cat·er·waul
ˈkadərˌwôl/
verb
gerund or present participle: caterwauling
- (of a cat) make a shrill howling or wailing noise.
"the caterwauling
of a pair of bobcats"
|
synonyms:
|
"we could hear those felines caterwauling all night"
|
A quick run to a shopping place
called Walmart, to pick up some provisions, was met with what was once known as
Muzak.
Everyone laughed as Muzak because
it sold music to hotels, casinos, airlines, and stores. Their music consisted of popular tunes that
were redone to make it more palatable to the everyday shopper.
The Beatles, Aerosmith, The Who,
and other groups had their tunes re-orchestrated and recorded to appeal to the
people with the true money, the elderly.
My late Father was not a big
Aerosmith fan and would likely rip the radio out of a car if he ever heard an
Aerosmith song.
This was the type of person for
whom Muzak was created. Often referred
to as “elevator music,” Muzak was a successful until it was gobbled up in an
acquisition by Mood Media some years ago.
Somewhere along the way, though,
Muzak style music was discontinued in many businesses and replaced by “new age”
singers and non-singers alike.
In 1978, a movie starring John
Belushi was released entitled Animal House.
It was a film about a frat house and its pledges, and the antics
surrounding their challenges to authority.
One scene during a pledge toga
party centered around a singer/song writer, Stephen Bishop. Mr. Bishop was seated on a staircase,
surrounded by comely coeds, playing hokey folks music on his guitar.
John Belushi’s character descends
this staircase and briefly listens.
After a few seconds, Belushi snatches the guitar from Bishop’s hands and
proceeds to smash it against the wall rendering it useless for anything except
kindling. He was doing many attendees a
service.
I recall this scene every time I
enter a store playing one of these new age performers caterwauling while I’m
cruising the aisles for paper plates and chicken fingers.
Sounding like a woman being
beaten with a violin, these annoying screamers being piped through the PA
system could easily replace waterboarding as a method of torture.
Be that as it may, just a few
minutes of this aggravating yowling sends me directly to the exit doors.
I’m sure some shoppers enjoy it,
but not I. Shut it off or I’ll not
return just so my bleeding ears can heal.
I’m just saying…
