I’m not sure if it’s because I am an old man now, but there is nothing I like better than a quiet place to eat or drink. One of the things I like most about being “home” in Sheffield is that my favourite pub, The Kelham Island Tavern, has a no-music policy (with some exceptions, like Christmas carols and a folk festival once a year), and that suits me fine.

Not that I don’t like music. I was a child of the ’60s and ’70s, so I went through the period of the Beatles to Punk and have great memories of seeing Pink Floyd, Genesis, and David Bowie live. I was (and still am) a big classical music fan—not just orchestras, but chamber music from Haydn to Shostakovich and Philip Glass. In my 40s, I discovered dance, and any music I can jive to is okay by me. Finally, as a full-time traveller, it may come as no surprise that I am into World Music and was a regular Womad attendee for many years.

So … why the post?
I guess the music I don’t like is the bland, repetitious pop stuff which seems to be heard around the world, day and night.

The area of Europe where this was more of a “thing” was the Balkans. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed as I had heard some Balkan music at Womad and during my “dance-over-lockdown days” (link), and I was hoping to hear lots in places like Bosnia, Kosovo, and Albania—but this was not to be. Certainly in the bigger cities, which is mainly where I am restricted to, the bars and cafés mostly played American music from the ’80s and ’90s. While some of that is not bad, there is only so much Eagles and Bruce Springsteen I can take. So, it was a bit of a relief to go to places where this was not the case.

Step forward Moldova—where every café seemed to be playing Moldovan pop music. It did make the place feel like I was on the set of the Eurovision Song Contest at times, but at least the music was different and a refreshing change. Another country that can be proud of its national music is Greece. Not only do most cafés and bars play authentic Greek music, but they also seem more likely to host small groups of players—something I had not seen since my visits to Ireland. Also, a special shoutout to Granada, Spain, where I am writing this piece. Here, even small bars in the non-tourist districts play flamenco music, which can be a bit intense … but I love it.

There are, of course, exceptions to the bland pop culture. I am a fan of real ale, and finding it in some countries can be a real challenge. However, I am rather curious as to why real ale bars and heavy rock music so often seem to be paired. Not that I mind, but my liking for heavy rock has waned since I was in my 20s. It also means that often I am the youngest person in the bar by at least 30 years.

Sometimes, the bars can bring surprises—like the bar in my apartment complex in Brașov, where one of the servers was a big Pink Floyd fan, even though she was only in her late 20s. I would have liked to tell her about seeing them live in London, but I’m not sure she would have believed me. The only slight issue was that she was fixated on The Wall album and played it over and over again. Not so much that I tired of it, but, well, I don’t need no education every time I go in.

Pink Floyd was also on the menu of a bar in Prizren, Kosovo—alongside Black Sabbath and other progressive bands from the ’70s. I felt like I was going back in time, as most of the other clientele were young lads who were the age I was in 1977!

There was also a bar in Figueres where the owner was a fan of Van der Graaf Generator and played them along with a lot of David Bowie when there wasn’t live music (usually Spanish folk). Sadly, while researching for this piece, I found out that the bar has recently closed.

The only time I’ve heard classical music being played in a café was in Palermo, Sicily, where I heard Boccherini coming from a café that was open in the early evening. It pulled me in. The only other people seated were a family with two or three small children, and they seemed quite happy with these old pieces being played. I think it shows that people have a lot more tolerance for variety in music and don’t need to be force-fed the bump-and-grind stuff served up so often.

Another pet peeve (I know I have more of them than I’d like) is when “ethnic restaurants” don’t play music from the regions they claim to represent. I like to hear Indian music in Indian restaurants, for example—not Abba. So it was nice to visit a Macedonian restaurant in Zagreb, Croatia, that was the real deal and even had live music with dancing on one of the nights I was there.

Occasionally, there are ‘mistakes’ which make you smile, like the rap music being beamed out in a supermarket in Bosnia, which contained more “f” words than you’d ever expect to hear in public—or the time (back in the ’90s) when a bus driver decided to play the best of the Sex Pistols on a drive up the coast of Latvia. There was something so cool about looking out at deserted beaches and hearing I Am an Antichrist on the tannoy. The most hilarious music combination was in Pärnu, Estonia, on the same trip, when I went to a bar underneath a shopping centre and found myself the only customer. The bar owner asked if I was German. Rather than explain, I just nodded. She then brought out an old cassette tape machine and put on Abba played by a German oompah band. It was so bad it was really rather good.

Seriously though, I do worry that some countries are losing their heritage. There is so much playable music from each place in the world, and many of the artists would benefit from the income and publicity this music might generate. So, a plea: let’s hear more samba in Brazil, more fado in Portugal (and not just in the tourist traps), and more narodna muzika in the Balkan countries.

To finish as I started: some of my favourite eating and drinking places don’t play any music at all. Now, in Granada, I’ve found the Rincón de Abuela café, which, as well as serving the best-value tapas in the city (that I’ve found), also believes in quiet—although occasionally, sounds from the radio leak out of the kitchen. For me, silence is golden. I’d love to hear what you think, so feel free to email me or leave a comment below.

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