Ode to The City that Names its Krogers · Track 1 · opener

Murder · Disco · Beltline · Cosmic · Lost

Atlanta and its Kroger nicknames — every neighborhood Kroger gets its own folk-name based on its quirks and clientele. The most famous: Murder Kroger (Ponce de Leon), Disco Kroger (Buckhead), Beltline Kroger (Edgewood), Cosmic Kroger (Cumberland), Lost Kroger (West Midtown), Sketchy Kroger, Theatrical Kroger, Russian Kroger, Trippy Kroger, the entire urban mythology of Atlanta grocery shopping. ART DIRECTIVE for the cover image: a melange/collage of multiple Kroger storefronts in different Atlanta neighborhoods, EACH with its nickname rendered as a clear legible sign over the entrance. Required scene-texts: 'Murder Kroger', 'Disco Kroger', 'Beltline Kroger', 'Cosmic Kroger', 'Lost Kroger' visible on the storefronts. Spelled exactly. Bias artist style toward Black canon — Kerry James Marshall, Faith Ringgold, Romare Bearden, Mickalene Thomas, AfriCOBRA palette. Tone: pop-art celebration, joyful, Atlantans on the sidewalk, dignified humor.

Lyrics

You new here?
Let me show you the real map.
It's not in your phone.
It's in the checkout line.

See, every blue sign has a secret name.
A ghost name. The one we all use.
We start on Ponce de Leon. 725.
Under the sodium lights, the asphalt's still hot at 1:47 a.m.
They call it Murder Kroger.
Yeah, I know.
Saw the plastic flowers and notes back in 2009.
But we still go. For milk, for bread, for the story.
It’s just what you do. It’s how you know you’re home.

You got your Murder. Your Disco. Your Beltline.
You got your Cosmic and your Lost Kroger.
This ain't the company map, baby.
This is the one we drew.
This is our Atlanta.

Then you go up to Buckhead.
Where the cart wheels roll smooth.
Glitter on the floor from somebody's Saturday night.
That's Disco Kroger.
Smells like perfume and cheap champagne promises.
Then down to Edgewood, where the trail runs right up to the door.
New condos watching.
That's Beltline Kroger.
Sweat and steel and the city breathing new.

You got your Murder. Your Disco. Your Beltline.
You got your Cosmic and your Lost Kroger.
This ain't the company map, baby.
This is the one we drew.
This is our Atlanta.

And there's more. Oh, there's always more.
There's Sketchy Kroger. Theatrical Kroger.
Russian Kroger out on Roswell Road.
Trippy Kroger, where the aisles bend a little.
Who thought them up?
Some kid bagging groceries?
Some security guard on the night shift, watching the city's fever dream unfold?
No one wrote it down.
It just is.
A name whispered from car to car.
A truth you can't buy.

You got your Murder! Your Disco! Your Beltline!
You got your Cosmic and your Lost Kroger!
This ain't the company map, baby!
This is the one we drew!
This is our Atlanta!

So when you need to find your way...
...you just ask somebody where to get the milk.
They'll tell you.
They’ll give you the real name.
The one that matters.