We just heard 'Smooth' while grocery shopping and concluded that perhaps we are getting old :-) The song was a favorite 'sexy' song of ours 20 years ago!
LOL My grocery store plays Billy Joel, Elton and Rod Stewart, etc. I often wonder who picks the Musak. Maybe that is the age of the average shopper with the money?
I've read somewhere that some grocery stores play music based on the time of day and the age of the shoppers most likely to be there. I tend to shop mid-morning and hear the music Uptown Gal mentions. When I'm there at the end of the traditional work day and younger folks are running in between work and home, the music is much less boomer oriented.
I've also read that lively, upbeat music makes shoppers more amenable to buying things that aren't on their lists.
ETA: For nickel (below) - definitely not muzak in our stores - I think there has been enough negative talk to preclude that. I hear all originals where I shop - Stones, Beatles, some Disco, Nirvana the other day, etc. I was bopping around to "Dancing In the Street" Tuesday. My DH is no longer embarrassed when I dance while shopping.
Interesting........I have never heard any sort of music played in local supermarkets! Is this a regional thing?
I assume the songs mentioned were originals and not reworked imitations by 101 Strings, like the despised muzak of my youth? LOL.
The musak at the beauty shop where Mom used to get her hair done was cringe-worthy. Mostly young hair stylists so it was rap, pop, screaming and hollering stuff. ha The older lady who did Mom's as well as other elderly clients could only shake her head. The more she looked uncomfortable the more the muzak played.
I still remember the shock I felt the first time I heard the Beatles being played over sound system at the grocery store. That was many years ago and I remember thinking at the time that I was in only in my 30's and must be getting old.
"Smooth" couldn't have been 20 years ago -- could it? (insert stunned disbelieving face emoji here)
I don't usually notice the music as I am on a mission. I really dislike shopping at places that have the music so loud, I can't hear myself think.
I was at my dentist today and he was playing oldies (really old) on his cell phone. I knew all of them..............I just couldn't sing along while he was taking an impression for my crown.
California Dreaming
I Heard it Through the Grapevine
Teen Angel
Little Eva
I think I'm a little younger than the main demographic at the Savers thrift store we visit. On seniors day, they play a lot of '50s and early '60s music. Quite a few customers just sing out loud and some sort of dance through the aisles.
Hmmmmm....the grocery store I shop at is a big Farmer’s Market. It doesn’t have music...but I wonder what they’d play if they did....maybe ....the Farmer and the Dell, Old Macdonald and the Farmer’s Daughter...or even a Polka! hee hee.
Since yesterday's visit to the hardware store, I've been singing,
I'm bad at love (ooh-ooh)
But you can't blame me for tryin'
You know I'd be lyin' sayin'
You were the one (ooh-ooh)…
Our local organic food store plays folk music or classical and sometimes has live acoustic groups. A couple of week ago, there was a wandering accordion player!
Muzak is a brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments, hopefully to make a more pleasing atmosphere for the customer. The business subscribes to the service, and can choose the type of music from a number of channels.
Chances are if you hear music while shopping, it's coming from Musak. There are probably other similar companies providing the same service, but the term 'Musak' has become a general term for piped in music.
Rusty
At my parents' health/memory care facility, a program comes in to present Songs by Heart. Lots of great songs from the first half of the 20th century. The accompanist and I were chatting, we are both about 60 and agree that Songs by Heart when we are in senior living will include Barry Manilow, Beach Boys, Elvis, Billy Joel, Boston, Carlos Santana, Carole King, Cream, Beatles. and so on!
Thank you all for making this a fun thread. Some of the comments have me giggling like a kid!
Before Christmas was in Kroger and that stupid Wham song came on "Last Christmas"...I nearly ran out of there. LOL. They always play Frank Sinatra at a little café my daughter and I like in one of the nearby towns. I don't care for his music but I can deal with it for a short while.
murraysmom Zone 6a OH