Supermarkets in Popular Music
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Supermarkets in Popular Music
I somehow doubt that there are quite as many references to supermarkets in popular music as there are in the movies and television, but I thought it might make for an interesting topic.
I'll start off with "Billy the Mountain" by The Mothers of Invention ("Just Another Band from L.A.", recorded live at Pauley Pavilion, released 1972). There are several references to markets - Ralphs on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, and notably Ralphs on Sunset (where Studebacher Hoch buys "some Aunt Jemima syrup, some Kaiser broiler foil and a pair of blunt scissors"). There's also a reference to "Boney's Market" which some say was in Ontario, CA and others say was in Studio City (as "Boni's Market").
Interestingly, The Mothers changed the supermaket references depending on where they were playing - they used Gristedes in New York, A&P in Boston and Toronto, Safeway in Chicago and Kansas City, etc. A website showing differences in the song lyrics by performance location is here:
http://members.shaw.ca/fz-pomd/vaudeville/btm.html, and the song has it's own Wikipedia article as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_the_Mountain
Anyone have other songs?
I'll start off with "Billy the Mountain" by The Mothers of Invention ("Just Another Band from L.A.", recorded live at Pauley Pavilion, released 1972). There are several references to markets - Ralphs on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, and notably Ralphs on Sunset (where Studebacher Hoch buys "some Aunt Jemima syrup, some Kaiser broiler foil and a pair of blunt scissors"). There's also a reference to "Boney's Market" which some say was in Ontario, CA and others say was in Studio City (as "Boni's Market").
Interestingly, The Mothers changed the supermaket references depending on where they were playing - they used Gristedes in New York, A&P in Boston and Toronto, Safeway in Chicago and Kansas City, etc. A website showing differences in the song lyrics by performance location is here:
http://members.shaw.ca/fz-pomd/vaudeville/btm.html, and the song has it's own Wikipedia article as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_the_Mountain
Anyone have other songs?
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- runchadrun
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Re: Supermarkets in Popular Music
I wonder which Ralphs on Laurel Canyon they are talking about. The Vons at Laurel Canyon and Ventura is a former Ralphs, but was a Food Giant/Smith's Food King in the 1970s. The one at Valley Plaza is a former McDaniels/Hughes. There's another one way up in Sun Valley but it wasn't built until 1980.Dave wrote:I'll start off with "Billy the Mountain" by The Mothers of Invention ("Just Another Band from L.A.", recorded live at Pauley Pavilion, released 1972). There are several references to markets - Ralphs on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, and notably Ralphs on Sunset (where Studebacher Hoch buys "some Aunt Jemima syrup, some Kaiser broiler foil and a pair of blunt scissors").
The one on Sunset is no doubt the Rock n Roll Ralphs, which was torn down and rebuilt 10 years ago or so.
As for songs, there's "Lost in the Supermarket" by The Clash, recently covered by Ben Folds, but it doesn't mention any stores. And there's "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses with the line "A&P has provided me with the world's smallest turkey."
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I completely forgot about this song until it just came up in my iTunes library. Glen Phillips, the lead singer from Toad the Wet Sprocket, had a solo album called Abulum with a song called Fred Meyers, though it seems to be about a local mom and pop store instead of the chain of (almost) the same name. You can find the lyrics at http://www.endor.org/glen/lyrics.asp?Su ... &SongID=56
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Supermarket reference
From "The Beat Goes On" by Sonny & Cher:
"The grocery store's a super-mart, uh-huh..."
"The grocery store's a super-mart, uh-huh..."
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Re: Supermarkets in Popular Music
There's this from the Wings song "Junior's Farm":
"I took my bag into a grocer's store/the price is higher than the time before/old man asked me why is it more"
Also, a punk band from New Jersey called Adrenalin O.D. put out a song in 1988 called "My Mother Can't Drive" which had a lyric about the title mom recklessly racing to Shop RIte on double coupon day. The song is on YouTube.
"I took my bag into a grocer's store/the price is higher than the time before/old man asked me why is it more"
Also, a punk band from New Jersey called Adrenalin O.D. put out a song in 1988 called "My Mother Can't Drive" which had a lyric about the title mom recklessly racing to Shop RIte on double coupon day. The song is on YouTube.
Re: Supermarkets in Popular Music
Walmart is mentioned in a number of country songs, although not always in the grocery aspect.
- rudyvalencia
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Re: Supermarkets in Popular Music
There's always Ray Stevens' The Streak. He mentioned that the streaker running around was at the supermarket first.
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Re: Supermarkets in Popular Music
The Dead Kennedys song "Night of the LIving Rednecks" mentions Fred Meyer.
Re: Supermarkets in Popular Music
Two 1990s mentions of Safeway:
"Uh, Zoom Zip" by Soul Coughing (Ruby Vroom album, 1994) includes the line, repeated several times, "Recombination, then Viacom, Safeway." (It's a mondegreen version of a line from a different song, "Jazz (We've Got)" by A Tribe Called Quest, which is "Competition dem try fe come sideway/But competition dey must come straightway")
"In Every Place" by Nick Heyward (The Apple Bed, 1998) -- "You're like a Safeway's new price/You're Mister Ever-So-Nice"
"Uh, Zoom Zip" by Soul Coughing (Ruby Vroom album, 1994) includes the line, repeated several times, "Recombination, then Viacom, Safeway." (It's a mondegreen version of a line from a different song, "Jazz (We've Got)" by A Tribe Called Quest, which is "Competition dem try fe come sideway/But competition dey must come straightway")
"In Every Place" by Nick Heyward (The Apple Bed, 1998) -- "You're like a Safeway's new price/You're Mister Ever-So-Nice"