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Over the years, I've occasionally heard oddball Beach Boys songs played at shopping malls, restaurants, stores, etc.  But what happened today certainly takes the cake for me.   

I went to a local Walgreens today with my friend (for those non U.S. residents, that's a chain drug store we have here).  I was walking down the cold medication aisle, when I heard something very familiar playing over the closed circuit radio... "Shoot The Curl" by the Honeys!  I almost fell backwards and wiped out an entire display of antihistamines.

Speaking of this song, I've always wondered what the correct lyrics were.  What I hear is, "We're not being snobby, but we have to admit, the honeys' way of surfing is some terrible sh*t."  I'm sure those aren't the correct lyrics!  What are they?   ???

It does rhyme with admit......

I hear "the Honey's way of surfin' is the daring-est yet"

Clearly a reference to....Darian Sahanaja!!

I heard "Wipeout" at the local Radio Shack a few weeks back  ;D

Can't beat "Shoot The Curl" but I was just at a Weis market, getting some groceries, and heard "Your Imagination". I had to think for a second when I  heard those opening notes. That song's over ten years old already!

Your Imagination's not so surprising. That's on a lot of retail store Adult Contemporary background music playlists.

I think Gary Usher's 'Add Some Music' CD should play in every store. It is sooo soooothing...

(oh, and I still wonder whenever I hear an old Elvis Costello song in the local superstore. Strange: buying groceries whilst hearing 'Chelsea'... there was a time when this song could be found in the 'punk'-racks in my record shop. It was considered quite subversive and revolutionary. And how many people will know that 'Golden Brown' by the Stranglers (a muzak classic) actually is about the joys of heroin? Or, what Lou Reed's 'Walk On The Wild Side' is about?

On the other hand, Nick Lowe proved once and for all that you can use any lyric for a pop song with his 'Jesus Of Cool' LP. Lovely dance pop, about the decaying corpse of Marie Provost (being eaten by her own dogs); breaking glass; alligators doing their thang in the heart of the city; having been born a woman; and being 36" high. And, um, about the strange topic of love.)

I just walked into a Walgreens three nights ago and was greeted by "Shoot The Curl".

I can top allayas...

Some years ago in one of the local shops, they had a radio tuned to one of the local "music that won't offend your elderly relatives" kinds of radio stations.

I swear to God, I heard, from that radio: "Judy, Judy, Juuuudy boppa Judy...."

The woman behind the counter said that that station plays that song a lot for some reason...

"I just walked into a Walgreens three nights ago and was greeted by "Shoot The Curl"."


Sounds like somebody programmed that song onto their closed circuit radio, which is piped to all the Walgreens throughout the country.

I was shocked to hear 'I Get Around' on my local oldies radio station. Ok, maybe that is actually very common :P

I recently found a CD comp online that included this song.  Maybe the songs from that comp are part of the rotation.

While on the subject of obscure Beach Boys related music popping up unexpectedly... I swear I heard the intro (after all the drums) of Denny's Constant Companion at the start of a Billy Bragg boot once. I'll have to look it up.

Once at an airport I was at You're Welcome was looped to play over and over through the speakers. It must have played about ten min. Not kidding.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread (well, not really), but...my wife and I were at a used book store a week or so ago...and darned if we didn't hear "Only With You" and "Holy Man" from the POB reissue...

A few months back, I walked into the grocery store down the street (an independently owned one, not a major chain) only to nearly pass out when I realized what I was hearing: the Surf's Up version of Surf's Up. I've since heard plenty of other cool songs there, too. I think they must just let employees plug in their iPods or something.

Heard "Sail On Sailor" blasting at the Whole Foods across from my apartment. Thought that was pretty cool.

I recently heard Pray For Surf at Walgreens too. Must be a Honey's fan picking the music for the chain.

I heard Lady Lynda on the radio at my local children's hospital. It took me a while to recognise it, but I was sure I knew it from somewhere because it was so familiar.

But then I guess LL was a hit over here (UK), so it makes sense.

It was followed by Life in the Fast Lane by the Eagarse (Eagles).

As a former (very poorly treated) Walgreens employee, I can confirm that this is the case.

Was "Holy Man" vocal or instrumental?

I heard...wait for it...lets go away for awhile...at my supermarket once.  Very odd to hear it in public.  Your brain takes a few seconds to adjust.

At the local mega mall I heard "Add Some Music" and "This Whole World" about 8 minutes apart.

I will shop there more.  :afro

I've recently heard Surf's Up, Your Imagination and Pet Sounds at the grocery store.  I'm always taken aback by out of the way BB songs.

I've heard the MIU christmas version of Peggy Sue at the grocery store where I work quite a few times this past December.

This isn't the same thing, but I remember being at a record store years ago and they were playing some album I wasn't paying attention to.  All of a sudden something about it sounded vaguely familiar, and I realized it was the closing riff from FEEL FLOWS.  WTF?  I asked the guy at the counter who it was...it was a song from Madonna's RAY OF LIGHT album.  Whoever programmed the synths was obviously a hardcore Beach Boys fan.

I heard "It's Over Now" at an Olive Garden. Could not believe it.

One of my favorite experiences was hearing "Forever Changes" by Love from start to finish while I shopped at Borders.

What about Beach Boys muzak experiences? Anyone heard any bizarre muzak versions of their songs?

I've heard some pretty weird things on muzak at work, but none of them were BBs songs. Fortunately you can't hear the muzak in my area, but it's cranked up in the men's room. Twice I had to laugh out loud - first time was upon hearing Duran Duran's "The Reflex" with a sax playing the lead. The absolute worst/funniest, though, was hearing Jethro Tull's "Living in the Past" with a trombone sobbing out the melody.

I was in a restaraunt in the UK once and they were playing the BB '85 album. When I worked for the Bay they had a soft rock channel that played over the PA and I'd hear alot of Brian Wilson solo stuff.

... wat.

Frigging crazy x 9823981298521

I heard it ('Shoot the Curl') too, at Walgreens! I thought I was imagining it...I've never heard the Honeys being played in a public place before.
I heard 'Salt Lake City' like ten times over the station at work (in the lobby of a very nice hotel).

I don't think I've heard Salt Lake played anywhere before. Glad to see you back btw.

As the guy who started this thread a year and a half ago, I have to officially proclaim the person who heard"It's Over Now" at Olive Garden the winner.  WOW.   ;D

I second that!

I did a triple take while at a Value Village recentley when I heard Child of Winter over the P.A.

I've never heard any obscure Beach Boys songs anywhere I've been. I swear I'm not that much of a shut-in and that it's more likely that Halifax, NS is even too lame for the BBs! To say nothing of the left field gems like "It's Over Now" or "Child of Winter". Maybe some employees there were superfans!

I heard Good Vibrations over the radio of the orthodontist's office once. Might not be unusual if it wasn't the Light 102 Soft Rock station.

"Love & Mercy" on the radio maybe four weeks after it was released. So what ? So, it was in a drug store in Totnes, Devon, England.  ;D

"She's Going Bald", played at an HEB my family and I were shopping at. I about sh*t.

I heard "Little Girl I Once Knew" at The Dollar Store last week up in Reading, Pa.!!
Imagine hearing that one!!!!

Bri~

Our local grocery plays the Beach Boys Party version of "Papa Oom Mow Mow". Not quite shocking but still an odd choice.

I'd have to agree - not exactly uplifting/romantic dinner music now is it?

This Xmas season, I was surprised to hear "Santa's Beard" as often as "St. Nick," & "Toys."

I was stunned, however, 2 days ago when I walked into a Rite Aid & heard "Winter Symphony"!!  :o

Heard that one before :)

It actually didn't stand out at first glance--all the Sinatras and Dino's with lots of strings and orchestras and then a vaguely similar intro before Carl starts singing "The flame of love we had has finally died." I doubt the majority of the people there noticed anything awry, but I about lost it.

I was sitting in a barber shop getting my hair cut in New York when something about the song made me listen up, it sounded sort of familiar, and it was, Til I Die.  That's the last place I expected to hear that gem. 

I was sittin in a dentists chair two days ago (THEY HAD MUSIC FOR ME THERE) and I smiled as I realized I was sittin in a dentist's chair listening to the Beach Boys sing Man With All the Toys. 

I've heard Christmas Day, The Man With All the Toys, and Santa's Beard on the radio and in stores at least once during each holiday season over the past few years but I was totally floored a couple days ago when I heard Child of Winter at the grocery store. I'm sure the old lady in the dairy aisle thought I was totally nuts when I started randomly laughing out loud on the part where Brian uses that really goofy voice. Totally (& sadly, lol) the highlight of my day ;D

I heard a really out of left field one today at a local mall. They were playing a muzak version of Surf's Up over the P.A. with a saxophone playing the vocal melody. Anyone familiar with this version?

"Little Bird was spun on "The Loft" on XM on the morning show-the guy can be counted upon to include them on any given show.

HEB ftw.

This morning I heard "Let's Go Away for Awhile" on the radio. Twice.

The NPR producer used it a the end of Scott Simon's farewell to Lian Hansen.

Yeah, some of those BG Music suppliers for stores are more hip than you'd think.  I worked retail at "Meijer" which is a Midwestern Big-Box chain for ten years, and I think I heard most of the Beach Boys catalog, to be honest, and quite a bit of Honeys, not limited to Shoot the Curl, either.  It depends on the time of day, too--third shift got Nirvana and Metallica and such.  Not sure how the decision to upload Beach Boys album sides came about, but it did, at least for our provider.