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Muzak Rant......

batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
edited September 2011 in Strut Central
I went into the Container Store recently and i heard some Taylor Dane shit.
Maybe i was grumpy or didnt have my nicotine but i just could deal with this shit anymore.
I like Lite FM, Smooth Jazz, MOR, etc, like the next dude, but why havent stores/establishments evolved past this shit?
WTF?
I do recall in the 90s some spots trying to play Space Age Bachelor Pad type Electronica to seem more "Modern".
The Amercian Apparel in Columbus Cirlce does attempt to create a different atmosphere with an in house DJ which was halfway decent.
It just seems like the muzak theme is so last century and i would like to think that management would get beyond elevator music in 2012.

Not a big deal? Deal?

Blah Blah Blah......

  Comments

  • discos_almadiscos_alma discos_alma 2,164 Posts
    I had a similar experience today at the dentist. It was 80s / 90s smoov jazz all day, until a Sade track from her latest album came on, then went right back to 80s electric sax. It's like they are looking in all the same places, yet still attempting to update. The plus side was that I got to let my mind wander to images of Sade while my molars got scraped!
  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    batmon said:
    I went into the Container Store recently and i heard some Taylor Dane shit.
    Maybe i was grumpy or didnt have my nicotine but i just could deal with this shit anymore.
    I like Lite FM, Smooth Jazz, MOR, etc, like the next dude, but why havent stores/establishments evolved past this shit?

    They don't play this because they think you'll enjoy it, they play it so you'll buy stuff.

    Did you buy stuff?
  • TheKindCromangTheKindCromang 1,463 Posts
    A friend of mine is a professional chooser of music for stores. Chain stores like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware pay him big $ to "create the sound that tells the story" yadda yadda.

    If Container Store's got a person like that on their payroll, that is the person to blame
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    yeah i know the science of wallpaper music to not interfere with your shopping, but i wasnt browsing. i went in knowing what i want.

    i just feel like there is so much other "background" stuff that could be played.

    john varvatos plays rock since theyre in cbgb.

    abercrombie & fitch plays super fuckin loud trashclub shit.

    isnt fela the new bob marley?
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    TheKindCromang said:
    A friend of mine is a professional chooser of music for stores. Chain stores like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware pay him big $ to "create the sound that tells the story" yadda yadda.

    If Container Store's got a person like that on their payroll, that is the person to blame

    id really like to know the science here. why am i still hearing the same shit since the 70s/80s?

    yacht rock deep album cuts.....maybe?
    Soul jazz....coulda woulda shoulda?
    Petestrumentals?

    Shut up music geek and deal?

    Nu-Muzak!
  • TheKindCromangTheKindCromang 1,463 Posts
    The stuff my buddy ends up choosing is all current "indie-rock" type stuff that's all super bland and over-produced. Music played in stores has to be innocuous because it can't take precedent over the product, unless it IS the product! A store like Amoeba can play whatever they want because it's all for sale. For a while Urban Outfitters had CDs they were trying to sell and those were also what they played in the store. Starbucks too...

    You really should take a stab at creating Nu-Muzak though. Seems like a win/win genre.
  • jammyjammy remixing bongo rock... 813 Posts

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    TheKindCromang said:
    Music played in stores has to be innocuous because it can't take precedent over the product.

    I think this is the "old" thinking that could be remixed.
  • FrankFrank 2,370 Posts
    I can't stand being subjected to any type of backgroudn music. First thing I say when entering a cab is to please turn off the radio. I very rarely enter any store these days and order pretty much everything I need online. There are a lot of restaurants that I avoid because I can't stand the music they play in there. They call it music, I call it aural pollution.
  • speakmumblesspeakmumbles 447 Posts
    Unfortunately thats the least offensive music across the board in their eyes, so thats what they play to please everyone. Wear earbuds or hum and make your own shopping soundtrack.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    speakmumbles said:
    Unfortunately thats the least offensive music across the board in their eyes, so thats what they play to please everyone. Wear earbuds or hum and make your own shopping soundtrack.


    Why is it that they play loud music in Abercrombie & Fitch?

    Sarah
    Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

    To make it feel like a club. Seriously. The idea is to perpetuate a trendy vibe, and naturally in clubs people want to look as attractive as possible and part of that is wearing the most fashionable clothes you can find. For some people, such clothes are at Abercrombie.

    The kind of music is also a factor.

    Ever notice how in Mexican restaurants the beat is uptempo. It is to make you subconsciously eat faster so a new customer can have your table and there is a higher turnover rate which equals more money.

    In department stores and grocery stores, the music is soft and pleasing to the general public. Kind of like a soft rock thing and it is to make your mom browse longer and put more stuff in her cart while she's jammin' to Billy Ocean looking at fruit preserves.

    I want a documentary. Who plays what and why?
  • vintageinfantsvintageinfants 4,537 Posts
    id never actively pursue listening to 'easy lover' by phil collins, but it may be the best song to shimmy and squeeze an avocado to at the market. don't take that from me.
  • mrmatthewmrmatthew 1,575 Posts
    vintageinfants said:
    'easy lover' by phil collinsmay be the best song to squeeze an avocado to.

    Its more of a mellon thumper than an avo squeezer.
  • TheKindCromangTheKindCromang 1,463 Posts
    Someone should hi-jack the sound system at Albertsons. I hear Dubstep increases Frozen Food sales.

  • Hotsauce84Hotsauce84 8,450 Posts
    They should all play this:

  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,779 Posts
    Worst is when you go into drug stores and they have their own radio station.

    Like... "CVS Radio or Rite Aid FM"
  • mrmatthewmrmatthew 1,575 Posts
    http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/restaurants/the_chipotle_experience/the_chipotle_experience.aspx#

    Just opened thier player and its Fela!
  • PlantweedPlantweed 394 Posts
    Golds Gym Radio...perfect for your 16-year-old daughter; iPod mandatory for all adults.
  • Otis_FunkmeyerOtis_Funkmeyer 1,321 Posts
    mrmatthew said:

    Chipotle is where I discovered Orgone.
  • mumbosaucemumbosauce 480 Posts
    mrmatthew said:

    I effin hate chipotle but i went in therr onetime and for the 10 mins i was there i heard eddie bo and fela i was surprised
  • mrmatthewmrmatthew 1,575 Posts
    mumbosauce said:
    mrmatthew said:

    I effin hate chipotle but i went in therr onetime and for the 10 mins i was there i heard eddie bo and fela i was surprised

    Say what you will about them...but from store one (they started in my city) they have ALWAYS been into the music that they play in thier stores. 10 years ago it was Cibo Matto and Tom Waits and last week i heard LCD and Tom Ze in there.
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