Obscure Singles Heard at CVS

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.

"Beach Baby" by First Class.

Steve Winwood: "Freedom Overspill" at Steak & Shake.

i guess "beach baby" is pretty obscure! i think of it as well-known but i think that's only because of its inclusion in the inescapable SOUNDS OF THE SEVENTIES commercial from the early 90s. i can't remember the last time i ever heard it out anywhere.

The Replacements, "I'll Be You" at Target.

Haven't heard it in the wild since 1989. It was released 30 years ago tomorrow!

“Beach Baby”! For a hot second it felt like the most exciting song in the world, ever, to me as an as-yet pretty much contextless kid.

T.Rex: "Cosmic Dancer" at Kroger.

Tom Petty: "Too Much Ain't Enough" at Kroger.

The Showmen: "39-21-46" at HEB.

James Brown: "Get On The Goodfoot" and Kinks: "Waterloo Sunset" at Jack-In-The-Box.

Bryan Ferry: "Kiss and Tell" at HEB.

School of Seven Bells, "Ablaze" at LCBO

oh that reminds me of the one time i heard "ilu" by school of seven bells (which i first heard via ilm) at a which wich

Fleetwood Mac: "Save Me" (their last Top 40, from '90) at Kroger.

By now, I shouldn't be surprised, but hearing freaking "Kiss Me On the Bus" by the Replacements at Kroger was crazy.

I mean, if I heard "I'll Be You" I'd be "Well, strange hearing the Replacements at Kroger, but this was a minor Top 40 hit, I guess."

And if heard "Can't Hardly Wait" - like I did a few months ago - I'd be surprised, but again, it might be the band's most notable song, off a major-label album, at that.

But "Kiss Me On the Bus"? I get that Kroger might be hesitant to play a song called "Bastards of Young" over its P.A. system, but I would've expected to hear "Left of the Dial" or "Hold My Life" before KMotB. And yet, I pretty much would not have expected to hear anything from the Bob Stinson era over those speakers.

If I go in there next week and hear "I'M A CUSTOMER", I'm gonna flip out.

that would be awesome. i too would flip out if i heard "customer" while i was a customer, anywhere but a record store

Camera Obscura: "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" at Food 4 Less.

haha! i've never heard camera obscura but i know lloyd cole's "are you ready to be heartbroken" and that song title cracks me up

Gary Wright: "Got The Feelin'" at Randall's

ok where do you live, because i'm not sure i believe you anymore

Houston-area, many of these come from places in the western 'burbs.

I had to Shazam that Gary Wright, initially thought it was some '80s Rod Stewart thing.

hmm

Mark Lindsay: "Arizona" at Walmart.

yesssssss

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

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

― pplains, Saturday, December 8, 2018 5:20 PM (two months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

THIS JUST HAPPENED AT MY USUAL KROGER.

i know that song is unlistenable noise, but it's really not that unusual to hear it in a public place. even my city's dull, generic classic hits station that plays virtually the same playlist every single day will spin it

BUT IN KROGER.

STANDING IN THE CAT FOOD AISLE NEXT TO SOME LADY WHO WAS 37 WHEN THAT SONG CAME OUT.

WE BOTH HEAR A MAN SCREAM OVER THE P.A. "BRING YOU TO YOUR KNEES! I'M GONNA WATCH YOU BLEED!"

HER MOUTH OPENS IN HORROR. THE LIDS ON THE CAT FOOD TINS START RIPPING OPEN BY THEMSELVES, RAZOR BLADES SLICING THROUGH THE AIR.

Christine McVie - "Love Will Show Us How" at Walgreens

I just heard ‘Change Of Heart’ from Cyndi Lauper’s 2nd album in a shopping plaza in upstate NY. But I was surprised to see that it made it to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987.

this is one of my favorite threads

White Town: "Your Woman" at Kroger.

brand new heavies 'dream on dreamer' at CVS

kylie minogue "slow" at the grocery store

(apparently it was a big hit in australia and europe but in the usa it barely charted and i literally never heard it on the radio)

Bananarama: "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'" at Jack In the Box.

Belle & Sebastian: "The Blues Are Still Blue" at Which Wich.

X: "Los Angeles" and Mothers of Invention: "Hungry Freaks, Daddy" at Freebirds

RL Burnside: "It's Bad You Know" at Jack In The Box.

U2: "Instant Karma!" at Jason's Deli.

Camera Obscura: "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" at Food 4 Less.

When I moved to the US from UK 10 years ago I heard that EVERYWHERE! In shops. Not on radio or anything.