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Barry Manilow Music to Deter Mall Rats

By Queuebot in Odd News on Mar 6, 2009 at 12:30 am


Forget the teenage audio repellent we posted about on Neatorama before. A mall in New Zealand will use Barry Manilow songs instead to get rid of its pesky mall rats:

“The intention is to change the environment in a positive way … so nobody feels threatened or intimidated,” Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale told The Associated Press. “I did not say Barry Manilow is a weapon of mass destruction.” [...]

The city council, police and local property owners covering 410 businesses agree that “nice, easy listening” music like Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You,” “Mandy” and other hits might change the behavior of loitering teens.

Link – via stratoblogster

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Stratoblogster.


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COMMENT
  1. Alex
    Mar 6th, 2009 at 12:30 am

    This one will never sell
    they'll never understand
    I don't even sing it well
    I try, but I just cant
    But I sing it every night
    and I fight to keep it in
    Cause this one's for you
    This one's for you     ... mall rats!

  2. Zach
    Mar 6th, 2009 at 12:48 am

    Mall rats will not be deterred. Not even by Manilow.

  3. Cori
    Mar 6th, 2009 at 12:57 am

    Smooth. Try to scare kids off with music that was just featured in a pretty epic movie a few months ago. (Can't Smile Without You in Hellboy II)

  4. blaze
    Mar 6th, 2009 at 1:51 am

    They are trying this at a local bus terminal in my area. Mostly cause school kids sit around there either skipping or during the times before and after school they just cause trouble. Cops patrol the whole place at all times, and there's still a fight every other day. They got an XM 50's station going. So I haven't hung around long enough to figure out if its working, lol.

  5. Avarana
    Mar 6th, 2009 at 8:34 am

    C O P A C A B A N A !

  6. bobbles
    Mar 6th, 2009 at 10:23 am

    It might be a deterrent to everyone else as well.

  7. Evilbeagle
    Mar 6th, 2009 at 10:30 am

    I'm not a Fanilow, but I have to admit that I love "Copacabana" and did even when I was a teenager. This coming from a total metal head. What happens if the teens decide that Manilow is suddenly cool? I think tactics like these are pretty silly, to be honest.

  8. Foosnark
    Mar 6th, 2009 at 11:09 am

    A local mall here hired an accordionist to play live near one of the entrances to deter loitering.

  9. Johnny Cat
    Mar 6th, 2009 at 11:45 am

    Our mall is going the other direction, playing Fall Out Boy and other teenish acts, ostensibly to keep the rats placated.

  10. mishelley
    Mar 6th, 2009 at 11:52 am

    Now I've got "Looks Like We Made it" on a non stop loop running through my mind.
    Thanks...

  11. seefish3
    Mar 6th, 2009 at 3:27 pm

    Talk about an old fart, I thought they meant REAL rats. As if something in the frequency level of Barry's songs repelled rodents.

  12. Beachgirl
    Mar 6th, 2009 at 5:28 pm

    My teens have a certain affection for Manilow, so I dont know how much this will work.

    And besides, these teens have money, I understand they don't like the loitering, but they're dumb to not encourage the youth to spend their money there. I wouldn't take my teens to a place that doesn't want them there, we'll go spend our dollars somewhere else.

  13. Xinavera
    Mar 7th, 2009 at 1:03 pm

    The juxtaposition of Manilow right after a string of photos of feral children brings up some intriguing mental images... and would explain a lot about Barry. ;-)

  14. Noelegy
    Mar 7th, 2009 at 1:29 pm

    I was embarrassed to admit that I love the song "Read 'Em and Weep" until I learned that it was actually written by Jim Steinman, better known for the music he wrote for Meat Loaf, so it makes sense.

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