To Whom It May Concern,

I’m a rather calm individual on the whole; I have very few pet peeves.

However… I get extraordinarily irritated by track skippers!

I know I don’t really have the right to let my frustration show when friends decide to flick through music in their own home or car, until they find something they want to listen to… but I just can’t restrain myself!  There is something inside of me which screams every time I hear the jolt of a song I’m listening to suddenly changing.  I don’t know if I’m alone on this one, but it’s certainly a bit of a handicap.

You see, I have a tendency to sing along with… well… everything, really – no matter how bad the record is.  Sometimes it’s just in my head, (though normally – as my friends will testify- not), but in any case, the skipping of a track – whether it’s Bruce Springsteen or Britney Spears – is tantamount to cu-

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-ting me off whilst I’m talking.  It would (lets) really (demonstrate) annoy (my) you (point) too (here) if I kept interrupting you in conversation.  You know that feeling you get when you’ve been stopped mid flow, and you have to shake yourself to remember what you were talking about just a second before?  That jolting feeling is precisely how I feel every single time that a track gets skipped.  It’s horrible!

And it isn’t limited to the random track shuffling of my mates’ iPods or in-car stereos, either.  I get the same lurching in my gut every time I hear a DJ miss a beat, or drop-change records badly.  I suffer when they talk over intros, outros and solos, especially if they fade in and fade out, hoping we won’t notice when they… only… say… a couple of… words… at… a time… in order… to allow… the bass… line… to come through… and all the while, breathing heavily like they’re the ones sweating on the dance floor!  And I’m certain you all know exactly what I’m talking about!  Doesn’t it annoy you?!

All I’m asking here is for a little courtesy, friends.  When I’m about, just glance at me, hover over the skip track button for just that split second longer… give me time to brace myself before you slam on the musical brakes!  And to those of you who have joined us from strange and distant lands… firstly, thank you for coming to hear me ramble, but secondly… if you know a musically-challenged individual like myself, spare a thought for their poor, knotted stomachs!

Regards,

The Management.