Neon Lights in the Grocery Store

Last Thursday, my wife and I were on a date in the grocery store. Yes, when you have six children, any time you and your spouse have time alone, it’s a date. Anyway, we were making our way down the aisles toward the refrigerated section to get a gallon of milk when I stopped dead in my tracks. Now, being one who is musically inclined, it’s not unusual for me to notice what’s playing on the in-store music system. But normally it’s some top 40 hit I’ve never heard of (I’m at the age where my teenage daughters keep me up-to-date on stuff like that) and I just ignore it and get on with my business. This time was different. “Hang on a minute,” I said to my wife. “I know that song… but surely not! Not in the Harris Teeter!” I listened carefully, and sure enough. It was “Neon Lights,” a song originally recorded by a German group called Kraftwerk back in 1978. Most people outside of Europe have never heard of Kraftwerk, beside the fact they were pioneers of synth pop/techno music, an influence that is still felt today on both sides of the Atlantic. Kraftwerk’s sound is very distinctive–minimalist, plunky synths, drums that sound like hitting a bag of potato chips… not what you would expect of grocery store music.

As I listened more carefully (while picking up the milk, I hasten to add–we didn’t have all night), I realized that this was not the original Kraftwerk version. It had been a loooong time since I’d heard the song, but I was pretty sure this was a cover version. As if my world hadn’t been rocked enough with the thought that a grocery store would be playing Kraftwerk, now I was grappling with the concept that someone had actually covered this obscure little tune!

Since that adventure, I have done some YouTube research, and–I kid you not–I believe the version I heard in the grocery store was a cover version by U2. Yes… Bono, The Edge… that U2! And it seems Simple Minds and OMD have also done cover versions of the song!

Anyhow, I wanted to share this moment with you. And for those who would like to get into that grocery store moment with me, here is the video to the edited version of “Neon Lights” by Kraftwerk (the full-length version is about 8 mins long). And for the intensely curious, here’s the U2 version of the same song.

Happy Friday! 🙂