# United Airlines: Can we ditch "Box Of Rain"? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 23, 2008, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529 "2008-04-23T11:30:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/1 "2008-04-23T11:30:45Z")
OK United. I like the Dead more than probably most people. More shows than I care to admit. “Box Of Rain” happens to be my least favorite song by them, but that’s not your fault. What IS your fault, however, is that for the last several months this appears to be the **only** song you play during the “find your seat while boarding” AND the “get your bags and deplane” portions of the flight. Seriously, I’ve been traveling for work quite a bit lately, all over the place. I can’t fucking escape it. “Whaaaat do you waaant me to dooooo…” Fucking stop it. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/2 "2008-04-23T12:06:06Z")
I flew for the first time in nearly four years last month, and I was mystified by the music on the plane. Did they _always_ pipe it into the cabin like that? I ended up on the tarmac for about half an hour/forty-five minutes before we could take off, and I wanted to just absolutely kill whoever came up with this idea by the end of it. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/3 "2008-04-23T13:41:20Z")
It’s just a box of rain. d&r ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/4 "2008-04-23T13:50:03Z")
Maybe the sun is shining birds are winging or planes are falling from a heavy sky… ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/5 "2008-04-23T14:57:57Z")
Whoa… United Airlines is playing the _Dead_?! I appreciate the angst of them overdoing it (poor flight crew), but now I want to take a trip. (um, yeah… a trip) On the other hand, wasn’t the song written for Phil’s dying father? A wee bit morbid considering you’re boarding an aircraft. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/6 "2008-04-23T15:13:01Z")
It’s like the airlines took a cue from my mom from when I was a kid. “Attention passengers, this is the Captain speaking. The sooner you find your seats and sit down, the sooner we can take off and the sooner we can stop this horrible bloody music. I can wait as long as you can…” ---
**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, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/7 "2008-04-23T15:52:49Z")
Look on the bright side. It could be soooooo much worse. The mind reels when I think about the possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/8 "2008-04-23T16:01:30Z")
Maybe they could use Aces High by Iron Maiden instead? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/9 "2008-04-23T16:29:15Z")
Does this mean they’ve finally tired of Gershwin tunes? ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/10 "2008-04-23T17:00:41Z")
I remember getting on a Virgin flight a few years back and they were piping in LOUD music of some annoying R&B/pop female variety. Apparently, some passenger getting on asked them to change it to something hipper, so they changed the channel to some kind of rap/hip-hop. At which point, my friends and I complained because we couldn’t think of anything much more miserable than sitting trapped in a plane with LOUD rap playing. So the stewardess, sounding completely exasperated, gets on the P.A. and announces that “Since we have been receiving so many complaints about the type of music we’re playing, we’re just going to shut the music off.” Gee, like that was some kind of punishment. Seriously, any given plane has 100-300 people with a wide range of ages, cultures, and tastes. How delusional do you have to be to think that you can find a musical genre that doesn’t annoy the shit out of _the vast majority_ of them? ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/11 "2008-04-23T17:02:20Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] Maybe they could use Aces High by Iron Maiden instead? [/QUOTE] Awesome, I’d love to hear some Maiden playing before we left for the skies. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/12 "2008-04-23T17:06:17Z")
Gotta love an airline that uses Gershwin and the Dead. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/13 "2008-04-23T17:34:11Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] Maybe they could use Aces High by Iron Maiden instead? [/QUOTE] How about D.O.A. by Bloodrock? > [@](#): > > I remember > We were flying along and hit something in the air > I remember > We were flying along and hit something in the air > > Life is flowing out my body > Pain is flowing out with my blood > The sheets are red and moist where I’m lying > God in Heaven, teach me how to die ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/14 "2008-04-23T17:46:46Z")
[QUOTE=mischievous] I remember getting on a Virgin flight a few years back and they were piping in LOUD music of some annoying R&B/pop female variety. Apparently, some passenger getting on asked them to change it to something hipper, so they changed the channel to some kind of rap/hip-hop. At which point, my friends and I complained because we couldn’t think of anything much more miserable than sitting trapped in a plane with LOUD rap playing. So the stewardess, sounding completely exasperated, gets on the P.A. and announces that “Since we have been receiving so many complaints about the type of music we’re playing, we’re just going to shut the music off.” Gee, like that was some kind of punishment. Seriously, any given plane has 100-300 people with a wide range of ages, cultures, and tastes. How delusional do you have to be to think that you can find a musical genre that doesn’t annoy the shit out of _the vast majority_ of them? [/QUOTE] See, this is the problem. When I worked in a bar, I was CONSTANTLY being asked to put on something or other. You have to get used to saying yes to these people and then not doing what they want. It’s pretty easy, really. That’s the stewardess’ fault because if she’d been around longer, she’d understand that you can’t please everyone and it’s better to not mess with things like that. I mean really, it’s not like you have to even listen to it for that long anyway. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/15 "2008-04-23T19:06:30Z")
[QUOTE=Rhythmdvl] Whoa… United Airlines is playing the _Dead_?! [/QUOTE] _Out on the friendly skies, I heard a Deadhead song on a United plane. A voice inside my head said, “quick, deplane! You’ve gotta deplane!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/16 "2008-04-23T20:13:21Z")
Again! They just did it AGAIN!! Box Of Rain!! Am I really going to have to start using a different airline because of this? CHANGE THE FUCKING MUSIC!!! [Me, boarding the plane](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4iRRkjmrFk&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/17 "2008-04-23T20:25:32Z")
oh no I’ve been raidrolled ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/18 "2008-04-23T20:49:42Z")
Haha, Tohtrolled. ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/19 "2008-04-23T21:36:35Z")
[QUOTE=Merkwurdigliebe] See, this is the problem. When I worked in a bar, I was CONSTANTLY being asked to put on something or other. You have to get used to saying yes to these people and then not doing what they want. It’s pretty easy, really. That’s the stewardess’ fault because if she’d been around longer, she’d understand that you can’t please everyone and it’s better to not mess with things like that. I mean really, it’s not like you have to even listen to it for that long anyway. [/QUOTE] Right, so it makes more sense to go ahead and play music that actively annoys most of your clientele rather than turn it off? In a situation where they can’t leave? And they shouldn’t protest? ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529/20 "2008-04-23T21:57:20Z")
Wha? They play music on planes? I only fly 3 or 4 times a year (for about the last 20 years) and have never, ever, not even once noticed music on a plane. I’m sure I will from now on…many thanks [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-airlines-can-we-ditch-box-of-rain/446529.md?page=2)