This essay probes the critical dimensions of consumer-culture theory (CCT) by investigating managerial tendencies toward integrating consumers from above or even imposing culture from on high, rather than viewing consumer culture as something that arises from the consumers themselves. Illustrations based on the use of background music or Muzak support concerns that culture is degraded by marketers as a means of social control. Attempts of an organization such as Pipedown to resist background music present an impression of futility in the face of hegemony. Hence we draw attention to the apparently predominant commercial thrust toward and mass susceptibility to manipulation, as born out by the ubiquity of background music and by the apparent lack of meaningful counter-play by consumers. Noting the lacunae in our critical understanding of consumption, markets, and culture from the CCT perspective, we consider the ideological consequences.