PeevePile • A Pet Peeve Archive

During a live music performance when the lead singer holds the microphone out to the audience to sing a key part of the band's best/most famous song.
What is the point? It interrupts what otherwise sounded great. Your favourite song interrupted by gaps in the sound filled with an incomprehensible din. Sure it might be your most famous song and you're bored of playing it but when it's the very reason people came to see you, why intentionally mess it up?! Also, it comes with an air of superiority that rubs me the wrong way.

— Brandi Toksvig from London UK | Music | 7.28.2009 | Comments (2)

People who look down on you for liking pop music because it's not deep and meaningful enough.

— Kelsey from Canada | Music | 11.15.2008 | Comments (1)

When people sing songs they do not know the lyrics to.
When people end up making up what they think are the right words or end up mumbling along until they hit a lyric they actually know... like the chorus.

— MS. GARCIA from LOS ANGELES | Music | 12.17.2008 | Comments (2)

Learning that a rock star has sincere religious convictions.
Beck, a Scientologist? Bob Dylan, a born-again Christian? If Janis Joplin and John Lennon were still alive, would they be converts to the Church of Latter Day Saints?

— Rudolph from Brooklyn | Music | 10.21.2008 | Comments (3)

Not knowing a song is a cover of another.
Let's say you like this band, and you really like this one song they do, and you might even love that song, and you might even have loved that song for years, marveling with each three minute spin at the genius, that face or faces, that produced this harmonious combination of sounds. Then, you discover to your amazement and disgust â€” maybe on the oldies station, maybe through a friend's knowledge â€” that you've been incorrectly attributing the talent to the wrong person the whole time.

— Biffy from Brooklyn, NY | Music | 10.7.2008 | Comments (2)

Beatles Covers
Nobody could really even compare to The Beatles when it comes to their own songs, so why even try? It's a nice sign of respect but I don't know why people can't just listen to the original. The same goes for the people that make the "Beatles songs for kids" CDs... why can't the parents, if they really want their kids to experience The Beatles, just let them listen to the real thing? A CD for kids is no way to represent a dignified band.

— Kayla from USA | Music | 8.21.2009 | Comments (2)

Covers of Christmas songs.
This does not improve the song, it only harms your band.

— Biffy from Brooklyn | Music | 12.25.2008 | Comments (2)

When in the middle of a good conversation in, say a diner, an incredibly cheesy song comes on, making the conversation feel like it's an important bonding moment in a shitty movie.
There is barrage of cheesy modern rock songs that sound like they would go well with the opening credits for a teen drama television show flooding into our nations food establishments even as you read this. They are the species of song that most begs for musical genocide.

— Biffy from Brooklyn, NY | Music | 3.19.2009 | Comments (2)

Women who can't hook up their stereo.
It's not rocket science ladies. But it's ok if you're just using it as an excuse for me to come over and get naked.

— Ben Melbye from Toronto, ON, Canada | Music | 1.25.2010 | Comments (3)

People who sing along to the radio just a little too loud.
This always makes me feel awkward.

— Ben Melbye from Toronto, ON, Canada | Music | 11.17.2009 | Comments (1)

People who say "I have that on vinyl."
Big deal, everyone had Licensed To Ill on vinyl at some point.

— Ben Melbye from Toronto, ON, Canada | Music | 8.20.2009 | Comments (2)

How all of a sudden everyone is a huge Ray Charles or Johnny Cash fan now that they're both dead and have had movies made about them.
These are the same people who's taste in music comes from movie soundtracks from romantic comedies.

— Ben Melbye from Toronto, ON, Canada | Music | 3.17.2009 | Comments (3)

Playing blues music through tiny laptop computer speakers.
The distance between the source and the speaker is too great.

— Biffy from Brooklyn, NY | Music | 5.30.2009 | Comments (0)

Singers/Rappers who riddle their songs with expletives so every other lyric is blanked out when played on the radio, and you can't play the CD in the car with your kids in it.
I used to think Tipper Gore was a prude, but maybe she did have a point.

— Denise from Peabody, MA | Music | 10.28.2009 | Comments (3)

Predictable rhymes.
Dance/romance; money/honey, etc. Arms/charms is especially bad.

— Stuart from Boston | Music | 6.13.2009 | Comments (7)

Musician friends who only call you or want to see you when they have a show. And when I say "see you," I mean as an audience member.
And they expect you to pay even though you're an "awesome friend" according to the Friendster comment they left for you.

— erika from brooklyn, ny | Music | 6.29.2009 | Comments (1)

Lead singers pretending to clap.
But they can't clap, since they're holding a microphone, so they mime clapping.

— Tom from nyc | Music | 1.18.2009 | Comments (0)

Constant belly-rubbing by pregnant ladies » When you're used to being SKINNY, and all of a sudden you have this HUGE belly.... it's kind of hard to keep your hands away from it. Not to mention, I seem to hit my belly against things (since I'm not used to having it) and keeping my hands there, reminds me to pay attention to it. – Jami 3/20

When people make you take your shoes off before entering their house/apartment. » i think for me it's just family/cultural practice. my dad's from guam, and that whole side of the family doesn't think twice before taking off shoes at the door. – whothegoods 3/17

I hate it when people stick their Bluetooth headsets in their ears and walk around when they're not using them. It just looks really, really stupid. » They startle me in public too, when they suddenly start talking LOUDLY to themselves...while they are alone...in the middle of the supermarket. I think "crazy, or Bluetooth?" – Ami 3/17

I hate it when people stick their Bluetooth headsets in their ears and walk around when they're not using them. It just looks really, really stupid. » I call that look "business douche". 50% human, 50% robot, 100% asshole. – Brandi 3/16

When people make you take your shoes off before entering their house/apartment. » I have to side with the poster on this one. I think if you have guests over, you should just deal. It's not an every day thing. – jmc 3/15

When people make you take your shoes off before entering their house/apartment. » I agree with the two other comments before me. It's actually much more cleanlier to take them off. It seems to be more of an American ritual. (Canadians by the way tend to take off their shoes always) – Kara 3/15

02.11.10

Send in your mobile phone pet peeves for the week of February 15th! Perhaps the simplest and most common generator of peeves, the mobile phone prods and pricks us in all places, public and private. With skull phones just around the corner, it’s likely these peeves will soon become irrelevant—so let’s spray them across the galaxy while we still can.

01.18.10

For the next week or so, the pictures for peeves will be of Peeve Pile’s national spokesperson, Rob Grace, and his special person, Shana, enacting various peeves. Please feel free to make such pictures yourself. Just include a link to them when submitting a peeve.

01.02.10

Hello. I’ve added a voting feature, so you can vote as you assume that you would – just click on a one-to-five star rating (it will tell you your vote has been recorded); five indicating that you completely agree with, or find the peeve amusing, one meaning the opposite.

Once a bunch of ratings are in, I’ll add a worst, and best rated area to the right column.