Coil, I think I love you…
I’d just like to take this moment to bow down and worship at my boss’s feet for letting me control the music at the store when I’m working.
Too bad I can’t control every other store in the area…
I misread “earworms” as earthworms the first few times in this thread. I was very confused for a while.
I hate you.
During the regular seasons and depending on the manager-in-charge at the time, it’s either disco nightmare (which I despise) or mid-70s heart & soul (which is a little better) with some terrible 80s and 90s thrown in for flavor. Hell month it’s Christmas. We can’t win, really.
I know panamajack said it first, but how can it be a public domain earworm Christmas if all the songs are copyrighted? And don’t start writing your own- it’ll just lead to another crappy Simpsons episode.
What’s sad is, you’re lucky! I was at the mall on Friday (Nov. 4) and while purchasing my sandwich, I hear “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas” coming from a speaker behind me. The only thing I could think of was, “Dear God, those poor employees.”
I know. I feel the same way when I go into a mall around here and some of our locations as well. These locations are managed by horrible, horrible people who have already put it on Sounds of the Season, but my boss is kind enough to wait for the company-prescribed Thanksgiving+1. Thank the Lord for small mercies.
I hear ya, Bambi. I worked for four Christmas seasons, 4.5 years in the retail business. Every single year the company I worked for decided to park the “Christmas Display” right across the fucking aisleway from my station.
That was hell, I tells ya - Christmas music starting on October 1 and lasting through the January Return Season.
Not to mention which, it wasn’t just the crappy Christmas songs that were playing - no, they were really horrible-sounding MIDI versions that were playing. Why? Because we had to demonstrate the NOVELTY CHRISTMAS LIGHT STRINGS, which played Christmas music and BLINKED in time with the music, that’s why!
Every. Fucking. YEAR.
Oh, the horror, the horror…
I think it was about August 28th and in the garden section of Walmart, they had the fake Christmas trees up and the racks of holiday music CD’s and ornaments, etc. etc.
I went through the check out lane and cheerily wished the cashier a Very Merry Christmas…if looks could kill, that cashier would be doing life and I would be having earworms and earthworms gnawing on my body right now.
Oh, and thanks everyone for now having my brain scanning every Christmas song I know…I was humming “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas…” on the way to the photocopier. I hate you all. .
Gotta love that holiday spirit… 
I’m wondering if the OP meant “public domain” in the sense of public gathering places as opposed to the copyright sense of the phrase.
Just a thought.
No - I thought anything so all-pervasive and godawful was all out of copyright. The thought that someone is still getting royalties for “Jinglebell Rock” is as disturbing as if some bioengineer had developed a new, nastier mosquito and we have to pay everytime one bites us.
I stand corrected.
IIRC, one Sunday strip of For Better or For Worse last year featured Elly asking a retail clerk why the Christmas music wasn’t making the clerk more cheerful. The clerk said something along the lines of “I lost cheerful three weeks ago.”
This is going to my first Christmas season working retail. Heeeeeeelp meeeeeeeee…
Eeee. I think the Christmas music is going to be the least of your worries. I’ve heard horror stories about working retail at Christmas. :eek:
As have I. But, there’s these bills that need paying…it’s a good thing I already have a therapist, because I have the feeling by January I would be needing one if I didn’t already!
Ah, there’s only one source of music for the holidays: Twisted Tunes
As far as music goes, I like my Dr. Demento Christmas CD. I can break it out of storage once Thanksgiving gets here, too. I suspect it’ll help keep me sane…
The best Christmas song…the BEST Christmas song is “Have a Patrick Swayze Christmas” by Joel and the Bots on MST3K.
All other songs are earworms.