# A rant: Annoying radio sound effects **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 18, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rant-annoying-radio-sound-effects/619170 "2012-04-18T16:56:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rant-annoying-radio-sound-effects/619170/1 "2012-04-18T16:56:46Z")
Some people are just way too fascinated with silly sound effects. On a local rock station there’s an AT&T radio commercial out now that has a girl loudly screaming because she found out her boyfriend broke up with her. It grates my nerves. The station promos enjoy playing loud burps. Some listeners call in to complain but they keep doing it. The auto dealer commercials shout at you. And they want people to listen at work in an office environment? Cut out the rude and annoying sound effects. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rant-annoying-radio-sound-effects/619170/2 "2012-04-18T18:59:22Z")
I dislike the sound of sirens on the radio. They’re annoying when you’re listening in a car. You have to figure out whether they’re real or just the radio. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rant-annoying-radio-sound-effects/619170/3 "2012-04-18T20:36:20Z")
Ditto for car honking noises. Stop it! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rant-annoying-radio-sound-effects/619170/4 "2012-04-19T22:09:15Z")
This is why I don’t listen to commercial radio. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rant-annoying-radio-sound-effects/619170/5 "2012-04-20T12:55:30Z")
It isn’t all bad, I like the local content. I just need a TiVo for radio so I can skip the commercials. I guess the advertisers think to stand out they have to play stupid noises. ---
**Author:** ![Viridiana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Viridiana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viridiana)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rant-annoying-radio-sound-effects/619170/6 "2012-04-21T08:53:22Z")
Hey, it’s all right. Just listen to the soothing sounds of this obligatory link: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws58s9wzYsA&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws58s9wzYsA&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rant-annoying-radio-sound-effects/619170/7 "2012-04-22T22:17:38Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Ditto for car honking noises. Stop it! NPR for whatever reason is a big offender on this one. Any time they have a segment during a news hour that takes place outside, there’s the car horn. Scares the shit out of me. I’ve been wanting to make this a separate post for a while now, so while I’m dumping on NPR… I’m sick of their adding sounds to their segments. I don’t need that and it doesn’t bring the article “alive.” And when it’s a food segment and it’s the sound of someone slurping or chewing?? I’m ready to rip my car’s radio out and chuck it through the window. And I can’t STAND the bumper music between segments, and what makes it worse is they usually try to find an annoying novelty song whose lyrics somehow fit the story. I wish NPR were more like the BBC news. They go from story to story BAM BAM BAM. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rant-annoying-radio-sound-effects/619170/8 "2012-04-22T22:46:06Z")
I have to say though that sometimes they hit the funny bone with their choice of bumper music, there was once a report dealing with the problems Freemasons have in attracting new and young members. They interviewed a Mason that debunked some misconceptions and had a sense of humor, the music for the bumper they used was the [Stone Cutters song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W48f7diVZn4&feature=related) from the Simpsons! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rant-annoying-radio-sound-effects/619170/9 "2012-04-23T02:42:43Z")
> [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](#): > > NPR for whatever reason … > > And I can’t STAND the bumper music between segments, and what makes it worse is they usually try to find an annoying novelty song whose lyrics somehow fit the story. Hah! The NPR “most horrible jazz out of someone’s ass” bumper music makes me laugh till I wet my pants! ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rant-annoying-radio-sound-effects/619170/10 "2012-04-23T23:45:20Z")
> [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](#): > > NPR for whatever reason is a big offender on this one. Any time they have a segment during a news hour that takes place outside, there’s the car horn. Scares the shit out of me. > > I’ve been wanting to make this a separate post for a while now, so while I’m dumping on NPR… I’m sick of their adding sounds to their segments. I don’t need that and it doesn’t bring the article “alive.” And when it’s a food segment and it’s the sound of someone slurping or chewing?? I’m ready to rip my car’s radio out and chuck it through the window. > > And I can’t STAND the bumper music between segments, and what makes it worse is they usually try to find an annoying novelty song whose lyrics somehow fit the story. > > I wish NPR were more like the BBC news. They go from story to story BAM BAM BAM. As much as I love NPR they are the first offender I thought of. For me it’s when they do a story about wine or beer. “We’re going to pour some in the glass” They put the mic right by the glass and get the glurg, glurg. glurg sound followed by the fizz of carbonation if any. Then the host takes a noisy slurp followed by…“ahhhhhhhh” For some reason I find this intensely annoying. I think it’s the predictability. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-rant-annoying-radio-sound-effects/619170/11 "2012-04-24T01:02:24Z")
I’d just be happy if they’d get a new sound effect for a door opening and closing, and one for a cat. Every radio station I’ve ever listened to uses the same ones.