And, happy melodist, unwearied,
I had a surreal moment Tuesday night. I went to Ikea, which is already a strange place on a Tuesday night, cavernous and mainly empty, like a giant mausoleum of particleboard furniture. As I wandered through the deserted spaces, looking for a RIAN and some OMNE, I started hearing the strains of jazz music. This isn’t too unexpected in a big store like this, of course, but what was odd was its directionality. Generally the music is piped in throughout the store, meaning you hear it at roughly the same volume no matter where you are. But, I noticed that the music got noticeably louder as I rounded a corner in couches, and then continued to increase in volume as I walked through bedding, home entertainment and finally kitchenwares. From here I could see the restaurant (Ikea has a pretty good restaurant in it, that serves some very tasty Swedish meatballs), and in the restaurant a jazz band playing. They’re surrounded by a crown of people and the drummer has just launched into an awesome solo. I stand and listen and when he’s done the crown bursts out in applause.
This is not the kind of thing I expect to encounter in a furniture store. Also, they were out of the thing I went there to buy. I’m going to go back next week, but not on Tuesday.