Obscure Singles Heard at CVS

"Under My Thumb" at Walmart yesterday.

I think some customers noticed the holy ghost had
took hold of me.

so not obscure

Alejandro Escovedo: "Anchor" at Walmart.

I used to hear songs from his lp Real Animal (the one prior to this one) reasonably frequently in different chain store/restaurant muzaks when they were new.

Lesley Gore: "She's A Fool" at Walmart.

Guns N' Roses
"Welcome to the Jungle"
Appetite for Destruction
Geffen Records, 1987

KROGER
Dec. 8, 2018 | 2:34 pm CST

AND LISTEN, I'm very much aware that this 31-year-old song is hardly obscure, having reached the Top 10 in both the U.S. and New Zealand. BUT, standing in the cereal aisle when from out of nowhere that intro started cranking up and watching old ladies shop for jam while "I'm gonna watch you bleed!" and "feel my serpentine!" shouted at them from the P.A. system was QUITE THE EXPERIENCE.

Best part was hearing the segue "When you're high, you never... ever want I NEED ALL BAGGERS TO THE FRONT. ALL BAGGERS TO THE FRONT PLEASE so dowwwwnnnnnn!"

Pretty aggro for Kroger, agreed

XTC: "Earn Enough For Us" and Split Enz: "I Got You" at Jack In The Box.

Just heard Eddie Floyd's "Knock On Wood" at the supermarket. Not really obscure, but I haven't heard it on the radio or otherwise in the wild since the '80s.

that's a good one!!

i had a really weird moment not long ago when i heard "ship of fools" at trader joe's during the kavanaugh hearings
was a bit too much tbh

"ship of fools" by world party, that is

I always think "Knock On Wood" was a bigger Top 40 item than it was because it was an Oldies constant during me youth. But it only went to #28 (#1 R&B) and in fact the later Amii Stewart cover was way bigger (#1 Pop).

The Three Wise Men (XTC): "Thanks For Christmas" at Denny's.

I was just in 99 Ranch Market, a massive Asian grocery, and they were playing a song that was the music from Tomorrow Never Knows, but with a John Lennon soundalike singing Jingle Bells over it. I don't know it was genius or a travesty.

The one in Van Nuys?

The Fab 4 - Jingle Bells

xp

Austin, TX

Didn't know 99 Ranch had such a big geographical footprint

At the point now that I'm not even going to mention hearing "Atlantis" by Donovan at Kroger.

Did make things a little awkward later when the Salvation Army bellringer started kicking the inside of my trunk.

Ramones: "Blitzkrieg Bop" sticking out like a sore thumb between the Xmas Classics and A/C Hits at Kroger.

lol pplains

“The waiting game” by swing out sister at the Harris Teeter

Arlo Guthrie: "Coming Into Los Angeles" and David Gray: "Babylon" at Randall's.

Soul Asylum: "Somebody To Shove" and Steve Winwood: "Valerie" at Freebirds.

10,000 Maniacs: "More Than This" (yes, a Roxy cover by the post-Nat lineup) at CVS.

General Public: “Where’s the Line” at a Peet’s coffee in Marin

Smash Mouth: "Pacific Coast Party" at Target.

Replacements: "I'll Be You" at Kroger

Paramore: "Hard Times"* at Big Lots

*Too soon?

It's almost two years old.

poco’s “call it love” at the cvs in allston

Elvis Costello: "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" and Smash Mouth: "Story of My Life" at Randall's

I wonder if there's some secret project/conspiracy going on between In-store Audio Network programmers reclaiming Smash Mouth flops.

This is a weird one...

Alexi Von Guggenberg: "Are You Happy Now?"

... because it's (A) a Michelle Branch cover (B) from four years ago, and (C) I heard it at Taco Cabana between Latin Pop jams.

Leon Haywood: "It's Got To Be Mellow" at Freebirds.

not that obscure, but i still wasn't expecting to hear the sundays' 'here's where the story ends' in a cvs

that's too much!!

Bob Seger: "Sunspot Baby" at Walmart.

Robin Trower: "Lady Love" at Randall's.

Big Star “When My Baby's Beside Me” at Trader Joe’s

Big Star and The Sundays both lovely and unexpected

I hear that Sundays song in retail situations frequently, always a treat.

Robert Palmer: "Jealous" at IHOP.

Fleetwood Mac: "As Long As You Follow"
John Mellencamp: "Key West Intermezzo"
The Cars: "You Are The Girl"*

All at Denny's.

*Seems like I hear this one more often than almost any other Cars out in the wild.

Pretenders: "Kid" at Jason's Deli.

Steve Miller: "Wide River" & English Beat: "Save It For Later" at Randall's.

Fastball: "You're An Ocean" at Fuddrucker's

Dead or Alive: "Lover Come Back To Me" and Corinne Bailey Rae: "Put Your Records On" at Randall's.

ime "Put Your Records On" and "You're an Ocean" both quietly entered standard CVS-and-adjacent rotation some time ago, after their respective periods of exile.

I've noticed that too. Checked wiki and was genuinely shocked the CBR only made #68 Pop (and #64 on the Hot 100). It was inescapable when it was new.

It peaked at #6 on Adult Contemporary, which maybe is more revealing. I think she was being pushed through VH1 type channels, so it seems totally natural that she'd be soundtracking drug stores in addition to coffee shops and Barnes & Nobles.