Everyone dreads calling city hall. Not only are you liable to get a lot of flim-flam, but you’ll be put on hold while you’re getting it.

But if you’re calling the City of Seattle, you’re in for a treat: OnHold, a program that pipes tunes from local musical acts into (hopefully) appreciative ears.

Some like the concept almost too much:

[Local jazz magazine editor Peter Monaghan's] only complaint about OnHold is that callers won’t be on the line long enough to really get a sense of the music. Yes, it’s true: He’d like longer wait times like he’s experienced in other parts of the country.

“It’s ironic really,” he said. “The bureaucracy here is actually pretty efficient, unlike other cities I’ve lived in.”