I guess I don't get it..so please help me

[teamnelson]

I have tinnitus pretty bad so I appreciate background noise.

Me too; Dr. said that with tinnitus the frequencies that typically pass through other people's heads and get cancelled out are bouncing around unabated, and can in fact be amplified by the acoustics of your melon. That's why noise canceling headphones are popular - they generate a frequency opposite that of the most common noise, so it flattens it out and you hear silence. I have hearing aids that are adjusted to my melon, which means in some places the noises are so sharp and loud it hurts. I like natural ambient noise best ... this week I was on the flight deck off the coast about 80 miles just enjoying the sound of the breeze and the waves. The world is a noisy place enough without human contrivances.

[dukkillr]

So when I first saw this thread I suspected it wasn't really a question being asked, but rather another round of this:
 
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/hl-40044035/saturday_night_live_dana_carvey_as_grumpy_old_man_season_16/
 
Still, people have taken the time to try and offer a genuine explanation for what is purely a personal preference, so maybe I'll add.  I like music when I run.  My IPOD is about half country, about 25% 50-60s, and about 25% 90s music.  If I'm plodding down a gravel road at about mile 3 and something up tempo comes on, like a Chuck Berry for instance, it causes me to kick my heels a little faster and push myself a little harder.  It also helps a bit with keeping time.  Most songs are around 3:30 so you can do rough math based on that.
 
Another good time for music is on a nice day, say late morning in late April when I'm driving cross country from a turkey hunt to a bowfishing spot.  It's 75 degrees outside and there are no clouds to be seen.  I love to roll the windows down in my truck, turn the radio up, and just enjoy being alive on the backroads of the midwest.
 
To each their own, as it should be.

[ironglow]

I don't know about your 7-11 stores. Here they pipe out so called elelevator music to keep the punks and punkettes from hanging around outside. It works  .

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   THey don't do that around here, but we don't have much of the punkl/punkette gang problem.  I can see where it would work  well as a DEFENSIVE measure.
  I can understand DUK and where it can give him an "extra kick" while running and with the headphones he doesn't disturb anyone else.  ....And I'm sure he already knows, without hearing faculties he has to be extra alert to surroundings and traffic.
 
   I haaave noticed that local bars and watering holes control the type of crowd they want as clientelle, by the type of music they play.  It seems to work just as BBF said.. soothing music will dis-invite the punky crowd.