The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Muzak

One of the fun things about taking over a space, whether it be a house, apartment or store, is discovering what the previous tenant left behind. In the case of DV Shop II, the bank left behind their Muzak system.

Yes, there really is a company called Muzak. I always thought it was a generic term, but no, we now have a genuine Muzak box. It didn't seem to be working but lo and behold, while flipping breakers one night, suddenly the dulcet tones of "Hotel California" began to emit from the ceiling speakers. And we discovered a Program Selections list, because we just don't have one Muzak channel, we have several, such as:

1. Foreground Music One: Familiar Adult Contemporary favourites. A moderate
tempo program featuring well-known popular artists and their current and
past hits.

2. Expressions: Combines light hits from yesterday and today with
instrumental versions of hit songs, easy Jazz and melodic acoustic music.

11. Moodscapes: A contemplative mix of acoustic music and natural sounds
designed to promote health and well-being.

There are 18 more channels, but you get the idea.

Muzak Quik Trivia:

The brainchild of World War I veteran General George Owen Squier, the Muzak company was founded in 1922 as Wired Radio, a service that piped music to businesses and subscribers over wires. Liking how 'Kodak' was a made up name, in 1934, Squier decided later to change the service's name to 'Muzak'.

Ted Nugent tried to buy Muzak to shut it down. Muzak's existence so irked Ted Nugent that in 1989 the guitarist offered to buy the company for $10 million just so he could destroy its tapes.

Read more of the fascinating history of Muzak here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzak_Holdings

And long live Muzak fan Johnny Fever!