Kansas City Playlist: Last Weekend For Original Midtown Costco

For many Kansas City middle-class dweebs, nerds and assorted bulk shoppers . . . It's the end of an era. 

Here' the context to remind us that we're all just passing through history . . . 

"The Midtown Costco on Linwood Boulevard in Kansas City is temporarily closing on October 1, 2026, to undergo a major renovation and transition into a Costco Business Center, scheduled to reopen in spring 2027. This shift from a traditional warehouse model to a business-focused format will cater heavily to commercial enterprises, restaurants, and convenience stores. While the change initially drew pushback from neighborhood residents and city leaders over the loss of everyday amenities, a compromise was reached to keep the gas station open throughout construction and retain the pharmacy services for at least one year following the conversion. However, traditional features like the food court, liquor department, optical center, bakery, and tire shop will be permanently discontinued, though regular Costco members will still be permitted to shop the new bulk and commercial inventory."

Accordingly . . .

We've yet to see open weeping in the streets . . . But there's not shortage of lamentation on social media.  

And so we dedicate our weekly www.TonysKansasCity.com playlist to the evolving "Glover Plan" and changing times along the toy train streetcar line . . .

Let's start with a quick missive on the lost days of arena rock . . . Frontman Joey Tempest wrote the iconic, stadium-shaking keyboard riff in the early 1980s purely as a one-minute instrumental concert opener to play while lasers flashed. In fact, several members of the band initially pushed back against making it a full song. Guitarist John Norum actually hated the track at first, arguing that the heavy, prominent synthesizer intro was far too pop-oriented and "off-brand" for a hard rock band heavily inspired by Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy.

A pop culture tale that every 40-something lady knows all too well and the theme song for so many horrible 90s break-ups: Gwen Stefani and No Doubt's bassist, Tony Kanal, had been in a secret relationship for seven years. When the track was first conceived by Gwen and her brother Eric Stefani, "Don't Speak" was a cheerful, jazzy tune about their romance. However, when Tony abruptly broke up with Gwen in 1994, she completely re-wrote the lyrics into a raw, heartbroken ballad about their devastating split.

Because we didn't want to share "Closing Time" again . . . A quick reminder of how quickly are "millennial" friends are becoming dated. 

Backstory about making the best out of leftovers: "Swedish producers Kristian Lundin and Jake Schulze, along with songwriter Andreas Carlsson, originally wrote the song for the popular British boy band Five. However, the members of Five actively turned it down because they were trying to shift away from standard pop and transition into a more edgier, rap-infused group. When Five passed on the track, the producers handed it to *NSYNC instead, and it went on to become one of the defining, record-breaking pop anthems of the Y2K era."

A long ago 90s memory for the bridge . . . Fun fact: Michael Stipe wrote the rapid-fire, stream-of-consciousness lyrics based on a real-life dream he had about a bizarre party where all the guests shared the exact same initials: L.B. This explains why the song famously features a barrage of historical figures, celebrities, and items starting with those letters, including Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev, Lenny Bruce, and Lester Bangs.

Finally . . . This track seems apropos for grocery store memories that we hope will stay with us forever . . . Simple Minds initially despised "Don't You (Forget About Me)," flatly refusing to record it because they only wanted to perform their own original material. After being heavily pressured into a brief three-hour studio session, the band completely transformed the track into the defining anthem of the 1980s. Having passed on the song himself, Billy Idol deeply regretted missing out on the massive hit and eventually went on to record his own version for a 2001 compilation album.

As always, thanks for reading this week and have a safe & fun rest of the weekend.