Probably like others on this board the Z4 is my first convertible and I am kind of embarrassed to admit that all of a sudden I'm cognisant of what music I listen to in the car, especially at stop lights because others can hear what I'm listening to!

Has anyone else had the experience where you're at a stop light listening to your iPod when something embarrassing starts playing? A song or artist that you like but would never admit to your guy friends?

I know that I should have more self confidence in my musical taste but you just can't sit at a light and look cool when "The Best of Times" by Styx is playing (not that I would ever listen to that, you understand!) :D

I've even created a playlist called "Driving" so that I have a stream of tunes that is not only fun to drive to but reasonably "cool" when I'm at a light.

Am I the only one this lame???????

Anyways, here is a picture of my Zed:

http://www.rawsophistication.com/photos/z4.JPG

You are a lucky man to have that problem this time of year. Northern Maine below zero and deep snow pack won't be having any driving issues like that till may. But yes I know the feeling my first vert also baught it this fall and had a coulple songs I had to skip through. In a small town with a main street where everyone knows you. I've already been pegged as the showoff with the new "what car is that anyway" I don't need to add fuel to the fire buy blasting CC music factory all over town. Not that I listen to that anymore.

You are a lucky man to have that problem this time of year. Northern Maine below zero and deep snow pack won't be having any driving issues like that till may...

In Houston this week the lows are in the mid-40s and the highs are in the mid-60s. It really sucks in the Summer but Fall, Winter and Spring are not so bad.

In Houston this week the lows are in the mid-40s and the highs are in the mid-60s. It really sucks in the Summer but Fall, Winter and Spring are not so bad.It's about that here in the San Francisco area too, maybe a bit lower. Doesn't get particularly hot in the summer either. About embarrassing tunes at stoplights I let people think what they're going to think and I don't care, but if something comes on that I think might be offensive I turn the volume down. I sometimes scan other drivers for dirty looks but haven't gotten any yet. Nice pic BTW :)

Good post. Your totally lame for giving a damn what others think about your personal tastes in tunage. That said, I would shrink in my seat if somebody gave me a look at the light because ' THE BEST OF TIMES ' was playing. One doesnt need a convertible to get this effect, an open sunroof or a rolled down window will share your sissy music with the rest of the world. Practise that 'HIT THE BUTTON' move so you can switch to LED ZEPS 'WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS" anytime your about to be caught! And if you are snagged with CC music factory playing " everybody dance now" SCREW THE WORLD, SPIN YER TIRES, AND ROCK ON!

I've got miX cd's called car songs with variations: 1, 1.5, 2, 2.2, etc...

I've got miX cd's called car songs with variations: 1, 1.5, 2, 2.2, etc...

What songs are on your mix cds?

Everyone has their guilty pleasures! Hell, if someone looks at you funny while at a light, just start belting out the lyrics. That will make the other person feel so uncomfortable they'll be the one who is looking away. :) Screw what the other people think.

I've been practicing my almost non-existant German via audio book and frequently am speaking along with the audio book while stuck in traffic. My son has a playlist on the ipod that includes "homecoming queen has got a gun" and "Snoopy vs. the red baron". Every time we pull into his high school, he hits my playlist for some 70s or 80s rock.

I won't even leave the driveway if I don't have at least one Def Lepard CD in the changer!

i play whatever i want when im driving. but at a stop i change it to some hardcore rap music so people see how hard i am

Anyone who cares what other people think should not buy a Z.

Listen to whatever you want. Your neighboring commuters can roll their windows up if they don't like it.

+1

Your car..your tunes...just jam

we have all turned the music down if we thought it was too loud or offensive at one point in our lives...at least you admitted to it...

My suggestion would to develop more refined musical tastes, which renders the problem null.

I am just under 40. So I think it is funny when I pull up next to some young folks and I am listening to ... oh say "Hustler" by Simian Mobile Disco and seeing the responses on their faces.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0Bf6YGbc1c

I like your car. My playlist is so diverse and over 10,000 songs, but my guilty pleasure is early 90's dance jams. A dance tune comes on once in a while, and I don't care if i am caught.

I guess is worse if you are so into your music that you get caught moving to the beat.

I secretly listen to Madonna while I'm driving the Z4. There are times where I'm at stop lights, and I do a quick switch to FM and then switch it back. :shifty

I listen to all kinds of music from jazz, rock, R&B, 70's, and 80's. It doesn't bother me what other people think when I am at the stop light. My music is always loud to drown out street noise.

I pulled up to an ATM one day with Gimme Shelter (by Rolling Stones) blasting away. A guy came up to me and said it was so nice to hear that sound coming from my Z4.

My wife always turn it down when she is in the car with me.

You most likely have less days to live than you have already lived... FIDO ("Forget" It And Drive On)
I have no problem blasting Donna Summer/I'm Coming Out at a stop light.

It isn't the music that is a problem when in a top-down convertible...it is when you have a passenger with you and the passenger isn't accustomed to being in the open like that and talks as if nobody other than you can hear the conversation.

I briefly had a miata and on a couple of occassions I had passengers make "observations" about other drivers/cars/walkers/cyclists near the car without thinking they could hear him/her (they could) -things like:
"Look at that jackass in the turn lane without a signal" or "Did you see that dumbass almost rearend us!", etc....:eek:

I actually like it when something like that comes on when people are around. Especially when haters are giving u that "ur a bmw asshole" stare, it's like the ultimate slap in the face. Hard music is for the wanna be gangsters who pimp out their cutlasses and the riced out tuner cars. They can have their toons and I'll listen to my sissy music in public if i want!

I know this is an old thread, but I had to comment! I've had 3 SLK230s and 2 BMW 328ic(s) and I can tell you that I'm VERY self-conscious about what I get 'caught' listening to at a light or stopped in traffic. On a rural road, I'll blast my music pretty loud, (nothing so unreasonable that I can't hear sirens) but when I'm around other cars, I'm respectful and turn it down. My tastes vary GREATLY: Everything from Johnny Cash to Mariah Carey with a little Limp Bizkit, Ludacris, Eminem, and Taylor Swift or Mindy McCready in the middle. No one wants to be caught jamming to Backstreet Boys or Britney Spears at a stop light (not that I'd be jamming to either of those anyways) but I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who sometimes gets self-conscious about what other people see you jammin to. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” gets decent rotation in my playlist, but I don’t have the cajones to get caught listening to ‘Beat it” or “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” at a light. Haha!

I'm browsing around the Z4 forum because I'm thinking of purchashing a Maldives Blue 2003 3.0 sport/6spd w/Nav. :buttrock I've browsed about 25 pages of posts trying to learn all I can about the cars. I've only had my E46 for a couple of weeks, and while its a great car (only 8k miles), I miss having a convertible. :(

Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” gets decent rotation in my playlist, but I don’t have the cajones to get caught listening to ‘Beat it” or “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” at a light. Haha!

I'm browsing around the Z4 forum because I'm thinking of purchashing a Maldives Blue 2003 3.0 sport/6spd w/Nav. :buttrock I've browsed about 25 pages of posts trying to learn all I can about the cars. I've only had my E46 for a couple of weeks, and while its a great car (only 8k miles), I miss having a convertible. :(

Don't be ashamed of Thriller that's classic, now his later stuff... :shifty

I'm on the Z forum for the same reason as you though, sold my vert and miss it. Windows down and sunroof open isn't the same, so I'm thinking Z4 might be next.

Don't be ashamed of Thriller that's classic, now his later stuff... :shifty

I'm on the Z forum for the same reason as you though, sold my vert and miss it. Windows down and sunroof open isn't the same, so I'm thinking Z4 might be next.

Werd! :buttrock I LOVE the color on your E46 BTW! I sold a Boston Green E36 328i in Feb. I love the dark green colors! I'm suppose to find out tomorrow if I have my E46 sold. :redspot

This thread is hilarious. Not only am I self conscious about what I'm "caught" listening to, I'd have never admitted it because I've never met anyone else who'd admit it. I've had 6 verts of one type or another and I've always been this way. I love 80's music so all this does is date me. heh Great thread, I consider this therapy.

Meh, my tastes are ecclectic, I don't mind sharing with the world. Lately I've been listening to swing, the world needs to hear more "In the Mood", and "Sing, Sing, Sing".

I do, however get a little self-conscious when I sing along at times - especially when I see people looking at me or my way. I don't want them to think I'm saying something at them.

i play whatever i want when im driving. but at a stop i change it to some hardcore rap music so people see how hard i am hahaha, exactly what I do.

usually some form of electronic music playing. techno, electro, ambient, dance, trance, house, trip hop and so on. I am a freak so I don't really care what anyone thinks.

I'm 48 and I crank out old school The Who, I tend to turn it down a bit at the lights. BTW, are those stock rims, and if so want year? I want a set.

I'm 48 and I crank out old school The Who, I tend to turn it down a bit at the lights. BTW, are those stock rims, and if so want year? I want a set.

those are the stock 3.0si rims

u guys wont believe me...i listen to gospel music. sometimes i do get a bit scared seeing that i do live in the middle east-so some definitely may take offence. but truth be told, the volume outside the car is nowhere near as loud as inside, so i dont bother lowering the volume anymore

u guys wont believe me...i listen to gospel music. sometimes i do get a bit scared seeing that i do live in the middle east-so some definitely may take offence.

Wow, that's like blasting Billy Ray Cyrus in the ghetto! Takes guts.

Nothing embarresing in the Z4 (yet!) but back in 96 I was in my 93 300ZX and a LeBaron convertible pulled up next to me near Reston Town Center. Whatever random song I was listening to on DC101 ended and "Girls" by the Beastie Boys came on next. Kinda hard to look cool with the opening zylophone notes blasting....

I only play classical music in my Zed and that is as it should be.

I only play classical music in my Zed and that is as it should be.

Classical can be cranked.

Try Vivaldi's Four Seasons, or The Planets (specifically Mars and Jupiter) by Holst, or Carmina Burana by Orff (most people are familiar with the first track, but the whole thing is good). The 3rd movement of Beethoven's 9th is also a good one. And any Bach organ pieces sound great loud.

Wow, that's like blasting Billy Ray Cyrus in the ghetto! Takes guts.

yeah-something like that. its too bad i wont be able to open the top during the day anymore-with spring temps around 100, i need the a/c running. and its only going to get hotter. does anybody know what 122 in 90% humidity feels like!!!:help

at least i can use it at night... in summer the temps drop to around 90 outside .....

Classical can be cranked.

Try Vivaldi's Four Seasons, or The Planets (specifically Mars and Jupiter) by Holst, or Carmina Burana by Orff (most people are familiar with the first track, but the whole thing is good). The 3rd movement of Beethoven's 9th is also a good one. And any Bach organ pieces sound great loud.
I agree;) I am a Wagner fan Der Ring des Nibelungen is great any part. :):)

those are the stock 3.0si rims

Stock 3.0si with the Sport Package only. They are great looking wheels but I always liked the old 3.0i sport wheels as well.

Stock 3.0si with the Sport Package only. They are great looking wheels but I always liked the old 3.0i sport wheels as well.

not a huge fan of the ellipsoids myself. planning on picking up a new set of wheels some time soon.

not a huge fan of the ellipsoids myself. planning on picking up a new set of wheels some time soon.


I'm sure you should be able to sell the ellipsoids for a decent price.

I'm sure you should be able to sell the ellipsoids for a decent price.
plan on it

i play whatever i want when im driving. but at a stop i change it to some hardcore rap music so people see how hard i am

Lol, not sure if you're joking but I'm in the same boat. Listening to "Rock Lobster" while on the highway is pretty cool but when stuck on a red light, I pretend I'm just tuning through stations.:rolleyes

how u going to pretend?

I like 80's house music and racing game soundtracks (Ridge Racer, Initial D, etc.) as well as disco. Though I don't care what anyone thinks of my music, if a hottie pulls up next to me, it can be awkward as Atlanta has a HUGE gay male population.

Oddly enough, the funniest look I got was when I was blasting Manowar in downtown ATL. A Black man in a roaster blasting (kinda crappy) 80's death metal will get the oddest looks from his melanin-enhanced brothers and sisters.

That said, knowing that I'm driving one of the most beautiful roadsters ever made gets rid of any embarrassment my playlist causes.