out to eat. That is my problem, not the general public's. So it can be a significant joy to go to a restaurant that is playing interesting music. It always feels like a shame to find a great place to eat that is playing Bob Marley's Legend album. It's a masterpiece of reggae-pop, but it is everywhere, all the time, all over the world. If I hear the well-known but not popular studio recording of Bob running through a few tunes with his acoustic guitar as a mic check I know that somebody cared to create a vibe in the restaurant. It's immediately apparent when the detail of what is played in the restaurant has been curated. I don't need to agree with the taste necessarily as I don't need to agree with everything on my plate. But if I ever heard Vijay Iyer's Patterns while eating great sushi with a elegant sake I would be nothing short of ecstatic.
7
My wife and I were in a restaurant at Montmartre, Paris. Of course, it catered to tourists. The food was great, the ambience, nice. The music was loud sixties rock. It was completely not right. I went to the person apparently in charge and said I usually like this music, but we're in Paris, and besides, it's too loud, and would he take $10 to turn it down? He rejected the money offer, smiled and did one better - turned it off.
39
@S Barton
The French are indeed different than thee and me. Parisians even more so...
2
Did you make the request in French or English?
3
New Yorkers don’t need a sound track for their lives. If the music is good, I get distracted. If it is bad/too loud, I walk out. Silence is golden.
31
I agree that the sound and volume in some (most?) restaurants does, as mentioned, make it necessary to shout over it to be heard and in many cases I ask for it to be turned down or off, and/or to be seated elsewhere, or I leave altogether. Since I am an "elderly", I am tolerated and probably thought simply to have bad taste.
But please don't restrict the comments about so-called music to restaurants. I have been driven out of so many stores where I really wanted to shop when the "music" penetrated my consciousness to the point of complete distraction.
Why can't Americans tolerate silence or at least quiet? Failing that, play Anya or Mozart. PLEASE!
22
@mak: Enya?
1
@Thomas Zaslavsky
Enya?? Yikes!!!
How do any of you survive in public?
16
@Olivia With great difficulty and a lot of headaches
19
@Olivia It is hard, VERY hard.
1
Would someone please send this article to the Italian restaurants in Philadelphia who still blare Sinatra tunes during dinner?
6
@Robert McCaskey That's actually quite charming.
5
I was all aboard with Mr Sakamoto on this...until the part that says he’s anti-Jaco Pastorius
5
On the rare occasion that good music comes on in a public space is the moment I suddenly feel as if I belong in the world. Most of the time its thoughtless garbage that does nothing but grate on the ears.
17
I hope a lot of restaurateurs are reading these comments.
28
So many people saying they would like to dine in silence. I know people for whom being subjected to the sound of thirty people eating dinner in a quiet room would be the worst torture imaginable.
7
@Anthony Flack but it wouldn't be silent, it would be the sound of people talking, a white noise that is quite pleasant.
3
Normally I like to bring ear plugs to restaurants. The music usually only serves to drive up the volume of the conversation.
Thank you Mr. Sakamoto. I first heard him playing with Alva Noto on a disc called Vrioon. Beautiful!
1
@William
Your friends and family must find you a real pleasure to dine with--do you all use sign language to converse?
Please no music at all!
41
Here in LA Charcoal and Felix in Venice are two big offenders I can name right off the bat—fabulous food and they're packed every night, but you can often barely hear your companions (or the servers for that matter) because of a caterwaul of "classic" rock.
One plea to the NYT music critics: please publish Apple Music lists in addition to Spotify ones.
4
Ok I’ll add my thoughts. Art is subjective. One man’s John Cage is another’s dissonance. While I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this playlist most of it sounded appropriate for a massage or facial - World Music - certainly apropos for a Japanese restaurant or an eclectic coffeehouse in Barcelona. But I doubt the clientele of a NYC steakhouse or the latest Danny Meyer eaterie would go for this playlist. They would expect something more upbeat - no? Therefore every type of restaurant should have a customized playlist. Or no music. Do we always need wall-to-wall music in every public space? And who recalls the solo pianists and guitarists prevalent in the popular restaurants of yesteryear who played what they used to call background or mood music way back when? The death of live music has given way to canned music we only used to hear in elevators. And I’m sorry, do we really need to hear another round of Waltz For Debby with all the thousands of songs composed over the years? There are other pianists besides the great Bill Evans. Let’s give them a chance. This was a fantastic article - kudos to Ben Ratliff for taking this subject on. I too would be interested in a follow-up. And I’m making my reservation at Kajitsu now - if I can get one.
7
What a gift!
Thank you Ben Ratliff and Mr. Sakamoto.
2
This is all nonsense. No need to have music at all. It interferes with conversation, which is an essential element in a good dining experience. And no roomful of people will ever agree on what music choice is reasonable. So just let us enjoy our food without added noise!
44
Here in Europe we have many restaurants that offer (force?) television on their patrons. Does this happen in the USA too? Bad enough when the local football team is not playing, but when they are it's impossible to pay attention to what you are eating or your companions' attempts at communicating. Once in Naples, during one of its games, the group of diners at the table next to us asked the proprietor to turn up - yes, louder! - the volume. I reacted violently and stated that we would leave if they did so. Fortunately there was another dining room, also with its TV, into which the football fans were herded, thus leaving our area more-or-less tranquil, at least as tranquil as a Napolitano restaurant can be.
8
@J K Griffin Multiple TVs wherever you look in so many restaurants!! Perhaps restaurant owners put them there because they think diners will feel uneasy if there is nothing to fill in "awkward" silences. And how often do you go to a restaurant where nearly every person is staring at their phone? (including children) Ugh.
"his son found out about Mr. Pastorius a week later and scolded his father for the omission."
Ha! Too bad. It wasn't an omission, it was a suggestion.
2
I always wonder when I walk into a place like McDonalds if they are playing the same music at their stores at that instant all over the United States. With the internet I guess that would be possible.
2
How about NO music? Let everyone eat in peace, be able to have a conversation, and the whole place will be quieter.
46
I like what restaurateur and raconteur Bob Longhi used to say about his dreamily vivid original Longhi's in Lahaina, mainly he couldn't stand any music while dining since the sounds of the restaurant goings on were the real music. And the restaurant sounds used to open George Harrison's "Soft-Hearted Hana", dedicated to Bob by his friend, George, were inspired by the restaurant sounds of those Lahaina nights, if not an actual recording of Longhi's.
3
Honestly... This kind of article could only be produced in a first-world, moneyed, slightly precious (if you will pardon my choice of words) society. There are literally millions of people worldwide who go to bed hungry at night and who will get up to nothing the next morning. Are the aesthetics of music choice while dining out truly worthy of this careful parsing?
1
This is NY and this is The NY Times. Absolutely agree, there would seem to be more pressing matters than music in restaurants. There are horrible and serious matters to attend to at every turn. But to only address these would rob us all of the richness of life. Trump is raging. Children are suffering. But, in defiance, life goes on and life is good and life is nuanced. At the very least this article will inform some that music is important and offer a playlist of music that may give respite from the harsher realities of our existence.
12
Theodor Adorno once said, (more or less), "How can you write poetry after Auschwitz? It's barbaric."
To which one of our most brilliant poets, Mark Strand, replied:
"How can you eat lunch after Auschwitz?"
4
@Jimbo
Yes; they are; because, while giving money to charities to help others, we are--for better or worse--spending a lot of money, which we worked to earn, to eat first-rate food.
2
Speaking of BGM, 11 years ago I needed elective open heart surgery and the chief surgeon agreed I could bring some music of my choice into the operating room (it's a long story...). Anyway, as I was being prepped the chief anesthesiologist noticed the CD by my side, and I told him it was some music for the room. "It's not country, is it?" No, just jazz & blues I said. "Thank god," he said, "that man plays so much country music in here we're all ready to kill him!"
13
What sort of monster tries to hide Jaco Pastorius from his own flesh and blood? This is positively Oedipal.
Otherwise, I'm happy to hear about someone taking on the scourge of restaurant music. Maybe Mr. Sakamoto can move on to curating custom juke boxes for bars.
2
@PaulR Just a loving parent who quite understandably wanted to shield his son from being exposed to the horror of Weather Report for as long as possible.
@PaulR
Like the millions who felt personally threatened by Elvis. Daddy didn't approve.
Yes! It always amazes me when restaurants are on brand with everything and then play music that has nothing to do with it. That and overly loud music are a drag.
13
@Peter - Rap music at an Italian restaurant. That's the ticket!
1
The worst thing people can do to music is relegate it to the background. It's an art form that deserves to be front and center. It isn't wallpaper. In restaurants it just makes everyone speak louder and constitutes one of the great unpleasantnesses of our age.
19
There are many studies describing the effect of music on taste perception. Here's just one article: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/mar/11/sound-a...
2
@ Binky Brooklyn
But can one believe everything published in Internet by semiliterate icon-clicking scribblers?
1
The perfect playlist in a restaurant? Silence.
60
Thank you, Mr. Sakamoto! There are so many restaurants I cannot eat in because of inappropriate, loud music, but I don't feel qualified to put together a playlist that wouldn't be distracting to me and others. This article makes me want to eat in Kajitsu, in all Mr. Odo's restaurants, and in the other restaurants mentioned here.
3
Nigh onto perfection. Am listing right now. Thank you.
Wonderful to hear these brief snippets.
Thank you, Mr. Sakamato. And thanks NYT for this great article. Bettes, a retired musician...
2
For me, a loop of John Cage 4'33 would make the best dining playlist.
31
@Miles Fish Or perhaps Frank Zappa's "Mother of Invention"?
@Miles Fish
Miles- great recommendation. And I'll say no more for at least 5 minutes.
Problems with most restaurants:
1. Bad bad music
2. Loud bad bad music
3. Andrea Bocelli. (Do Italian restaurants need to play his stylings to keep their licenses?)
4. Bad bad loud music that makes diners yell.
5. Aural pain.
Restaurants should be pleasant sensory experiences, beyond taste and smell. I hope this spreads.
36
Background music in public dining & drinking these days are largely controlled by outside forces, thanks to the publishers ASCAP, BMI & SESAC. Reading this article surprises me that, even a renowned figure can consult & create a playlist for his/own choosing at any given place without repercussions from the afore mentioned publishing entities that result usually in fines, that vary depending upon the capacity & billing of the specific business.
Better hope your licensing fees are up-to-date. If not, I’m sure after this piece, they WILL hunt you down.
3
@Paul
Isn't that a form of totalitarianism, for a handful of companies to force every business to distribute their product? I've long suspected that our constant inundation everywhere to pop music - and all sounding the same - is due to hyper control.
Restaurant staffs, too, have had a say. When I was doing restaurant work in the 80’s it was not unusual for CDs that offended server’s sensibilities or were overplayed to “disappear”.
It was Arcadia, on the Upper East Side, that figured out what was best; no music at all. I worked there for weeks before I realized it and no guest ever mentioned its absence.
21
When people go out to a restaurant, they presumably want to be able to hold a conversation with their tablemates. Background music makes this harder to do, and I'm at a loss as to why restaurants feel the need to play music at all.
65
@Larry Amen. Why oh why? Especially when the food is good, why don't they trust us? It's like condescending to an audience.
7
I dutifully listened to the musical selections available in the article, and I found Mr. Sakamoto's choices to be dreary and uninteresting. Some of the songs are overly unmelodic and others are dull.
The solution for all restaurants is no music at all. Who needs it? Who actually wants it? Not I.
61
@Carmela Sanford - people who can't stand being surrounded by the sound of other people eating.
2
@Anthony Flack: I would like to think that people who eat loudly enough to be heard in public would stay home. A restaurant without music usually has a soft murmur of people talking and the occasional clink of a fork.
At the neighborhood sushi restaurant I used to visit, I always felt like I was cycling through the seven stages of grief over being subjected to the unbearably loud, overly cheerful/peppy (to my ears) Japanese pop music.
- Shock & Denial (this can't be happening - good Heaven's it's SO loud in here - what in God's name is this music?)
- Pain & Guilt (this sushi is so good but this sound is like nails on a chalkboard and I want to flee!)
- Anger & Bargaining (this is ridiculous - how can they expect anyone to enjoy their meal? Maybe I can get them to turn in down)
- Depression (I will never be one of the cool people; I am going to die alone)
- Reconstruction (This sushi is so good;I am feeling stronger; other people seem to be actually enjoying this; I think I might be becoming more culturally hip)
- Acceptance & Hope (oh this music is not so bad; maybe they will play something else next?) Never happened.
Eventually it was too exhausting and I found another sushi place that plays softer music - horrible John Denver Muzak, but at least the volume is not ear-splitting.
22
@Sam R
I love sushi. Not enough to put up with John Denver, though.
3
YES. Most restaurant (and store) soundtracks are noise pollution. If it's bad enough, I don't go back. Cannot stand to have awful sounds foisted upon me. Good for him and may this become an enormous trend.
31
To me, music in a restaurant is like lighting: it should be ambient, unobtrusive, and supportive. I don't agree with others that there should be no music: music helps to provide a bit of privacy from the conversations of others, can be pleasing to hear, and in general is often something I welcome. And music can be a shared experience that ties together the people in a space with a similar energy.
That said, what this article is really about is power: the power of a composer to impose his musical preferences on everyone at that restaurant. It may be that his tastes are fine, but make no mistake: this is about who has the power and reputation to be in charge of the music, rather than what is best for the clientele.
3
sound system with nothing but commercial radio playing, classic rock streaming through the house for a mexican restaurant, "o sole mio" being played at a chic italian bistro where nu jazz is the way to go are all reason why restauranteurs need to either trust their ambient sounds to someone else or just not play anything at all.
3
Mike, just below this, said more or less exactly what I wish to say. Further, for those of us (many, believe it or not) who have some degree of hearing loss, ANY music is trouble in a restaurant, especially if one is trying to converse with a table mate.
30
How about this? No music. This way I can converse with my dinner companions and not have to shout.
76
@ MIKEinNYC NYC
Excellent suggestion! If one is dining alone, reading a book is better than staring into space or ogling other diners, and music is then only a disturbing noise.
14
@MIKEinNYC, I agree! So may I recommend John Cage 4’ 33” played in a loop?
1
Here's a novel idea---how about NO MUSIC. when In go out to eat, I like to have time for conversation while I'm enjoying the food. It seems that Americans just can't stay home and play all the music or tv they want--they insist that every venue MUST have some kind of background/foreground entertainment.
Before MUZAK there was the band behind the potted plants in the hotel lobby, or the mysterious piano player on the second floor at Macys. some places are absolutely horrible with acoustic design so that all one hears is NOISE and even conversation is not possible. If the food isn't enticement enough, stay home, put on your earbuds or whatever and don't annoy the rest of us who NEED a bit of distance from the every clanging moment.
t
34
Very interesting and validating article. Thank you. I’ve had a few dining experiences that were absolutely ruined by the music being forced on the diners. I can only surmise the music was selected by someone whose beloved pet died on the same day their partner not only broke up with them, but moved out taking all of the furniture.
16
@Alex i'd bet the music is brought in via some streaming service for the express purpose of expediency and very little else.
3
I appreciate carefully selected music to accompany the ambiance in a restaurant, and agree with others that is should not dominate the senses or make conversation difficult. Far from doing away with music in restaurants, music should be encouraged - but as an opportunity to put a unique stamp on the dining experience.
Please, please, please.... no more Taylor Swift with my sushi.
9
Brilliant!
Music is as important to me as clean air or beautiful surroundings. Too many tone deaf restaurateurs. There are very few who play appropriate music.
I was surprised how many of these commenters want silence in a restaurant. I respect that. But I want music. Not loud. Not harsh. But tonal, resonant, ambient sound in the background.
My young nephew is a world class composer and musician. He plays bass and other strings, plus keyboards. He’s taught me that silence is like white space in an essay, novel or art gallery. Silence in music enhances the story, i.e., the music. He told me in his exuberant way, e.g., that good bass is like the sun setting and rising: it should seem as if it just happens, and is neither startling nor attention grabbing.
Good music in a restaurant is the same to me. It does not interfere with my conversations but I miss it when it stops.
12
@Scott F You want music? Bring your own. Headphones/earbuds are ubiquitous and now cheap. Leave me and my hearing loss to talk to my friends.
1
Like many of the readers commenting on this article, I wish that restaurants would do away with music all together. It’s not that I don’t love music - (I do) - but when dining out, I want to focus on my companions and our enjoyment of being together, which is a different activity and mindset than listening to a concert.
Call me a curmudgeon, but most public spaces seem to be blasting louder and more objectionable “music” which is always played with a thumping base over poor quality and badly positioned speakers, which just sets my teeth on edge.
Unfortunately, in some restaurants we have found that this musical “background” is accompanied by television(s) set at an auditory volume, which further add to the din.
If we are paying $50.00 per plate or more for a meal, we shouldn’t be walking out the door with headaches; the restaurants (I’m talking to you, #AustinTexas) are really incentivizing us to just stay home, open a bottle of wine, and make some eggs for dinner.
85
The enjoyment of fine food in a restaurant should be enhanced by the background music. One should be able to converse without shouting.The louder the background music guests need to shout to be heard and the noise Olympics begin. Too many new and trendy restaurants compete at the decibel level. How about more competition at the quality of the food level?
3
I didn't know Mr. Sakamoto was living in New York now. I was a fan of his in the 80s when I was studying in Tokyo.
I would go to the restaurant in NYC to listen to his playlist. I'm therefore looking forward to the follow-up NYT article on how the popularity of the restaurant has increased now that people know about its special playlist. I also look forward to reading about how other restaurants increase their allure by asking musicians to work on their playlists as well. I look forward to these articles because I really enjoyed reading this one. Thank you for such fine writing!
10
I love that Mr Sakamoto created this and to me the sounds make perfect sense musically. I get that John Cage would not have needed this playlist but it would add a layer to a Japanese meal for me. I’ll be there.
2
Sorry, but I'm an artist who works alone and, when I go to eat with friends, wants to speak and, even more, to listen to them. I once asked a restauranteur why they feel they must all play music. Her answer: to make my meal and my time more enjoyable. Sorry again, but that's my job, not yours, and it certainly won't be accomplished with muzak. Your job is to cook and serve me the food. My emotional balance is up to me. In this age of the cell and other devices can we PLEASE be allowed to listen to real life, far more interesting than the over-produced noise constantly blasted at us.
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Completely agree. Where does the obsession to eradicate silence come from? Why can’t we just have some quiet?
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@charlie
If there were being honest they would tell you because it turns over tables. Loud music turns tables. I worked in restaurants and that's the ONLY reason we do it. Believe me. It drove us NUTS listening to the same "playlists" night after night, but it worked. Without it that deuce would have sat there for 15 minutes longer while another deuce looked on at them just chatting. No one wants to say it but I will: restaurants depend on turnover to stay in business. Those that do survive. Those that do not go out of business. Simple math. People need to think: "hmmm, where did that restaurant go?? hmmm, once it think about it, ALL the restaurants I used to go to 10 years ago are GONE". Well, folks, there is a reason for that: razor thin margins. Turnover is crucial. You really love a good restaurant and want it to be around? OK, good, when it is busy, eat and leave in a reasonable amount of time if you see they are trying to fill tables. Maybe that sounds awful, but it is simple math. Otherwise NYC will be all chain restos in 10 years. It's as simple as that.
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@charlie
As a former chef born in NYC I couldn't agree with you more on everything you wrote. I'm a book artist now and weaver and live in the countryside. You would think silence here is easy to come by when one lives under a mountain with a forest behind their home. NO! I don't go to the city to eat out much since I can buy the best products and make it myself and I have my own garden for the rest. You sound rare; you sound healthy! Many people today don't even know the difference. They are glued to their devices 24/7 and don't understand the total self- abuse to their senses and how deadened they have become from it. They don't understand that the noise blasted at them is killing their senses.
I'm cooking and sharing a meal with you, Charlie!
In paradis on earth and the playlist is the sky above, the stars dancing, and the birds singing themselves to sleep.
Cooking is unconditonal love and a very high art form. Why would people want to nourish themselves like this? Why would they do so with volume as if they were in the center of midtown rush hour traffic? Silence is golden. Today it terrifies people. NOISE! It distracts the self from the soul.
In Graz we don't have that in restaurants. People are their to share a meal and share themselves.
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I remember going to a hospital for a routine procedure which called for the patient to ingest liquid and then wait an hour or so and then the test. Well for the wait they put me in this room along with about 7 other people also waiting with a tv so loud no one could think. I immediately turned the volume down to a whisoper and three people said thank you, it bothered them too but they didn't know who turned it on so no one said anything. That is what I think of most restaurant and store music, it is mindless, pointless and really not enjoyed by most of the people it contacts but no one says anything. Good for Mr. Sakamoto.
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@Carlton
Some years ago I needed an MRI. I was warned about claustrophobia and said that would not be a problem. When I emerged I reported that the only distressing part was the dreadful music I'd been forced to hear. If I'd had any idea that would happen, I would have brought my own tapes.
5
No music at all would be a lot better, for any number of reasons, including conversation, the right to a little peace and quiet, and the differences in people's musical tastes. A discussion about which music is or is not suitable is entirely beside the point. If you want to hear music while eating, use earbuds.
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@Sidewalk Sam
Thank you. I have the ability, sometimes, to tune out the BGM in restaurants, unless someone else at the table calls attention to it. “What’s that song?’ Usually causes me to start listening to the BGM whether I want to or not. Usually not. I was at a new (for me) Asian restaurant yesterday having very good Filipino food and listening to American and British pop music. Possibly if I was listening to Asian music while eating in an Asian restaurant that might add something; I have eaten at Japanese restaurants that do this, but Pop music detracts, so I agree with others here that I would rather not have BGM unless it really fits, which it almost never does. I have walked out of restaurants that were playing music I could not tolerate. Having read these comments I may now start informing the proprietors of my actions; silence will not come from my silence.
5
American and British pop music is also Asian music! Where’ve you been for the last 50 years?
I'm a classically trained musician with a conservatory education and proficiency in several instruments plus voice. Music is my passion, and my tastes in music are very eclectic. Do you know what kind of music I like in a restaurant? The sound of silence, and I'm not referring to Simon and Garfunkel. When I eat in a restaurant, either with friends or alone, I'm there to enjoy the food and the company. Music does not enhance my enjoyment; on the contrary, it distracts me and often disturbs me. The same holds for movie soundtracks. Music in films is obnoxious, and gives me the impression that the director doesn't know how to make emotional points without a crutch.
Music is a language. I understand it, and it speaks to me with irresistible force, undermining my ability to focus on other things. This is true for great music and horrible music. You can't tune out sound.
Silence is a wonderful sound, the sound of no sound. Give me silence with my meals, or at least a quiet room where I can hear my companions speak, as well as the low, intimate sounds of conversation at other tables where I can't make out the words. Give me the clinking of forks against plates, of rustling bodies, of exclamations of pleasure at how good the food is (hopefully).
Don't make one of my senses compete with another of my senses. Quiet, please.
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@Round the Bend: This is the best comment, as far as I'm concerned. I too dislike movie music; in the movie it's used to force the audirence's emotions, and outside the movie ... the less said the better.
4
I love classical music and a few other types of music. I feel like some kind of snob because I find classical music so pure and beautiful in a way that I don't find other music. I really can't appreciate much of it. As you say, it is a language and really reaches my soul in a way that no other music can. I used to play the violin and still love violin music the best. I listen at home and in my car all the time.
When it comes to dining out, I prefer silence. I go out to visit with friends and have lively, interesting conversations...not listen to unwanted music blasting in my ear.
Ever been in a doctor or dentist waiting room where you were forced to listen to a TV or streaming pop music? Where I live this is common. One time I asked the receptionist, nicely, if she could turn it off, and she looked at me like I was some kind of dangerous trouble maker, and said, "No, that's not possible." But it is possible, especially if more patients complained about it. The problem is, most people don't realize complaining about it is an option--or they don't even notice enough to care.
More people have to speak up.
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@Tim
When I am ushered into a patient examination room where I'll be waiting for the doctor to arrive, I quickly scope out the place and can usually find the knob that controls the sound of the "music" that is supposed to relax me (or drown out the sounds of people screaming the next room?) but instead, like most pop music, stresses me out. (One time I found the culprit in a small black box on the counter behind the computer.) Most of the time the doctor and nurse don't notice. If they do, and go to turn it, I say, "Not until I'm gone." Take control! (I turn off TVs in waiting rooms, too, if humanly possible, or complain to the person at the desk, if not. And I always have ear plugs along.)
15
@Tim: I fully agree, but I'm good at closing my eyes and ears in doctors' offices, so I usually ignore the noise. What I wonder is why they have these things.
@Tim I was waiting at a car dealership being driven mad by 3 tvs all blaring different stations at high volume within 20 feet of me. I asked for the volume to be lowered and the attendant said they had no control and i was the first person to say anything about it. I had to go outside to not lose it.
4
I wear hearing aids but have to remove them in restaurants. With them all I hear is the background noise, not the conversation with my friends; without them it is a strain to hear anyone not sitting next to me. Either way I can't hear the music under the background noise - I no longer can tell if there is music playing under the noise. But, if eating alone, I'd love to be able to listen to a playlist like Mr. Sakamoto's. It would be wonderful if a well-curated playlist could be looped (as some theaters and public spaces are) to be heard directly in my hearing aids, so I can cancel the noise and actually hear the music.
9
I wonder if he devises menus for snacks to be served during his concerts. Of course food shouldn't be eaten in a concert hall. Same as music on a restaurant.
27
You can hear music whenever you want but in public places you will hear music whether you want to or not. and it might be loud. Maybe it will be something you like. Or maybe you'd much rather listen to nothing and hear what's happening around you. I remember being at a beautiful resort and having dinner by the water but you couldn't hear the wind or the surf because of the disco. I've heard good music programming. I've also heard whatever the bartender wanted to hear that night. I say go for silence or very low volume music. if someone wants to hear music, they can put in their buds.
19
With this somber music in the background, what are people eating at the restaurant? Serious business, it sounds like.
San Francisco restaurants often have terrible music. It would be great for them to follow the lead provided by this article. Thanks, NY Times!
9
I listened. Then I went to my fridge and found myself disappointed that there was no Japanese food in there.
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@J'adoube You made me think of that one hit wonder band’s “Turning Japanese, I really think so!”
Music can make or break your mood in many places, not just restaurants.
There is an upscale grocery near where I live and a couple of times I did a fast U-turn out of the store because of the shrill opera they seem to prefer. Another larger store nearby plays awful music while management is there during the day, but the young staff members who work in the evening make great choices.
And then we have elevators ….
15
I love it, I am always annoyed when a restaurant owner does not pay proper attention to the music.
16
Why have background music playing in a restaurant at all?
Enjoy the conversation with your company, without interference from other sounds.
For us hearing impaired this is critical. More than once I asked that the music be stopped, at least the volume turned down, so I could participate in the conversation around the table.
Along these lines, why does every American movie have to play background music even if the actors on the screen are only whispering? I find European movies much better in this respect; usually there is no background music when conversation is playing.
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@G.S. Hmm, seems you would have a good ADA claim. Please contact your lawyer.
Bad music can ruin an otherwise good meal. Last summer, I ate at a renowned Italian restaurant in Newport Beach, California whose chef is widely known. The music didn't "match" the restaurant at all, and was too loud. It was almost as if an employee forgot to turn off their Spotify while they were getting ready for dinner service. It was awful.
I've also eaten in restaurants where the music complements the dining experience so well, I almost didn't notice it. It's refreshing to leave a restaurant able to say, "everything was great, even the music was wonderful."
29
As I read thru these comments, I’m struck - again- at the profundity of our disconnect: with life, with our place, with who we are as beings, with WHAT MATTERS. The ‘deep thinking’ & eloquent critiques applied to unsatisfactory music intruding upon our $143 pre-theatre sushi snacks should be as roundly enforced on a culture of consumption & self aggrandizement. Doncha think? What perilously difficult lives we lead, we who suffer the culinary travails of poor acoustic accompaniment...
3
My question is, why do we have to hear any music at all while we eat? I love music, and especially live music: classical, opera, folk, and yes, some rock, but I don't like background music, and resent this intrusion of sound that pervades our space everywhere.
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@Judith Have you ever eaten in a restaurant where no music was playing, not even soft music? It's eerily quiet and constraining - it feels awkward and you feel like you must constantly speak in hushed tones rather than comfortably having a normal conversation with the other person. So yep, I'm all for music in restaurants as long as it's not deafening and uncomfortable to listen to.
3
@Judith -- I think the music is for the staff to offset their low wages. Sigh!
1
Music in a restaurant should be nearly subliminal. It should never be loud enough or aggressive enough to be intrusive or to interfere with conversation and yet it should have just enough interest that it can lightly fill the gaps in the conversation, subdue other noise and conversation and contribute to the mood of the place. Of course different restaurants would require different soundtracks.
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Yikes, I just got around to sampling the songs on this playlist. I pride myself on being open to most genres of music, but all that trite New Agey tinkling gives me a headache and makes my teeth hurt. Clearly there are times when silence is the better alternative.
14
@jim - you made me laugh out loud ! "all that trite New Agey tinkling gives me a headache and makes my teeth hurt" - adorable, I can't wait to use it next time I'm subjected to musical torture.
I have loved Sakamotos music since I was given a mix tape for a road trip with his music in the 80s. I was lucky enough to see him in NYC while on his Media Bahn Tour. I consider him a genius and would visit this restaurant just to hear what he has selected for its sound track. This is just another example of what I think artists do; represent their views through the prism of their talent and gifts. I love this idea, and wish that more people in the arts would leverage their talent through other venues.
20
@Chef B
Total genius.
1
A few weeks ago, my wife took a day off from work and we took a drive out of town to enjoy the treat of spending a weekday together --
At one point, we decided to stop for lunch - and saw what looked like a very nice place while driving through a town with which we were unfamiliar --
We parked the car - and walked into lovely, beautifully decorated and nicely lit restaurant - practically empty on a weekday afternoon -- only to be repelled away by a blast of pounding top-40 pop music --
We walked out and found another place to eat --
There have been occasions where I've requested that the music be lowered - or even shut off entirely - while being seated.
The great conductor George Szell would demand the music be shut off whenever he entered a restaurant in Cleveland - and nobody argued with him -
As mentioned elsewhere - everyone has their preferences for the type (and volume) of music which they like -- (would you like to hear "Jay pris amours" by Obrecht - or - Fantasies in 3 Parts by Gibbons playing while seated at your table ?) -- and I respect them all -
However - along with others here - I don't find music to be either a welcomed addition or necessary to the enjoyment of a dining experience --
Indeed -- as a musician - I can often become distracted and pulled away from the conversation and my dinner companion by music playing in the background -
As a musician himself - Mr. Sakamoto should know better...
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@Howard G: Hooray for "Jay pris amours" by Obrecht - or - Fantasies in 3 Parts by Gibbons.
1
@Howard G I suggest Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture with the canons booming to enhance my dining experience.
1
Thank you for this article and playlist, it’s actually rather soothing music for a rainy afternoon’s reading.
10
Kudos and applause to Maestro Sakamoto. I would like him also to include in his soundtracks the Japanese rhythmic drumbeat and the sound of clashing swords in samurai duels.
4
Well, per Sakamoto, not surprised by the playlist choices, but geez, lotsa gorgeous stuff, but you might need to be on suicide watch after a dinner there. Maybe he could come up with the interesting but “happy” version and alternate that on some days?
14
The consistent complaint I have with most restaurants isn't the kind of music they play in the background, but the VOLUMNE. I was trained in classical music, piano was my major instrument and Bach has always been my musical rock, but if Bach is blaring in the background, my husband and I get up and leave the restaurant, even if the meal was free or if the chef is highly acclaimed.
Any music should be a background accompaniment instead of something competing with the entrée for attention. I go to restaurants to enjoy the food and the conversation. I should not have to scream nor raise my voice at the waiter when giving my choice of beverage or dessert.
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@Marge Keller I agree 100%. My husband is hard of hearing, and I regularly request that the music be turned down. We're pleased by how often they comply. We have also walked out of horribly loud places. It just makes everybody have to scream. Awful.
3
@Mary Lane
Hello Ms. Lane. My husband is always saying that we go to restaurants to eat and concert halls to listen. The latter should never be more prominent than the former. Thanks very much for sharing your comment.
@Marge Keller
I like your husband's summary.
I am someone who fully recognizes that I can only provide attention to one thing at a time. With music, if I like it, I listen. That means I can't converse, and that I am not paying attention to my food. Never could use music as background when studying, or working on serious projects for the same reason.
Bars and restaurants are sometimes oblivious, but for some this is fully intentional: they want customers to wolf down the food, and buy more drinks -many more drinks, or get out.
I'm a musician, and I have pretty broad/eclectic tastes and interests. Listening to music of my own choice, at the time and place (and loudnessl of my choice is bliss. Listening against my will to someone else's choices is an agonizing intrusion on thoughts and an obstacle to conversation, especially at the loud volumes that have become ubiquitous. In restaurants and stores, it has gotten completely out of control, and I now routinely walk out of places because of the music. I'd rather see artists like Mr. Sakamoto boycotting the endeavor, rather than abetting it.
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No matter what the music is, some people will like it and others will not. Even if it's music I like, background noise, poor acoustics and poor speaker placement mean it's not going to sound good.
I go to restaurants to eat and socialize. Not to listen to music. All music does is increase the sound level which means people talk more loudly, making it harder to have a conversation.
Restaurants should deliver good food and good service in an environment where their customers can converse in peace.
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@Shaun Eli Breidbart
I agree with you somewhat. People will always talk louder if there are other people nearby who are also talking. I realized this about 17 years ago when I walked into the center of the town we had moved to after having lived in the country.
It was a Saturday and, as is customary in France, people shop in downtown centers and shopping malls. Since there are very few parking spaces, they either all come together in a vehicle or they cram into the public transportation systems. It seems to be an all day event.
We have a lovely restaurant we love to dine at once a week. As more guests arrived, the music became louder. I asked the owner about it, because I found it disturbing. He said it was so in order that each table wasn't going to be overheard by the tables next to them. I asked him if he had tried turning it lower so that conversations could be held more privately. The next week when we arrived the music was low and it stayed that way because it works.
I learned when I had children at home; the noisier the home the noisier the children. This also works for dogs. Our house is generally on the quiet side so it is much easier to teach the dogs not to bark. By the time they are 2, they use quiet mummurs to convey a need to us.
Less noise allow a more intimate conversation where the listeners can be engaged and also participate.
49