There was this boyband in the 90s that was big in Central Europe for a couple of years, Caught in the Act. I was obsessed (yes yes, I now realise that they were mid at best and created to rid teen girls like me of their pocket money). I was also aware that eventually they tried to enter other markets like Southeast and East Asia but they disbanded in 98 so I don’t think they were very successful over there (I’d already stopped listening, so I wasn’t too bothered lol).
So imagine my surprise when 15 years later I was standing in a department store in Japan, desperately looking for shoes that fit my huge Western feet, when, after an hour of unremarkable background music, they started playing You Know by Caught in the Act, a song I had listened to on repeat in the 90s. Note that Japan has its own big music industry with Western music in general playing a smaller role than one might think, so nothing prepared me for a random song from an obscure band from back home, never mind my early teen obsession. It was incredibly surreal, made more surreal by the fact that of course nobody around me reacted in any way.
Didn’t find shoes by the way, had to walk around in fur-lined boots the rest of the summer.
I’m sorry you had to wear the boots with the fur! Hopefully you at least enjoyed your apple bottom jeans.
Japan wouldn’t be the same if I’d worn those lol.
Well, I’m glad you at least clearly have a good attitude about the memory.
A few years back, I ordered Chelsea Blundstones, which I’d never worn before. There was no practical reason for me to have them, I just thought they looked cool on a TV character. Shortly after ordering them, I broke my ankle. Badly. The boots arrived two days after I got back from the hospital and obviously weren’t going to work for me any time soon, so I set them aside and almost immediately completely forgot about them.
Four years later - this last winter - I was looking for my Wolverine boots that I’ve been using during previous winters. I still can’t find them and my wife has no idea what I’m talking about when I ask her, so I guess they’re gone forever. However, I did find the Blundstones. They had a nice thick sole with deep tread, so I figured they’d be satisfactory winter boots, at least to make it between my door, my car, the door where I was going, and back again. I found them a bit challenging to put on due to lingering ankle issues, but otherwise quite enjoyed them - enough so that I promptly ordered my wife a pair.
However, besides the predictable style differences, my wife is a chronically cold person, so I ordered her a pair that were fur lined. I figured she was more likely to wear them in the fall and winter anyway.
To my delight, not only did she like them, not only was she pleased by the fur lining, but said lining is actually removable! As predicted, since our winter recently ended, she’s not wearing the boots as often; but when she does, her feet are still a comfortable temperature, or so I’m told. All that said, I can’t say how well the style would fit in in Japan.
On a barely related note, while I generally don’t go in for things I discover through YouTube ads, I will say that if you are recovering from a broken ankle (or if you have trouble bending over due to a probably related back injury) Kiziks are fantastically accommodating.
edit: I told my wife that I told this story here and she reminded me that only the soles, not the entire lining, were furred and replaceable. That makes this a bit less relevant, but hopefully no less enjoyable.
A few months ago, I walked into the grocery store and Dio’s Holy Diver was playing. 40+ years on, the music and content are pretty tame, but it was still a surprise. I don’t think RJD ever figured in that happening.
Numb by Linkin Park. Just not a song one would expect to follow Let It Go from Frozen in December.
It was a Burlington Coat Factory, but Goodbye Horses was a little off putting.
Excuse me, do y’all have plus sizes? This coat, as you can see, is for a great big fat person.
Once the manager changed the radio station at work and tuned in to some international songs online station. Most songs I didn’t know or understand.
But suddenly this very Latino sounding song came over, it was in Spanish, and the lyrics were hilarious. The chorus would loudly repeat “I GOT NO MONEY, I GOT NO MONEY” ( no tengo dinero ) or something along those lines. The whole song ranted in a very upbeat way about how one can’t afford to live nowadays.
It was brilliant, and the last thing I ever expected to hear playing at a retail store.
Marry on a cross by Ghost.
It’s not like they’re a particular wild band, and we’re not a very christian country, but I really didn’t expect a band like that to chime through the local mall.
With ghost you really gotta listen to the lyrics with intent or you’ll think it’s about something else. I convinced my buddy who’s in the freemasons that that’s what square hammer was about. Never noticed all the Satan talk.
Mario world 1 theme, in some random small town in southern China.
It was a department store rather than a supermarket, but I once heard a song by The Rural Alberta Advantage in Japan, like 17 years ago. I was so shocked.
Been caught stealing by Janes addiction
Maximum the Hormone in a ramen restaurant in France. This one
One time I walked into a 24/7 grocery store at night and an employee was at the tail end of an argument with someone who was walking out the door.
The guy walking out the door said something rude like “alright well you can go fuck yourself” and the employee yelled out after him, right as I walked in “Yeah!? well at least I have a HOME!”
I thought to myself that no matter how shitty the homeless guy was being, you should never yell that at anyone because of the chance that a bystander like me will wander into earshot and hear only that one single line and never forget it for the rest of my life.
Oh crap that’s not a song.
Was that the instrumental muzak version?
I don’t mind it.
I walked into a grocery store in Reno, NV one day and they were playing opera music by Wagner
Weird Science by Oingo Boingo, in the middle of a grocery store i worked at for several years and had never (not ONCE) heard any variation in the music playlist.
Death or glory by the clash (the social distortion cover is the one I heard). It was kind of fun to hear them fail to edit “he who fucks nuns, will later join the church”.
