Obscure Singles Heard at CVS

*i know it do not qualify as obscure in at all a strict sense but i smiled and dug*

Sweet “Little Willy” at Floor and Decor.

i suspect all the other fucking olds buying tile knew it. but only maybe.

Nine Days: "Absolutely (The Story of A Girl)" at Kroger.

In my FB memories today I see I posted 9 years ago about hearing "Airbag" by Radiohead at Carl's Jr.

in the next world war
in a jack-knifed Jack In The Box

Duran Duran "My Own Way" at Petco

obviously not obscure, but for a while there i was hearing 'come on eileen' every time i went into cvs. now it's 'ride like the wind'

For me it was "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" or "Mad About You". Also within that time frame that was happening I was stuck at a Kroger for a couple hours one time and heard both "Heaven Is..." AND "Circle In The Sand", so (for awhile anyway) Belinda Carlisle made the world go round.

Just bought a new cat litter box to the tune of Nik Kershaw’s ‘Wouldn’t It Be Good’ at Petco!

obviously not obscure, but for a while there i was hearing 'come on eileen' every time i went into cvs. now it's 'ride like the wind'

― mookieproof, Sunday, July 12, 2020 3:49 PM bookmarkflaglink

Heard that at CVS yesterday! If you heard someone doing the Michael McDonald parts from the greeting card aisle, that was meeeeeeee!

wish someone would play the Saxon version of the latter.

Burger place w/a CSNY Pandora yielded:

Led Zeppelin: "That's The Way"
CSNY: "4+20"
Cat Stevens: "Oh Very Young"

booker t + the mg's — 'time is tight' in stater bros

Chvrches: "Get Out" at Kroger.

have just heard 'space age love song' by a flock of seagulls in stater brothers and it reminded what an absolutely gorgeous song it is.

The wonderful Incapable by Roisin Murphy at Argos, Silverburn, Glasgow

10-ish years ago, I was getting an MRI to confirm whether or not I had a brain tumor (yes, benign pituitary adenoma). They let you listen to the radio station of your choice on headphones made of plastic tubes like they use to have on airplanes. I put on WFMU and, as a good omen, the first song was Buzzcocks' "Harmony in My Head."

Glad you recovered, um, Hideous Lump.

amazing story. hilarious and heartwarming. thank you for sharing.

my contribution for today: overheard a mother mildly complaining to her daughter about having to wear a mask in the grocery store on wednesday afternoon. daughter (i'm guessing 12-13) says something like, "well mom, wearing it is for everybody's health." cue the impressions "keep on pushin." i just started laughing because it was so perfect.

this is one of the most underrated threads on ilx, imo.

yeah wow HL, that's amazing. and glad it's turned out okay!

i once worked in an office building in a shopping center with piped-in music, and when I stepped outside after my last day they were playing "Good Riddance" by Green Day

I hope Skid Row's "Get the Fuck Out" plays when I leave mine

Hospital for heart surgery (not for me), radio playing a song with the chorus 'I will mend your heart'.

As a side note, the name "Hideous Lump" predated the tumor. So it's not gallows humor, just a dark coincidence.

"the fez" by the dan at home depot.

a couple of weeks ago i heard "hey nineteen" playing at a mccormick and schmicks i was walking past.

that was at least a hit! "the fez" is a darned good one for this thread tho.

"The Fez" is indeed impressive

Stop and Shop in Glen Cove, Long Island is playing Pure by the Lightning Seeds (obscure enough this side of the pond).

"heartbeat" by taana gardner heard at trader joe's.

"Paint It Black" by the Rolling Stones after the medical clinic put my call on hold - "It's not easy facing up, when your whole world is black"

Thompson Twins “King for a Day” which subsequently got stuck in an endless loop in my head for a week thereafter.

Stone Roses "Elephant Stone" at REI

Finally updated the playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Qvc8uzVk4bDpMeW6p2lc6?si=9k_3qW1OSqyPEvC6ZgpsWw

Not terribly obscure, but I just remembered hearing Joe Jackson's "Breaking Us in Two" at Walgreen's when buying masks and sunscreen and while it's fantastic, it's also inappropriate and depressing in that context.

I still don't know how/why Badfinger (or whoever controls their copyrights) didn't sue Joe Jackson.

for what, making them upset in a Walgreens?

I still don't know how/why Badfinger (or whoever controls their copyrights) didn't sue Joe Jackson.

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, December 7, 2020 9:26 AM bookmarkflaglink

Ha, I was just about to add "Same with 'Day After Day'!" to IML's post.

It feels borderline for this thread, but it was definitely weird to hear Elton John’s “Can’t Stay Alone Tonight” in a grocery store during the lead up to Christmas.

It counts...a definite subset of this whole thing is "Album Cuts Off Recent-ish Releases From Legacy Artists".

Out of all the Blondie tracks, this is the ONLY one I knew before hand would be a hit. The original is amazing and we were in a position wherein I knew if we released a decent version it would succeed.
I had no idea I'd be hearing it in CVS forty years later https://t.co/cCqhrpT8b1

— Chris Stein (@chrissteinplays) January 31, 2021

"Flying High Again" by Ozzy Osbourne

"Midnight Blue" by Lou Gramm

"She's A Lot Like You" by The Cars

In that order.

i been a baaaad baaaad boy

Billy Joel "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" at the dentists office.

more like "leave a tender molar alone" amirite

Playing just now at the Home Depot - Charlotte Sometimes (?!)

that is amazing, i don't think i have ever heard that song out in the wild before.

Not at all obscure, but as I stepped on the stair machine at a local gym where the majority of my gym mates are black women, "Brown Sugar" by the Stones was playing.

gay people love to tell you what song from 2002 was playing at CVS

— Jill Gutowitz (@jillboard) April 20, 2021

god "brown sugar" reeeeeally needs to disappear

might beat my all time worst gym playlist experience with "Tears in Heaven"

I would be tempted to use weights as a discus to throw at someone's head if I heard that Clapton while working out