I've definitely heard REM in grocery stores and stuff, but not considerably more than other rock bands. I think popular older rock music of almost any genre is

I've definitely heard REM in grocery stores and stuff, but not considerably more than other rock bands. I think popular older rock music of almost any genre is kind of the go-to background music these days. People are nostalgic for the old tunes they grew up with, so 30-40 year olds shopping for milk kind of like it, or at least find it inoffensive. That's my sense for it anyway. Heck, I remember once stopping in my tracks in a grocery aisle because I heard War Pigs by Black Sabbath playing over the sound system. No one else in the store seemed to be paying attention, though.