SlowpokeBlog

As I lingered over the potato section in Giant last night, I was startled to hear the song "Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet playing over the store's in-house music system. I wasn't sure what to make of this. It felt strange to be rocking out to bubblegum glam right there in the produce section of a cavernous supermarket. And yet rock out I did. At least, until the song was interrupted by someone paging employee Brian over the intercom.

It occurred to me that Muzak has all but disappeared from the bland public spaces in which it used to be heard. I can't remember the last time I shopped to a schmaltzy canned violin. I guess marketing research found that people spend more when the music is somewhat groovable.