# Apartment dwellers: Why do you pickle yourself in loud music? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 17, 2010, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742 "2010-03-17T10:14:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/21 "2010-03-17T14:46:17Z")
When I had my first apartment, I did it because I loved loud music, and because I was generally thoughtless about those around me. I wasn’t alone in this in my apartment house. One guy even had a rock band that practiced in his apartment. Overall, the apartment house was pretty sound-proof; I don’t think many people were inconvenienced. My second apartment was just some attic rooms, and there really weren’t even proper doors to it. Also, the landlady lived downstairs. The loud music stopped. I’ve had a house now for 30 years, and can do what I want. Unfortunately, my ears have become more and more sensitive, so that I rarely play music loud anymore. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/22 "2010-03-17T14:57:14Z")
I used to crank up the music all the time in my younger, inconsiderate days. There were a few times where I had stereo wars with my next door neighbors…which resulted in loud pounding at the door and a confrontation with the **very** angry apartment manager. These days when I want to turn it up, I either slap on the headphones or take a nice long drive on the backroads somewhere. (my car stereo even goes past “11”! :p) When you live in apartment–or anywhere, really–shouldn’t that be a place where you can enjoy peace and quiet? If you have to **go someplace else** to get away from your neighbor’s noise, what kind of home is that? ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/23 "2010-03-17T15:15:41Z")
i’ve seriously considered lining my walls with sound-proofing materials - but I’m not sure what kind of stuff that would have to be. 2 parts of the wall would be in closets, so not visible - but I actually hear them the most in the living room - and I’m not sure how to do that without it looking bad. ---
**Author:** ![Neverender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/848f3c/32.png) [@Neverender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverender)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/24 "2010-03-17T15:36:24Z")
In my experience, and I’m guilty of it too - I mean back in Uni halls I used to have the music so loud it was still loud when I was stood outside smoking, but it was just because I could get away with it. If no one’s going to come around and ask me to turn it down, fuck 'em, I won’t. These days I live in a shared house so I’m more considerate, but that happened more because my 1st set of speakers broke and I got used to having quieter music for a while. When I got the new speakers, having them loud had got to be unusual so it wasn’t the done thing. ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/25 "2010-03-17T15:56:37Z")
To drown out the: screaming children in the parking lot running children in the hall neighbours having noisy sex upstairs neighbours moving furniture upstairs neighbours having noisysex while moving furniture upstairs neighbours next door having a jam session on their electric guitars garbage trucks collecting garbage cherry-picker screeching and beeping all over the place neighbours down the hall having a Bhangra party yippy dog across the hall cars desperately in need of new mufflers in the parking lot rush-hour traffic outside packs of high-school kids screaming while on break or in the schoolyard tap-dancing and gymnastics competition going on directly upstairs by very bad gymnasts who fall. A lot. etc. One day I’m going to live somewhere where it’s quiet. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/26 "2010-03-17T16:06:05Z")
> [@melodyharmonius](#): > > i’ve seriously considered lining my walls with sound-proofing materials - but I’m not sure what kind of stuff that would have to be. 2 parts of the wall would be in closets, so not visible - but I actually hear them the most in the living room - and I’m not sure how to do that without it looking bad. Years ago, a friend got hold of hundreds of egg cartons. He removed the bottoms and hot-glued them to his walls. It looked weird, but helped with acoustics (per him). When he moved out, her realized he was kissing his deposit goodbye for other reasons anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/27 "2010-03-17T16:09:39Z")
I don’t know my neighbors. I am not a ‘neighbory’ kind of person. But one thing I did do upon moving in was ask my neighbors about their music and noise policy. They were all young and into loud music and weekend parties, and that was fine with me. I don’t have parties often, but I love loud music. A lot. I knew the neighborhood I was moving into was young and childless for the most part; so I figured it would be noisey. Sometimes the neighbors behind me have raging parties all night. I can hear it through the walls, but it isn’t loud enough to wake my daughter, so it really doesn’t bother me, even though they love Beyonce and Usher, and I don’t. I love loud music so much that I still go out to night clubs at the age of nearly 36, and stand right next to the huge speakers. If a neighbor asked me to turn it down, I would, but that has never happened. ETA: Mangetout, I think they do that because of that humming rattle the bass sometimes causes the windows to make? Or else, they are just cornballs that think everyone wants to hear their music. ---
**Author:** ![halfliquid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e57/32.png) [@halfliquid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/halfliquid)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/28 "2010-03-17T16:09:55Z")
> [@apollonia](#): > > To drown out the: > > screaming children in the parking lot > running children in the hall > neighbours having noisy sex upstairs > neighbours moving furniture upstairs > neighbours having noisysex while moving furniture upstairs > neighbours next door having a jam session on their electric guitars > garbage trucks collecting garbage > cherry-picker screeching and beeping all over the place > neighbours down the hall having a Bhangra party > yippy dog across the hall > cars desperately in need of new mufflers in the parking lot > rush-hour traffic outside > packs of high-school kids screaming while on break or in the schoolyard > tap-dancing and gymnastics competition going on directly upstairs by very bad gymnasts who fall. A lot. > etc. > > One day I’m going to live somewhere where it’s quiet. Fortunately for me my neighbors must masturbate alot or are really quiet during sex. I don’t mind everyday noises: footsteps, doors closing, a person yawning. But when the music is so loud it vibrates the air in my apartment that’s too much. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/29 "2010-03-17T16:20:28Z")
If you can hear it _at all_ it’s vibrating the air molecules in your apartment. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/30 "2010-03-17T16:23:23Z")
I had a college roommate who always listened to loud music. The reason, though inconsiderate, had some logic: if the music was super-loud, he could enjoy it no matter where he was in the house. It didn’t get all muffled when he was in the sower and he could hear the lyrics as clearly in the kitchen as in his bedroom. Plus, he didn’t have to carry anything around for the same effect. This pre-dated MP3 players, so for teh same effect with headphones he would have needed a portable CD player. And his logic was also that with headphones, he couldn’t hear other stuff going on around him like the phone ringing, or the oven buzzer. IMHO, he also couldn’t be alone with his own thoughts. He played music from the moment he woke up until he went to sleep, no matter what else he was doing. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/31 "2010-03-17T17:28:49Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Years ago, a friend got hold of hundreds of egg cartons. He removed the bottoms and hot-glued them to his walls. It looked weird, but helped with acoustics (per him). When he moved out, her realized he was kissing his deposit goodbye for other reasons anyway. That’s a firetrap. You probably can’t do any serious sound isolation without looking into building codes and whatnot. I know that the standard material for sound absorption within a room is high-density fiberglass board, but that’s for absorbing reflections within a room. There might be other materials when you’re simply trying to contain the sound within a room. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/32 "2010-03-17T17:43:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’d bet it’s this simple in almost all cases: I like loud music so I turn it up. Period. > > I do what I want, when I want, how I want. Everyone else simply doesn’t enter into my thoughts. Period. > > Me, I always find it funny when those folks react badly to somebody else behaving the same way back at them. I listen to loudish music in my apartment - I try to keep it from being so loud as to disturb my neighbors, especially at night, but I really have no idea how easy it is to hear my music. I don’t hear _theirs_ - but whether that means the soundproofing is good, or they’re just really quiet, I don’t know. If someone knocks on my door, or leaves a note, I’ll apologize (sincerely) and reduce my volume accordingly. But if I’m not told there’s a problem, and the music isn’t at an obviously unreasonable volume, I’m going to assume it’s okay. What else can I do? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/33 "2010-03-17T17:51:27Z")
The worst thing is these same boom boom boom apartment dwellers/haters of silence also love to go camping… ---
**Author:** ![halfliquid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e57/32.png) [@halfliquid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/halfliquid)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/34 "2010-03-17T18:52:45Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > …IMHO, **he also couldn’t be alone with his own thoughts.** He played music from the moment he woke up until he went to sleep, no matter what else he was doing. I believe that’s the reason for most of the noise from the people around me. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/35 "2010-03-17T20:14:34Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > The worst thing is these same boom boom boom apartment dwellers/haters of silence also love to go camping… When traveling, we go to the “radio-free” campgrounds, lest we be tempted to drop their boom baxes in the outhouse while they sleep. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/36 "2010-03-17T20:22:40Z")
And here’s another reason why my ex-husband is my ex-husband. He was remarkably inconsiderate of our neighbors. When I’d suggest he could turn it down, step more lightly, stop dropping his bowling ball, whatever, he’d respond, “\*$%^ them! I pay as much as they do and have as much right to enjoy my home as they do.” Explaining that he was keeping them from enjoying theirs was fruitless. I think people who blast you out of your own comfort come in two varieties. One doesn’t have any clue that it’s too loud and would turn it down if you asked. The other operates from a standpoint of “What I want is all that matters”. Right now I live upstairs from a 15 year old girl who pickles herself in loud music that I hate, but I recall doing the same thing at her age so I try not to let it bother me. Trouble is, her mom works a night shift and lately will pick a song for the evening and play it bone rattlingly loudly in a loop until well past midnight while she sings along at the tippy top of her teenaged lungs. I have earplugs. I can still hear her. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/37 "2010-03-17T21:12:10Z")
In my first apartment in college, my nextdoor neighbors put their drum kit RIGHT up against my wall. No. Fucking. Way. They had to move it, it’s in our lease you couldn’t annoy other people with your noise shit. But it took quite a bit of arm wringing before they did. Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/38 "2010-03-17T21:30:13Z")
Because the music distracts from the dead in their soul. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/39 "2010-03-18T03:20:47Z")
Some people don’t want to be alone with their thoughts, assuming they have any. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2010, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742/40 "2010-03-18T12:44:50Z")
Jerkdom is quite common. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apartment-dwellers-why-do-you-pickle-yourself-in-loud-music/532742.md?page=3)