By Martina Treviño/ne news editor
I love music, but I will willingly admit I despise cell phone ringtones.
What is wrong with the good, old-fashioned ringing bell I knew and loved?
Ringtones are not music and should never be mistaken for such. They are tinny-sounding melodies produced to exasperate listeners and enrich cell phone companies (to the tune of $600 million in 2005).
It makes no difference how state of the art your cell phone is. Until the speakers are manufactured by Bose, it will still sound like a cheap synthesizer.
“ The sound quality is not the point,” you say.
You want your ringtone to express your personality. Do not delude yourself. A 25-second snippet cannot possibly express an individual’s persona.
For example, do not expect anyone to believe that a 290-pound man is “Bringing Sexy Back.”
That is why when I heard my brother-in-law’s ringtone, I mentally had to adjust the lyrics to “bringing panza(belly) back.”
His ringtone completely ruined the song for me, and I will never see Justin Timberlake the same again.
In addition, cell phone providers have now added ringback tones. Callers must tolerate someone else’s musical selection while waiting for a call to go though.
Cell phone owners should be cautious when giving this additional insight to their personality, especially as to what they want to expose to their business associates.
What is an employer or a perspective employer going to think when calling and hearing Birdman’s & Lil Wayne’s “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy”? Which goes something like, “B**** I’m paid/ that’s all I gotta say/can’t see my lil n**** /the money in the way.”
If this individual works for a conservative boss, he had better get ready to receive a pink slip or a “don’t call me, I’ll call you” from the human resources department.
I recently switched cell phone providers. The new company assigned me a ringback tone, a classical baroque tune. Furthermore, they have the nerve to charge me 99 cents monthly and $1.99 annually for the vexation.
I am still jumping through hoops trying to get the ridiculous thing removed. It is not that I dislike classical music. In fact, I love it. One of the presets in my truck is on WRR 101.1.
I listen to classical music to sooth my nerves, usually when stuck in traffic or after hearing somebody’s cheesy ringtone.
