An occasional feature in which we mark the songs of our relative youth as played over public muzak systems and beyond.
It's been quite a month of reminders that my generation is having its moment in the sun when it comes to easy listening offerings at grocery stores, banks and post offices. It started in early November during an early Sunday stroll through the produce section at Trader Joe's, kicked off by the enigmatic Morrissey at the height of his powers and followed by a couple of '80s college-radio staples.
The first batch:
Date: 8 November 2020, 8:20 a.m.
Place: Trader Joe's
Song/Artist: "Tomorrow" by Morrissey
Song/Artist: "Mexican Radio" Wall of Voodoo
Song/Artist: "Making Plans for Nigel" XTC
Irony Matrix: 3.8 out of 10
Comment: Once again, I find myself performing my consumerist chores before the sun is warm on a Sunday morning. What an '80/early '90s block party that was spun by the virtual DJs who run Trader Joe's marketing division. I imagine Morrissey has endured into the generation of millennial emo hipsters, but Wall of Voodoo and XTC are almost certainly as much a mystery to that cohort as they are to the Boomers and above. This triptych put me in a chipper mood, and I probably bought a few more unnecessary staples than I had intended to when I walked through the door and picked out a $3.99 bouquet of flowers. Mission accomplished, corporate America!
Next:
Date: 12 November 2020, 11:20 a.m.
Place: First Financial Credit Union
Song: "Last Nite"
Artist: The Strokes
Irony Matrix: 4.3 out of 10
Comment: The homeowners insurance on our rental property did not get fully paid by our credit union that holds the mortgage -- zoot, alors! First-world problems, don't'cha know. While we were waiting in the lobby area for Daisy to come down and get to the bottom of it, the sound system pulsed with this turn-of-the-millennial alternative juggernaut. The Strokes appeared on "Saturday Night Live" recently (we are just so in the pocket these days), and the boys seemed a bit bored and low-energy (though they've mostly kept their hair). But on the stereo speakers of Albuquerque's downtown community financial institution, it was the end of the Clinton era all over again. Hey, Daisy, better have IT check for those Y2K bugs!
And, finally:
Date: 28 November 2020, 11:12 a.m.
Place: U.S. Post Office (Airport)
Song: "Whip It"
Artist: Devo
Irony Matrix: 4.7 out of 10
Comment: I received a certified letter in my capacity of president of the Silver Hill Neighborhood Association (how much adulting can a grown man stand in the same month?), and to pick it up I had to visit the airport post office. After standing in line in the exterior lobby and inching forward over the course of about 10 minutes, I finally gained entry to the enclosed window area. As I handed by ticket to the honorable public servant, I noticed this Devo hit at an appreciable volume emanating from the sound system. Now, there was a time 40 years ago, at a similar turn of a decade, when the very idea of Devo was so revolutionary that the band's music could create a spontaneous combustion of an oil fire in Ronald Reagan's hair. Even for us late-teen self-identified punk-adjacent wannabe hipsters, Devo were fucking out there. Now, though, their big underground hit is a beloved mainstay of classic-rock radio rotations. Such radical progress we have achieved in these past four decades.
And, now, on with the countdown:
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