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Muzak

vchimpanzee said:
I keep thinking I'll remember songs or lyrics I hear.

Anyway, these are from the past two weeks.

Two weeks ago:

"Ain't Nobody" by Chaka Khan
"You Can't Hurry Love" Phil Collins
"Just the Way You Are" (not the Billy Joel song)
Lyrics: What I am repeated over and over with a lot of annoying noises, "that's my dog" or "says my dog"

This past weekend:

"You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates

Female vocalist--I do I do I do lyrics at the very end (no, it was not ABBA)

There was a really wild song which I think I posted lyrics from before bt didn't see them today. I'll try again.

"Just the Way You Are" is by Bruno Mars, a 2010 hit song.

Sounds like FM-1 for sure. I hear these as well. Lately, been hearing some Chicago songs, such as "Beginnings" "Saturday in the Park" and "You're the Inspiration".
 
"Lyrics: What I am repeated over and over with a lot of annoying noises, 'that's my dog' or 'says my dog'"

Probably "The Comeback Kid/That's My Dog" by Brett Dannen, a recent (last couple years or so) addition on FM1. Very annoying cut, as are most of his cuts in general.

@oldies76--
None of the songs you mentioned a couple posts ago are in the least bit "recent adds" to the Foreground Music 1 library. They have all been in frequent rotation on that stream/programme for many years. In fact, this link might give you an idea: http://12.19.54.83/wpn/030.html

(Transcript as of 2350'20 GMT 2012 Mar 20 follows [oblique type added]:)
Now on FM-1
I'm Like A Bird, by Nelly Furtado

The last ten songs on FM-1
Big Girls Don't Cry, by Fergie
The Things We Do For Love, by 10cc
Candy Everybody Wants, by 10,000 Maniacs
The First Cut Is the Deepest, by Sheryl Crow
I Miss You, by Court Yard Hounds
Never As Good As The First Time, by Sade
Come With Me, by Donavon Frankenreiter
On And On, by Stephen Bishop
Passionate Kisses, by Mary Chapin Carpenter
What's So Bad (About Feeling Good)?, by Ben Lee
 
Darth_vader said:
@oldies76--
None of the songs you mentioned a couple posts ago are in the least bit "recent adds" to the Foreground Music 1 library. They have all been in frequent rotation on that stream/programme for many years.

Our store has been playing the FM-1 channel for over 10 years now and I have never heard any Al Stewart songs played, until this year. Same goes for 10CC "Things We Do For Love", just added or re-added this year.

Muzak will take out songs that have been played for many years and replace them with others that have not been heard in a long time. A good example is "More Than Words" by Extreme, which is no longer heard.

But other songs have endured the entire 10-year run, such as KD Lang music (Miss Chadelane & Summerfling)
 
I have a couple FM1 tapes from 2006 that have 'Year of the Cat" and "Time Passages" on them. They were recorded off the DVBS stream.

Does your store use the satellite feed or CD?

Even on the old CD-I discs from around that same time, it sometimes seemed like they were two different programmes. The satellite FM1, at that time, tended to be more oldies-driven, whilst the CD-I FM1 was more currents-driven like it is now. These days, I think the Encompass DVD-ROM distro pretty much mirrors what you'd hear on the bird. Remember, at that time Muzak were under different ownership and in all likelihood had different programmers than today.

(For the record, I heard "More than Words" at the credit union yesterday. Well-known FM1 users.)
 
Darth_vader said:
Does your store use the satellite feed or CD?

Satellite feed.

Interesting about Al Stewart in '06....can't recall hearing any then....Are there different types of FM-1 streams, or just one?
 
Just the one, that I've always been aware of.

They do have at least a couple other streams that kind of sound similar, specifically "7890" and "Adult Contemporary" (a.k.a. "Cashmere") but these aren't to be confused with FM1 proper. I think Muzak actually derive those streams' playlists from the master FM1 library (since FM1 is considered one of their "core" programmes/libraries.)
 
oldies76 said:
"Just the Way You Are" is by Bruno Mars, a 2010 hit song.

Sounds like FM-1 for sure. I hear these as well. Lately, been hearing some Chicago songs, such as "Beginnings" "Saturday in the Park" and "You're the Inspiration".
I had read about that song.

I thought I made a list of what I heard this past Saturday. Now I can't remember the songs I know which I heard.

One of my previous lists should have had "End of the Innocence" by Don Henley.
 
I found last week's list. I only found two songs listed. "Low Down" by Boz Scaggs was one.

The other had the words "count on me" and reminded me of Peter Frampton and Meat Loaf.
 
oldies76 said:
vchimpanzee said:
The other had the words "count on me" and reminded me of Peter Frampton and Meat Loaf.

Jefferson Starship
I'll check on that.

Sears and JCPenney, whose music sources I don't know, seem to have switched places. Sears was all AC after having been offering a variety of music. I walked in Penney's and heard something soft. As I was paying for some shirts that were amazingly cheap, I heard "Fever" by Peggy Lee". Then they switched to their normal hot AC on the next song.
 
Yup, if it's the same cut I'm thinking of, it's Jefferson Starship. They run it at least once a day on Foreground 1.

Hear: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NwCnLpELi_M (hint: the sound's kind of tinny. Best not to play it with your treble control set wide open.)

J.C. Penney is a known Muzak user. Some of the stores actually receive a custom programme (probably for the Encompass XD on DVD-ROM disc) of music styles specified by corporate suits at JCP (that process is a whole thread unto itself) instead of the standard FM1, but not all do. For example, the store at Vancouver Mall uses the custom disc, whilst the new store on NE 192nd and Mill Plain uses the FM1, Expressions or one of the classical sat feeds (depends on who the MOD is on a particular day, I suppose); both properties also have one of the obnoxious modern pop/rock programmes blaring at nearly full volume in the young men's and junior's departments (a technique known as "zoning".) Your mention of Peggy Lee going into a Hot AC cut suggests your store must have the custom programme.

If I remember correctly Sears uses Trusonic (one of the bigger independent Muzak-alikes) but don't quote me on it.

[size=8pt]1400 posts. Boy, I'm getting old. 600 more to go...
 
Darth_vader said:
Your mention of Peggy Lee going into a Hot AC cut suggests your store must have the custom programme.
I said hot AC, but given the arguments on this board, it's probably mainstream. But it's nothing like FM1.

"Tender Is the Night" was playing in a Rose's, which is sort of like KMart used to be. It's amazing how soft that is all these years later.
 
Yeah. Even still, Peggy Lee at J.C. Penney's suggests they must have the custom CD. Probably the only time I/'ve ever hear/d her on the FM1 feed is around Christmas time (you know, I like a Sleigh Ride...I like a Sleigh Ride...I like a Sleigh Ride...I like a Sleigh Ride...I like a Sleigh Ride...I like a Sleigh Ride...I like a Sleigh Ride...I like a Sleigh Ride................)

Unless they're playing something like "Upbeat Reflections" which follows a format sort of to that effect, but I really doubt it.

[size=8pt]CLARIFICATION: Trusonic were one of the bigger independent Muzak-or DMX-alikes until about the mid-2000s, when it was bought up by none other tham Mood Media.....yes, the same company that also swallowed up Muzak in recent history. Not as much penetration as AEI had in their heyday, but still quite a sizeable market.
 
This past weekend I heard a whiny female sing "Kiss on My List". This concerns me since Norah Jones has that style of voice. I heard her do "Don't Know Why" on my favorite pop station, which is not AC, this morning, and still wonder why I heard it on a mainstream AC years ago which sounded like so-called "Lite" stations do now. But that same station I listen to plays something AC-sounding by her. Surely they wouldn't ...

But it turns out someone called The Bird and the Bee has recorded it. So that must have been who it was.
 
Most likely. Bird & the Bee get quite a bit of play on FM1, Adult Contemporary/Cashmere and probably a couple others. Can't remember the title of the record, but it consisted solely of Hall & Oates covers. Think it was called "Playing the Favourites" or something like that. Came out a few years ago. (They don't sound at ALL like Norah Jones! Not to my tin eardrums, anyways.)

Actually not half-bad, considering some of the stuff I've been hearing lately. Beats having to sit through yet another Adelle or Brett Dannen whine-fest, or another round of Natalie Merchant's "the world would be upside down" thing, fer shur.

Did it have an "electronic pop"-sounding instrumentation backing it? That's almost certain to be Bird & Bee.
 
I left out these songs that played in my grocery store on two different weeks.

"All I Need Is a Miracle" and "End of the Innocence".

Sears last week had "Respect" along with Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" and one of Rod Stewart's songs from years ago.

My grocery store played "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of", "Standing Still" and "An Innocent Man". At least those are the ones I recognized.
 
vchimpanzee said:
I left out these songs that played in my grocery store on two different weeks.

"All I Need Is a Miracle" and "End of the Innocence".

Sears last week had "Respect" along with Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" and one of Rod Stewart's songs from years ago.

My grocery store played "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of", "Standing Still" and "An Innocent Man". At least those are the ones I recognized.

I like Muzak for the "oh wow" factor. None of those songs have it for me, especially the first 4 that you mentioned.
 
I read somewhere that in the 70s, Muzak hired a Czech orchestra to record their music as a money saving gesture. The music was so bad that many businesses dropped their Muzak service.

And I have to agree with several posts: the Muzak has been good of late and they played songs I haven't heard in years.
 
I wasn't in my usual store very long due to not having paper bags. I'm waiting to buy a lot of stuff until I find a store with paper bags as I find them useful. Boxes won't do except for the absolutely essential stuff and I refuse plastic when there are alternatives.

Hopefully my store will have its little problem with the paper bag supplier fixed next Saturday.

I only heard one song with any characteristics I could list here.

A female vocalist signing "Eee-eee-eee-eee".
 
@rnigma--

That was the Brno Radio Orchestra, based in Prague. It is related to the present-day Brno Philharmonic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brno_Philharmonic_Orchestra ) and *might* also be connected with the Brno Radio Pops Orchestra as well, but I'm not entirely certain of that. Muzak used them mostly during the Warner Communications and TelePrompTer eras of the 1970s; during the latter era and into the Westinghouse/Group W period of the 80s they contracted with other international orchestras as well.

Some of it isn't half-bad, actually, at least I don't think so. You can hear many examples of it on Muzak's later LPs from around the mid-70s to the 80s.
 
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