I hate New Age/Enya music that’s traditionally played during a massage. It actually makes me anxious - one of many reasons I prefer to have a massage outside of a spa setting. However, many independent masseurs play this sort of muzak. I often find myself requesting alternative tunes, which can get a little awkward.
Curious for other people’s thoughts on this. Admittedly it’s not the number one attribute we tend to seek out. But for a truly great massage experience I love to hear good, real music. Sometimes the tunes are meant to drown out apartment building noise or even muffle client moans but I wish masseurs would put half as much care into this as they do their online photos.
When I went to see Rainer in LA, he played the Phantom Thread soundtrack, which was perfect for his rather dramatic massage style.
In contrast, I couldn’t stand Clark’s Bernard Hermann score selections.
When I saw Gaspar, he played new agey tunes on an iPad. He kindly let me select other music (I chose John Legend) but the sound quality on his device was so tinny that I would have preferred silence.
The worst is when a masseur is playing SiriusXM but doesn’t pay for a subscription so I have to listen to commercials. Just spring for the 10 bucks a month or do it in silence. #PrivilegedProblems