In June, Starbucks stores across the nation simultaneously played the new Paul McCartney album, Memory Almost Full (which was released on the coffee company’s new record label), on repeat for an entire day.

Back then, Sean Nelson visited a few of the stores and wrote a great piece about McCartney, the new record, and his ties with “the only demonstrable force left in the world of CD retailing”:

But goddamn if I ever want to hear another word about music marketing. And goddamn if I feel the need to be confronted by his music—which I like more than everyone I’ve ever met combined—every time I want a cup of coffee. It feels like an aesthetic assault, not the way you want to discover anything. I went into a couple of Starbucks stores last Tuesday to see what it was like, and what it was like was this: Starbucks with Paul McCartney’s new album on an endless loop. They all had to play it all day.

Now Starbucks is doing it again, this time it’s with Joni Mitchell’s new record.

LOS ANGELES, September 21, 2007– On September 25, Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) will host an intimate “Lunch and Listen” event to celebrate Joni Mitchell’s Hear Music release “Shine.” From 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, more than 6,500 Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada will participate in the event by playing “Shine” along with a retrospective of classics which have made Mitchell one of the most beloved singer/songwriters of our time.

“‘Lunch and Listen’ gets to the heart of the connection between Starbucks customers and music,” says Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment who also oversees Hear Music. “We’re very proud of this record and on September 25, Mitchell’s timeless resonance will be felt in a very profound way.”

“…will be felt in a very profound way”? Is playing Mitchell’s records at 6,500 locations for three hours straight really “profound”?