Songs heard while shoppin'

Positively Fourth Street

There's a produce store here called Stanley's that plays almost nothing but 80s new wave/post punk stuff (Squeeze, Police, Echo and the Bunnymen, etc.).

"Mr. Crowley"

what kind of place did you hear mr. crowley at?

Probably Jo-Ann.

what kind of place did you hear mr. crowley at?

heard lindstrØm+prins at american apparel once

everytime I go to Stop'n'Shop it's either 'Josie' or 'Peg'

I was singing along to "Peg" in Home Depot the other day and getting a few strange looks.

Probably Jo-Ann.

oh, I was thinking Linens 'n' Things.

I had to restrain myself from emphatically pointing my finger at customers innocently pushing their carts down the frozen foods aisle while I was lip syncing to Positively...

Local shopping centre plays a long list of songs on a loop, but it always seems to be Springsteen's 'Dancing In The Dark' that's playing, especially when I'm in the men's room and looking in the mirror when the song gets to the line "check my look in the mirror". Happened twice this fortnight so far.

I heard a live version of "Hello Cowgirl in the Sand" yesterday when I was shopping in an Italian gourmet food store, and I thought: this is really a depressing song, and no wonder I don't listen to Neil Young more, as good as he is. And I thought they really shouldn't be playing that song. I was tired and my allergies were bothering me, which was making me extremely emotionally hyper-sensitive. Let's all think about loss and disappointment and raw pain while we are trying to find something nice to carry home and eat.

― Rockist Scientist, Sunday, 1 July 2007 01:00 (3 years ago)

everytime I go to Stop'n'Shop it's either 'Josie' or 'Peg'

― No one is too good for this album; it is better than all of us. (herb albert), Sunday, July 11, 2010 11:53 PM (1 week ago)

I was singing along to "Peg" in Home Depot the other day and getting a few strange looks.

― kkvgz, Monday, July 12, 2010 5:53 AM (6 days ago)

Heard "Peg" in TeaGschwendner the other day.

Heard Stevie B's "In My Eyes" in a thrift shop yesterday.

today, Wild Cherry's 'Play That Funky Music'

supermarket
BARBARA STREISAND- THE MAIN EVENT/FIGHT
RICK JAMES- GIVE IT TO ME BABY

thrift store
LUTHER VANDROSS- A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME
(a woman who was singing along and saying stuff like "mmm, god rest his soul!")

that Stevie B song is a new one to me

MORE MORE MORE- Andrea True Connection

Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Sweet Home Alabama' - in a shopping centre in the deep south... of England

Heaven on the Seventh Floor- Paul Nicholas

I was pretty surprised to hear "I Know There's Something Going On" by Frida in Safeway recently.

that's pretty cool

i think they've done studies showing that people buy more asparagus when exposed to swedish pop music

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1109/532194935_3969dbbd70.jpg
(there's an uncropped version of this picture with a sign in Swedish that Babelfish's as 'Green Objects', which I suppose includes asparagus)

i find that picture to be strangely alluring

In a shopping mall: Coolio's 'Gangsta's Paradise'

In Sainsbury's: 'Bad Moon Rising Lyrics' by Creedence Clearwater Revival

duh and the music was playing as well, of course...

I mean, it wasn't some loony on the PA system reading out the words.

good, b/c there is a thread elsewhere for those occurences

Phil Collins' 'Against All Odds', followed by... 'Sweet Home Alabama' again.

not shoppin, technically, but rocky raccoon in mcdonald's canal st. and dude is fuckng rocking out to it, man. if there were an upright piano in the restaurant, he would be dancing on top of it, i'm fairly certain

Are you on 77, del? Cause that information would definitely be welcome in the Whiney/Beatles thread.

no, i guess i need to put in a request for access over there... that was a great moment, though . i'm kinda glad i documented it here. years ago i heard alone again or by love in a mcdonald's but that got a much more subdued response

I would be surprised like hell to hear either of those in a McD's.

yeah, i certainly thought it was odd

Little River Band- Reminiscing
Apollo 100- Joy
Steely Dan- Do It Again

I never cared much for that Steely Dan tune, but man did it ever sound good this evening when I was strutting through the coffee/tea/cereal aisle. And yes, you better believe I was strutting, basket in hand. NO SHOPPING CART FOR THIS WILD-LIVING BACHELOR!!! dAMN STRAIGHt woo-hoooooooooo

Also, pasta was on sale 3 for a dollar.

I Love You Always Forever- Donna Lewis

This woman was walking down the sidewalk this morning talking on her cellphone and I heard her say "Oh really? Well, that's my number one hangover cure-- I have a fatty..." and then poof! She was out of earshot right after that word...so I was left wondering if she meant she chose to smoke a "fatty" to cure her hangovers or if she ate a fatty breakfast. I guess she was probably just advising her friend to eat scrapple.

I've heard Camera Obscura pretty much every other shopping trip in the past 18 months in the Bay Area. Doesn't matter what shop, I will hear them somewhere.

Not sure if this counts but I always enjoy hearing "My Ever Changing Moods" when it plays occasionally at work.

I like less hearing 10 Jason Mraz songs a day. His music is like that annoying kid you went to high school with who was in all the AP classes and wore sandals with pre-stressed jeans every day of the year.

Not sure if this counts but I always enjoy hearing "My Ever Changing Moods" when it plays occasionally at work.

oh man, i want to work at a place like that

i remember my friend texted me once a few years ago to tell me that she was in macy's and that song was playing!

no. i lied. i think it was "you're the best thing".

The Lightning Seeds: some unidentified song - they all sound pretty much the same anyway.

the beach boys- do it again

heard at army surplus store: little honda- the beach boys

strawberry letter #23- the brothers johnson

not shopping atm but can hear the not-so-distant strains of someone performing "paparazzi" on a kazoo

he won't stop until you love him.

Fleetwood Mac, 'Dreams'

this, in a thrift shop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUgxRnmuypQ

Somebody needs to record a special album for thrift stores and charity shops:

'Yes Of Course I Can Give You Change For A £20 Note'
'Thanks For This Kind Donation Of Betamax Tapes'
'No We Do Not Accept Clothes Covered In Dubious Stains'
'Haggling On A £2 Item Is Perfectly Acceptable In A Charity Shop'
'Just Buy Something Will Ya?'

heard The Sundays in Walgreens... I think it was "Goodbye"?

Alesha Dixon's 'The Boy Does Nothing', again while in the Co-Op.

Co-Op strikes gold again: Suzi Quatro's 'Can The Can'.

Buggles' 'Video Killed The Radio Star' and Aretha Franklin's '(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman' (which reminded me to buy some milk).

ABBA - 'Mamma Mia'
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_D1SQyMuyk6E/SqW_w-6ZRqI/AAAAAAAAAKU/qOlLHpdV8wA/s400/Agnetha_supermercado2.jpg

Wings, 'Mull of Kintyre'. It was the UK Christmas #1 in 1977, but I've never heard it played in a shopping centre at all, particularly not as a Christmas song.

Kate Bush, 'Cloudbusting'.

Peter Gabriel, 'Solsbury Hill'.

Felt particularly appropriate as I'd just walked nearly two miles in a torrential downpour.

I've just remembered, when I was in Lisbon, I went for a meal and the kinda hippyish waiter played all sorts of good music but I especially remember he played "Maggot Brain", which was cool.

"Family Affair" in Morrisons. Sweet.

Wizkid’s “Master Groove” blasting out of a shop in the Xiaobei area of Guangzhou. Good times!

Morrisons again. "Respect Yourself" by the Staples Singers. They play some good music in that shop.

... and today, The Who, "Magic Bus".

Local shopping centre, ironically, Jessie J's 'Price Tag'.

Forgot to mention "One Nation Under a Groove" in Morrisons (again).

Delighted to hear Gang of Four in a genteel, single-origin-bags-for-decor, popup cafe.

How high are the ceilings in the supermarket?
Do they play music in there?

These are questions I should know the answers to, but genuinely can't answer

Fools Gold by the Stone Roses in American Eagle. I had no idea they were at all known in the US.

"Teenage Kicks" in Morrisons.

7:30am in the Tesco's I often drop in to on my way to work: Billy Joel's 'We Didn't Start The Fire'. I reached the self service checkout area just in time to hear William bellowing "BRITISH POLITICIAN SEX!" through the cranked in-store PA system. Just the thing to get people awake on a Monday.
"JFK! BLOWN AWAY! WHAT ELSE DO I HAVE TO SAY!!!"

Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Sweet Home Alabama' - in a shopping centre in the deep south... of England

― Les centimètres énigmatiques (snoball), Friday, 27 August 2010 10:21 (nine years ago)

Yep, they're still playing that song.

Fools Gold by the Stone Roses in American Eagle. I had no idea they were at all known in the US.

― AlanSmithee, Saturday, 12 October 2019 00:21 (five months ago)

'Fools Gold' then straight into Mark Morrison's 'Return Of The Mack'.

'Word Up' - Cameo

https://64.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljl17sqgyX1qzujsgo1_400.gif

"The Return of the Los Palmas 7" - Madness
"Fools Gold" - The Stone Roses
"Twist & Shout" - The Beatles
"The One & Only" - Chesney Hawkes (especially weird because I was thinking about this song while walking to the shopping centre only to hear it playing when I walked in)

"Angels" - Robbie Williams (played horrendously out of tune by a busker on saxophone)
"Teenage Kicks" - The Undertones (a different busker playing an acoustic guitar)
"Chelsea Dagger" - The Fratellis
"Sugar" - Maroon 5

May be coincidence, or maybe whoever picks the music for Co-Op in-store radio subscribes to this channel...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfJIgsFHX0Q
...because Lulu's version of 'The Man Who Sold The World' was playing.

Songs heard while shoppin' waiting to get your COVID vaccine booster

'Merry Christmas Everyone' by Shakin' Stevens
'Dancing In The Moonlight' by Toploader

yesterday in the shopping centre, 'Wombling Merry Christmas'

I was in Saisbury's but this is a very Co-Op kind of track - Bryan Ferry's 'Let's Stick Together'.

It was like seeing a stiff and starchy relative get loose at a Christmas party.

Lol

Today in the shopping centre: Endor - 'Pump It Up'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfnjX88Va4Y
followed by Majestic x Boney M. - 'Rasputin (2022 Remix)'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8XADglx9z4

Not shopping but sitting in an empty pub in Paisley in the late afternoon and "Simon Says" by the 1910 Fruitgum Company is playing.

... "Ooh-Wakka-Doo-Wakka-Day" by Gilbert O'Sullivan. Makes "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da" sound like "Helter Skelter".

Yesterday I heard...
Tracy Chapman, 'Fast Car' in a shopping centre,
Billy Joel, 'Uptown Girl' in a DIY store,
Craig David, 'Re-Rewind' and Dizzy Rascal, 'Bonkers', both in a computer store.

Probably the most unexpected one for me was "How to Disappear Completely" at Home Depot.

A very unexpected song to hear in a supermarket in the South East of England - Neil Young's 'Harvest Moon'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2MtEsrcTTs

An odd set of songs to hear one after the other:

'Miss You', The Rolling Stones
'The Man Who Sold The World', Lulu
'September', Earth, Wind & Fire
'Boys Don't Cry', The Cure

Filtered through the PA system of a store is probably the optimal way to hear miss you as it blows, particularly if you watch the video at the same time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hic-dnps6MU
I wonder whose bright idea it was to remove the guitar riff from Lulu's version and replace it with a flatulent sax?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyFAnA9oPRE

In a shopping centre on my way to the food court:

'Groove Is In The Heart' - Deee-Lite
'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' - Kylie Minogue

In an outdoor equipment store shortly after lunch:

'Stay Together' - Suede

I've just remembered, when I was in Lisbon, I went for a meal and the kinda hippyish waiter played all sorts of good music but I especially remember he played "Maggot Brain", which was cool.

I was visiting my sister in Scotland at the weekend and we were in her local pub in the village she lives in, on a busy Friday night, and "Maggot Brain" was played!

In the supermarket, Axl Rose's favourite Pet Shop Boys song, 'Being Boring'.

In Tesco's, while picking up my morning dose of mind-rotting energy drink: George Michael's 'Careless Whisper'.
In the Co-Op, while picking up my evening dose of mind-rotting energy drink (it's Friday, weekend gotta start somewhere): Kim Wilde's 'You Came'.

You can tell it's the Friday evening before a Bank Holiday weekend because the supermarket was rowdy and full of teenagers, including one 14 year old lad riding a bicycle down the aisle until I eyeballed him and then he was just wheeling it down the aisle. Soundtrack: Belinda Carlisle's 'Live Your Life Be Free' at even louder volume than normal.

my doc's office has generic muzak playing pop songs in maudlin solo piano form.

the funniest version I heard today was Train's "Hey, Soul Sister" performed if it was a funeral

Kate Bush, 'Babooshka'.

ABC, 'When Smokey Sings' ("when Smokey sings... I buy onions")

Surprised this morning to hear a deep track, "I Dream of Sleep", from last year's Sloan album. I guess it would have been more surprising if I were not in Canada.

Horrorpops, 'Walk Like A Zombie'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RKZpKkgWMM