Obscure Singles Heard at CVS

Shopping is truly a pleasure at Publix.

Best buys muzak really tried to make Jonny Lang a thing again in 04

The Clash: "Lost In The Supermarket" at Walmart Neighborhood Market

trenchant

Lindstrom & Christabelle "Lovesick" at Shophouse (Chipotle spinoff0

The Kinks, "A Rock & Roll Fantasy" in a gas station the other day. Haven't listened to the song in maybe 25 years, and never heard it on the radio before (though it was a hit in the US, so maybe it's not that surprising).

Madonna, "Beautiful Stranger." Probably not that obscure, but I'd actually never heard it before.

!

"!" because I'd never heard it? I've probably missed the last umpteen Madonna singles tbh. I liked it enough to track it down though.

I heard Ray of Light at the supermarket last night and the scream at about 4:30 freaked me the fuck out.

https://youtu.be/x3ov9USxVxY?t=4m25s

Yeah, sorry, I was just startled cause I feel like it's a pretty big hit, but actually I think it wasn't really, and I just saw the video a lot cause I was in an MTV-watching phase of my life. I've always liked it, one of my favorites of her post-80s uptempo singles. Hard to hear it and not think of her and Austin Powers in a car mugging it up aimlessly.

police, 'one world (not three)'

obviously the police aren't obscure, but that's kind of a deep cut

the replacements "i will dare" at a fred meyers in seattle

i'm not a local (or an american) so maybe this is normal? threw me for a loop though

No, that is not normal. At their commercial peak (such as it was), you couldn't even hear the Replacements on the radio (other than on a college station) in the US. That is absolutely bizarre that they'd be on a major chain store's playlist.

I would've been all, Oh Seattle, Don't ever change.

I kinda wonder if something like that happens because Rhino offers up a bundle of tracks to Muzak or whomever as "Classic '80s" and slips them in.

The Kinks, "A Rock & Roll Fantasy" in a gas station the other day. Haven't listened to the song in maybe 25 years, and never heard it on the radio before (though it was a hit in the US, so maybe it's not that surprising).

I've heard it once or twice on classic rock radio in my life and kind of fell in love with it, but, yeah, it's not in heavy rotation afaict.

The funny thing is, apparently it was played on the local "classic rock" station, which is by far the worst such station I've ever heard. Bon Jovi and Poison rule the playlist, and you're lucky if you hear any Hendrix in the course of a week.

(That said, it has a daily "Drive at 5:00" feature that, one day, played the 9-minute Buffalo Springfield "Bluebird.")

So sad when I say that I love the Kinks' "Rock and Roll Fantasy" and people inform me that it is actually by Bad Company.

I... I hear that song all the time.

The Bad Company one?

the replacements "i will dare" at a fred meyers in seattle

i'm not a local (or an american) so maybe this is normal? threw me for a loop though

― olly, Saturday, February 20, 2016 1:41 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

No, that is not normal. At their commercial peak (such as it was), you couldn't even hear the Replacements on the radio (other than on a college station) in the US. That is absolutely bizarre that they'd be on a major chain store's playlist.

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, February 20, 2016 1:45 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I would've been all, Oh Seattle, Don't ever change.

― pplains, Saturday, February 20, 2016 3:02 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

The supermarket (Red Apple) in my Seattle neighborhood seems to mostly play slow jams. Obviously this is a good thing.

Senor Coconut's "Neon Lights" in a Dutch supermarket.

^^Wasn't that in Y tu mama...? Seems like that another way these slip through--it was in a movie, so it can be in a store too.

Right. Replacements might also satisfy this rule.

The supermarket (Red Apple) in my Seattle neighborhood seems to mostly play slow jams. Obviously this is a good thing.

"Whip Appeal" last night

In France They Kiss on Main Street while waiting for my Tamiflu prescription.

Sometimes Chickie had the flu, or Ron had the flu...

Which would go some way toward explaining those nights when Leadfoot Melvin had the car.

CVS reminds you that it's flu season - come in for your flu shot today! Remember to take extra precautions in cold weather, and avoid kissing under bridges, kissing in cars, and kissing in cafes.

Lol. That's pitch perfect.

Subway blasting "New Attitude"

"Glorious" by Natalie Imbruglia at a random McDonald's in the middle of nowhere in Missouri.

I rarely go to Chipotle, but in the last few minutes they played "Cool Confusion" by The Clash, "Here to Go" by Cabaret Voltaire, and "Pink Frost" by The Chills, all in a row.

Wow! Yeah, hipsters are programming my Chipotle too; I've heard The Slits' version of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" more than once.

Elsewhere (department store) today, Go-Go's "Can't Stop The World."

best song on that album

Poco's "You Better Think Twice". Not all that obscure, but it's so nice to hear any Poco that isn't "Crazy Love"

i can never contribute to this thread because i don't remember ever hearing music at a cvs

i did however hear mouth & macneal's "how do you do" at bed bath and beyond. not terribly obscure but a weird song to hear anywhere in 2016. now i have it on repeat.

"Book of Dreams" by Suzanne Vega
at first I couldn't place it and I thought it was Julianna Hatfield

Ha. While totally obscure, it is curiously CVS-ready.

It's a good song!

Good song.

"Hourglass" by Squeeze, while pumping gas. Hadn't heard it in forever.

Bonnie Raitt "Have A Heart" at CVS this week.

^^^have heard that multiple times at the grocery store

it seems to go on forever

Crenshaw - Whenever You're on My Mind. Hear it all the time now in the grocery...

"Heartbeat" by Annie at a Vons grocery store.

Annie - Heartbeat at Giant.

http://www.youtube.com/v/f9Wf46tLonM&fs=1&hl=en

― how's life, Monday, November 23, 2015 8:04 PM (5 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

High five!

Some lucky people upthread. There's a small supermarket chain in Dublin called Fresh that has its own piped music of knockoff cover versions, presumably because it might be cheaper somehow? They're supposed to mimic the originals, but put you in uncanny valley territory when you hear the intro to, say, Pride (In The Name of Love) by U2, or Maria by Blondie with instruments that feel maybe 5% off, growing to 30% off when the vocals come in.