MORE MUSIC HORRORS

Not quite retail, but a true horror story. I worked at a restaurant in the Village, with the name Hasta La Pasta. When the owner would go out of town, he'd leave his lazy, mean-spirited son in charge, who would proceed to torment us – and chase off customers — by playing the Hadaway song What Is Love (I think it's what they use in the SNL disco shtick) on repeat. For 12 hours at a time. Not the album, mind. Just that song. "What is love? Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more." Again. And again. And again. And it did hurt me.

I could also mention the time in my wild youth when I was handcuffed to about five other guys in the back of a police van, while they played a tape containing nothing but Bad Boys (the Cops theme song) and the Smashing Pumpkins song Bullet With Butterfly Wings ("Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage). But that doesn't fit the retail theme at all, so I won't mention it.

-- Harry Siegel