Worst day...ever!!!

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

I fell sorry for anyone working in a shop in December having to hear the same dozen festive songs on repeat all day every day. I detest all forms of xmas music so I wouldn't be able to do it.

This reminds me of my years on The Post Office counter, in Nov 1992 in the Luton PO they installed this hideous machine that played carols on repeat. The only salvation from this was that for some reason it was removed at the start of December. Never understood why a machine playing carols was removed at the beginning of the month that Xmas falls in, unless they realised mass murder was imminent.

[Cliff Edge]

When I did mobile discos I did a few gigs on a US base. One night a rather drunk guy came up to me a number of times and slurred “play everything is beautiful” and pressed a fiver into my hand. Of course I played it every time. 1970 when I wore a younger mans clothes. 

 

[prowla]

2 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

I feel sorry for anyone working in a shop in December having to hear the same dozen festive songs on repeat all day every day. I detest all forms of xmas music so I wouldn't be able to do it.

Only December? - they're very restrained in your neck of the woods!

[casapete]

I worked part time in a local supermarket when I was 15, and the music they played in there

was truly dreadful. It sounded like even cheaper versions of those ‘Top of the Pops’ compilation

albums that were popular in the 70’s. ( For our younger readers, these were cheap albums 

containing dreadful covers of recent chart hits, nothing to do with the TOTP programme on TV.

Usually on crap budget labels like MFP and Hallmark -  see pic.)

The worst songs were those where they didn’t stand a chance of sounding anything like the

original artists / recordings, such as Slade, Rod Stewart and Bowie. Working all day Saturday

meant I’d hear every song probably at least 8 times, maybe funny the first time or two and

then after that sheer hell. 
 

 

Edited October 9 by casapete

[uk_lefty]

8 hours ago, casapete said:

 

 

My parents had quite a few of these albums and I spent many summers before being old enough to get a part time job listening through them and thinking "this is not quite right!" Got me searching out original versions by some decent bands though.

[Leonard Smalls]

12 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

I detest all forms of xmas music

 

I made my own playlist to avoid the obvious ones... Some are quite well known like Christmas Rapping, others are classics any time of year, like this:

 

 

[diskwave]

A trip to my local Co-op for all the cheap out of date stuff is planned like a military excercise because if I spend more than 5 mins in there I could possibly explode thanks to a brain numbing faux soft rap, droney noise being pumped outta the ceiling. What is that? is it the kids latest thing? Jeez, no wonder the old pop charts aint going away.  'Rap'.. has a lot to answer for imo.

[BigRedX]

My local Co-op is mostly playing obscure early 80s "hits" at the moment.

 

TBH I find I can tune out BGM unless it's something I like

[theplumber]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

My local Co-op is mostly playing obscure early 80s "hits" at the moment.

 

TBH I find I can tune out BGM unless it's something I like

The local Co-op where I stay in Falkirk is called Scotmid for some reason. Same shop but different name. I stay in Falkirk. The usual rubbish is piped in all day and between songs a voice over guy will tell you about the latest offers in store! I actually worked with the guy in a local radio station years ago who does the voice overs! He also does TV adverts and corporate work as well. Great voice,soothing,calm,friendly. The only thing is I know he was an alcoholic,left his wife for a younger woman then found god.....Still,it doesn't make you a bad person and that's a cracking offer on crisps and nuts!

[SH73]

I used to work on a restaurant and they played the same disc over and over. Saturdays it was a 14-15 your shift and Sundays 6 hours. Luckily I only worked the weekends.

 

When I worked in the supermarket, they would play the same fooking Christmas cd hits over the Christmas period, my ears suffered for 40 hours a week.

 

Super dry shops usually blast the music.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

In the 70s we had annual holidays staying with family or a Hotel in Torquay as my parents were from the area. A clear memory from that time was a shop selling tourist tat on the strand which, no matter the time of year or time of day, without exception would always be playing Max Bygraves's greatest hits, or a seasonal Max Bygraves album at xmas. Even at a young age I thought this was cruel and unusual punishment.

[Grooverjr]

I have a real problem with not being able to concentrate on anything if the background music is awful so I can sympathise. I worked at the Pinnacle Records distribution factory after leving uni in 1996. They had Virgin Radio on the speakers. The same 10 dad songs, in the same order, every hour. With mostly the same ads in the middle. I didn't so much mind getting up at 5am and coaxing my 20 year old Cavalier into life in the frost, or the mindlessness of the work, or the terrible pay but that playlist made me want to burn the place down. Rotterdam, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Peaches (not the Stranglers), You're Gorgeous, Everything Must Go were definitely in there and I hate them all with a passion. Luckily I got another job after about a month so I avoided permanent brain damage. 

[Cosmo Valdemar]

10 hours ago, diskwave said:

A trip to my local Co-op for all the cheap out of date stuff is planned like a military excercise because if I spend more than 5 mins in there I could possibly explode thanks to a brain numbing faux soft rap, droney noise being pumped outta the ceiling. What is that? is it the kids latest thing? Jeez, no wonder the old pop charts aint going away.  'Rap'.. has a lot to answer for imo.

Have you tried Tesco?

[Grooverjr]

10 minutes ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

Have you tried Tesco?

For the supermarket or for the German industrial niose? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesco_Organisation

[Raymondo]

Remember the song "How Long" by Ace? 

Part of the lyrics went "how long has this been going on?"

The answer was at least an hour and 30 minutes; At least it was when my ex-wife and I went for a meal at a local pub/restaurant around twenty years ago.

 

The song was playing when we walked in and it was only after we had chatted for a while, received our drinks, and was tucking into our food, that I suddenly realised that the playback was stuck in a loop...it kept replaying the line "how long has this been going on" with exactly the right amount of music fill to start again with the line how long etc

I called the waitress over and pointed this out to her and she said that she blanked out the background music and hadn't noticed. She said she that she would get someone to "sort it."

My wife and I finished our meal, including a sweet ( I had talked to the waitress whilst we were on our main course), had more drinks all the while giggling away at how the line just kept repeating and repeating.

When we left it was still playing!

[mike f]

On a positive note I’ve heard Captain Beefheart’s Too Much Time being played at my local Morrisons (other supermarkets are available). To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. 

[Leonard Smalls]

There used to be an antique shop in Beddgelert that became an excellent restaurant at night.... It took me ages to work out that they were playing 70s rock really quietly - just enough to dispel any silence but only just enough to hear.

I remember congratulating the Canadian owner on not piping in the usual MoR cack. He came back a bit later to ask us what we'd like for pud, then he said "and would you like to hear anything in particular with it?". And sure enough, when he came in with our chocolate Vesuvius AC/DC's "If You Want Blood" followed him.

[jonno1981]

Consider that everytime you hear one of these oft-repeated ear worms that someone out there is earning something from it! Maybe it’s a new genre, Tesco sh*te. Wish I’d written one of them! 

Edited October 10 by jonno1981

[casapete]

Strangely enough our local Morrisons plays pretty good stuff - plenty of not too obvious

pop / soul / rock from recent and not so recent times. Those songs that get you wondering

who did them whilst perusing the fruit and veg aisle…..😁

[diskwave]

14 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

Have you tried Tesco?

Yes the Express on the corner. Seems the staff play what they like cause when staff over 30 are on the till its all 70's pop chart (hooray!) But in the evenings theres more of the droney dross. Had no idea they could play what they like. 

[Misdee]

On 08/10/2024 at 14:36, Leonard Smalls said:

In our shop I made the playlist - we're currently at 1600 songs (my Mrs took some off!). And now playing is Requiem off the Killing Joke in Dub album, next up is Brother Jack by Jack McDuff... Eclectic and no Wetwetwet... 

What kind of shop plays Killing Joke(in dub)? What are you selling, methadone? Bondage equipment? 

Edited October 10 by Misdee

[Leonard Smalls]

12 minutes ago, Misdee said:

What kind of shop plays Killing Joke(in dub)

A Lovely Things shop... We sell houseplants, some perennials and bedding plants, pots, gifts, cards, dogging equipment (😁), mats, gloves and much more. There's a chemist a few doors down that has the methadone angle covered, though I suppose a kong dog toy and leash could be used for something other than its intended purpose!

Currently playing is MC Solaar, with "Money" by Willie Hutch up next.

[prowla]

A couple of years back I went to Guitar Guitar in Epsom; whilst walking back through the town I started humming along with the music they were playing in the shopping centre and then realised it was Dio!

Nice one folks!

[northstreet]

A couple of years ago I was on a Jet2 flight that got stuck at the gate for some reason after everyone had boarded. They played some music over the intercom to help us 'relax' while they sorted out the problem. Trouble was, every fourth song was theI Jess Glynne song that Jet2 use in their adverts. After an hour or so of that I never want to hear that b*****y song again!

[SimonK]

I don't whether it's about being a musician, but I automatically notice any background music, and indeed if it is irritating I really struggle to concentrate - my wife can't understand why the wrong background music is strong grounds to leave a shop/shopping centre ASAP!

 

I think the same sensitivity accounts for being unable to listen to music when I am working. I have one playlist of really soothing classical music that I can sometimes put on in the background, but even with that I frequently turn it off as being too distracting!