tonight on the taxi ride home, on the radio they played rem's radio free europe. i was a bit surprised to hear them playing that, if it had been a huge hit like shiny happy people i wouldn't have been surprised, but regardless i was happy to hear it as i've always had a soft spot for early rem.

this makes me think of the songs and odd places i have heard music.

in one of taipei's underground malls, i once heard kate bush. i was surprised to hear kate bush at all, but this wasn't one of her super huge hits like running up that hill but something less well known, maybe sat in your lap.

in this same mall i once heard the smiths. if they would have been playing how soon is now? it wouldn't have been so odd, as a cover version of that song was used as the theme for charmed, which was quite popular here. but this was something else, but i forget which song. if you would have told me when i was a smiths obsessed teenager that in 15 years i'd be hearing them in a mall in asia i would've thought you had gone mad. unexpectedly hearing the smiths or kate bush does put me in quite a good mood though.

one time i heard pizzicato five in the post office. when it first came on i wasn't even sure what it was. i just knew i knew it. once i realized it was pizzicato five i had to control my enthusiasm so the clerks wouldn't think i had lost my mind. i promptly ran home to figure out which song it was. it turned out to be something off their self-titled album.