(Record) Needle and the Damage Done

Ate with friends at Alice's Arbor for brunch on Saturday.  The place was airy and had a great vibe, it was a really good time.  Food was super tasty and it looked like the bloody Mary's were good.  The coffee was refilled and overall, very enjoyable experience.  One complaint.  The music.

I'm sitting here talking and I can't even think because I'm listening to freakin' Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time.  Now I'm pretty easy, even with cheesy music.  As a matter of fact this song makes me laugh because my pal KK used to do a spot on impersonation of her, hair flinging, arms flailing and all.  Plus I've had several chats about this particular time in Cher's career and life.  There is a time and a place.  I'm paying to be sitting here and the last thing I want to hear is Genesis or Phil Collins.  I work at a place where I must endure bad pop music for hours. Not just hear it but hear it over and over and OVER until I know all the lyrics and sometimes even find myself muttering the words like a babbling fool.  But when you hear truly great music, like this week I've been on a Dwight Yoakam marathon, you feel so pulled into a pure area of your own self.  Dwight Yoakam's version of Buck Owen's 'Only You'!  Shut the front door!  A moment of silence is required even to talk about that song. This music tells me that I am living in the right world.  A world I believe exists somewhere out there and where I cry and my heart aches with those songs and lyrics.  We even discussed this at the table, how these imposed soundtracks affect us and maybe some more than others.  I get so angry at times, feeling spiritually raped by the bad sounds of the 90s at work or in the drugstore or the grocery store or on the street.  I feel it's a form of torture to be forced to put bad sounds into your core.  They may find one day that Glen Frey's 'The Heat Is On' causes cancer.  It feels like someone is pumping hard plastics and harsh neon colors into my psyche. And if those artists are getting cents for each play at all these establishments, then I too should be compensated for the potential damage done.  It's a damn shame that at this breezy well thought out breakfast spot someone doesn't know the power of music.