I use a buff, if mine're not all in the laundry. Works as a sweat band, keeps the hair out'a my face, and after the class when my hair's all sweaty and lank, I can either turn the buff into a beanie to cover it all up or push the hair upwards into a "fountain" with the buff rolled up sweatband style. (I shower after I hike home 'cuz I still have a few hundred feet of hill to climb after class.)

As for the noise level, I've given up on explaining and complaining. There're some instructors who just really don't get it that intensity is not equivalent to noise level, but that hearing damage is. My hearing is already damaged (from agricultural equipment and rock concerts, probably), so I use ear plugs to protect what's left and keep the tinnitus from getting worse. The buff also helps there, keeps the ear plugs better in place and adds a bit more noise barrier. Only class I take without ear plugs is the classic music class which is mostly ok in terms of noise level, just two finale blasts that the instructor keeps apologizing for and saying next time she'll remember to turn those down.

Music the same from one class to the next: Some gyms have that as a policy too. Think of it as riding the same route. You get familiar with the route and it feels shorter, somehow. Same thing with the music, apparently. Doesn't matter much to me since I wear ear plugs and so hardly hear the darn stuff (unless there's something I really like and take the plugs out for, like if there's some Aretha or Stones in there). But I liked the policy better at the gym I went to in Madison, WI. There I had an instructor who put together fun programs of her own, not too loud, different each day, and with a progression through the year that turned them into a training program and not just a one-off workout over and over again. Here I have to weave my way between classes to put together my own training program out of the regular repetition (Tue 6pm -- intervals + weights after. Wed. 6pm -- classic & 7pm -- intervals. Fri 6pm -- endurance + weights. Sat 10am -- intervals + weights. Sun when the spin room isn't in use -- distance using my own mp3 program for 2-3 hours). Well, as you can see, I've found a way to do that. There are even moments when spinning is fun. Kinda. At least with a couple of the instructors here, who are cheerful and helpful gals. Also some of my spin classmates are a fun bunch. But mostly it's just that I don't feel safe riding outside on snow and ice and grit, nor do I feel comfortable riding in below-freezing weather. So if I'm to be in shape for the ALC by May 30, I've gotta spin.