totally agree about 121.5, used to sit up and listen if heard anything on that freq, now just turn down to a background chatter as so much going on (especially in certain airspace) that it interferes with listening to ATC.
I was always trained to have a chart out, just in case. That seems to have died off.
Also with ATC band boxing, especially with Brest, Bordeaux and Madrid, the initial check-in often takes several calls, a reversion to previous and a recall to get a response taking up 20 miles or so.