Ordinarily, I would have not bothered to share this with the blog, but the comments regarding my previous post about public philosophy have me positively giddy. It's amazing how much people can claim to confidently discern about my character from a 75 word blog post! Anyway:
I was in Whole Foods last night, looking for a flithy hippy to date, and, when I walked in, the in-store radio was playing "Rainbow in the Dark" by Dio. As a lover of all things metal (except the music), I found this completely horrifying: the music with none of the awesomely diluting accoutrements. The Dio song was followed up by a Nick Drake song (fittingly hippy), and then-- get this-- "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell. It was like an entire weekend of VH-1, all wrapped up into a convenient 10 minute bite. Who says Whole Foods isn't a manipulative, demographics-driven, corporate Behemoth?
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21 comments:
Spiros,
It's not that we know your soul from that post, it's that we know your soul because you shop at Whole Foods (or at least date hippies that shop there).
Krinos:
Correction: I date only filthy hippies. So there.
Too bad they didn't play some Toad the Wet Sprocket. That certainly would lend support to your view. As it stands, I think you are a Live song here and a Toad song there shy of VH1 afternoon.
I wish I were there...at least to enjoy the tunes. If only Alice Cooper followed Soft Cell...
The "Big Organic" chapter of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma takes the shine off Whole Foods et al.
As for Soft Cell, a friend and I sometimes play a game in which one presents the other with a choice between two bands; the idea is to force the other to choose to keep a band they hate or jettison one they love. (Why it's fun to make a friend squirm is another matter altogether.)
So, I put it to you, Spiros: Soft Cell or Flock of Seagulls?
So I was driving down I-81 through Virginia over the weekend, and the Taco Bell I stopped in to pee and get some snax was playing Pump It Up. That's Elvis Costello Pump It Up. Followed by The Guess Who. Followed by some bouncy 60s pop thing. Followed by a good Beastie Boys song whose name escapes me right now. Followed by Journey.
Double you tee eff is up with that, Yum! Brands corporate branding executives?
Flock of Seagulls.
Quiet Riot or Ratt?
Red Sox and Philosophy or a punch in the face?
Ratt!
So, I asked a Whole Foods cashier: Do you think Whole Foods is a manipulative, demographics-driven, corporate Behemoth?
Cashier: Absolutely--and more so everyday. All that kumbaya stuff was over a long time ago.
Me: That's been my impression. So, I take it they're not paying and treating you that well.
Cashier: Oh, they pay us pretty well, but there's a difference between being paid well and being treated well.
Me: That's true. Can't you get in trouble for saying all this to me?
Cashier: Nah, don't worry about it. It's not like it's some big secret that Whole Foods is a huge corporation.
Me: What if I'm a corporate spy?
Cashier: (facetiously) Oh--you got me! Please, please, don't fire me for my corporate disloyalty! I promise to be a good little worker from now on! I swear! (back to normal) Actually, they wouldn't care.
Me: Really?
Cashier: Nah, it's not like you're not going to come back to Whole Foods anymore because I told you it's a huge corporation.
Me. That's true. Well, thanks for talking to me about this stuff.
Cashier: It's called customer service. (smiles)
HA! 729, you must have a way with the hippies. Me, they can't stop rolling their eyes when I ask them where I can find cashews!
I saw Ratt live in 1985.
Don't ask...
They were absolute shite.
I also saw Jesus Jones. So there.
Spiros!
I can hear it now:
Out on the streets, that's where we'll meet/You make the night, I always cross the line/Tightened our belts, abuse ourselves/Get in our way, we'll put you on your shelf
Classic!
In 1985, I was still a punk rock guy, but I'd lost my straight edge by then. In fact, 1985 is the year I discovered girls and drugs. I remember seeing PIL around then (sucked!), Suicidal Tendencies (ok), the Vandals (fun), Social Distortion (still good, at that point), Samhain (good show), MIA (awesome), and some others. 1982-85: a good couple of years.
A few years later, though, and I'd have probably gone to a Ratt show. Not exactly my thing, even then, but some of those guys were pretty good on guitar.
Round and round/with love we'll find a way, just give it time
Ha!
Imipolex_g-unit: is Billy Joel the puncher?
Randy:
I can't say why I was at a Ratt show. At the time (and I was pretty young then), my favs were post-Clash bands like The Alarm ("The Clash for dummies") and U2 (didn't suck yet), and Talking Heads (awesome always).
Come to think of it, I've seen a lot of crap bands that I didn't even like at the time I saw them. Another example that comes to mind is New Order in 1986 with Echo and the Bunnymen and Gene Loves Jezebel. Yawnfest.
Randy: No, Steven Segal.
Imipolex_g-unit: punch. But he can't wrap that chain around his fist.
Spiros: sounds like how I ended up at a Deep Purple/Bad Company concert. No, I'm not that old. These were later incarnations of the bands. My god, that was dull. Four hours of blah! It's also how I ended up at my one (and only) Dead show. At least that had a 24-hour hippy swapmeet in the parking lot.
Dinner with Hume or Mill?
Dinner with Hume. You know... he gave Rousseau the choice between getting out of his house or a punch in the face! He probably should have given him both.
True! You know, An Enquiry Concerning Badassery, General and Specific is really quite good. I recommend Chapter 4, "Of Naked Rear Chokes, and Other Methodes of Submission." This has proved helpful in many department meetings.
Hume or Mill??? Tough one. At least with Hume you know there will be drinks and backgammon... but then again Mill was all into that "experimentation" stuff, so it could get pretty wild either way....
Good stuff.
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