ok my local pret — the one in angel — generally plays reasonably demanding jazz (ie hard bop mostly not “smooth”): this seems to me quite a daring move, given that (surely?) more ppl willingly dislike jazz than like it? (at least to me hard bop always seems like a music most people don’t listen to in a background-y don’t-mind-either-way kind of a way?)
as for somerfield: before xmas i found i was strangely heartened that they were playing “best of elton john” (the “future of rock’n’roll” ©j.lennon c.1970?) on endless loop — i don’t know why i wz pleased, it just suited my mood always to be surprised at this… however today it was “once in an lifetime” from tolkien and his headzes’ remains and lights LP, which surely means simon reynolds’s work is done here!