Thought I recognized this when I first saw the commercial. It's Of Montreal. Good for Kevin Barnes! Making some money off his music! I'm sure some think he's selling out, but I don't get why selling his stuff is a bad thing. Any thoughts from the musicians?
I heard John Cougar talking about it the other day. He was saying there was no way in hell radio was going to play any of his stuff, so why not put it in an ad. I dunno, I used to have a hard time with it, and I think having every fucking song on 'Sky Blue Sky' in a VW ad was a bit much. It's getting harder for artists to make a living with the music, and it just doesn't seem so precious anymore. What's that line from the Arctic Monkeys? 'There's only music so that there's new ringtones' or something like that?
I guess the distinction for me is, it's fine for an artist to use his artistry to make money, but he'd better be careful if he re-uses his past works of art that the public has already connected with free of marketing messages. If it has already become meaningful to you and then it's exploited to control your response to something, there's the rub. Or possibly I'm just stoned.
I used to be the first to yell 'Sell Out'. But as I've aged or mellowed or given up giving a shit, I don't really care anymore. I don't like when Michael Jackson sells Beatles songs though. If the Fabs or their respective widows want to do it, it'd be one thing, but hearing Beatles songs by other people when you know they had no control over it grates me.
If it's yours, do what you want. God knows Iggy Pop, the Buzzcocks and DEVO didn't make any money off these songs the first go around. They deserve some compensation. It doesn't ruin a song that I love to see it unaltered in some hip car commercial. It just makes me think, "Hmmm, that advertising agency has good taste. They're trying to get me to want this car by playing a song I like. It's not working."
But my hat's off to those artists who pass when their song is associated with some product that's less than flattering. I guess I'm thinking of that time some hemorrhoid cream wanted to use Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." He very rightly declined.
If it's somebody else's song you're selling, then you will most certainly burn in hell for all eternity. I'm looking at you, Mr. Jackson. When was the last time you heard one of that pedophile's songs in a commercial? Pepsi?
4 comments:
I heard John Cougar talking about it the other day. He was saying there was no way in hell radio was going to play any of his stuff, so why not put it in an ad. I dunno, I used to have a hard time with it, and I think having every fucking song on 'Sky Blue Sky' in a VW ad was a bit much. It's getting harder for artists to make a living with the music, and it just doesn't seem so precious anymore. What's that line from the Arctic Monkeys? 'There's only music so that there's new ringtones' or something like that?
I guess the distinction for me is, it's fine for an artist to use his artistry to make money, but he'd better be careful if he re-uses his past works of art that the public has already connected with free of marketing messages. If it has already become meaningful to you and then it's exploited to control your response to something, there's the rub. Or possibly I'm just stoned.
I used to be the first to yell 'Sell Out'. But as I've aged or mellowed or given up giving a shit, I don't really care anymore. I don't like when Michael Jackson sells Beatles songs though. If the Fabs or their respective widows want to do it, it'd be one thing, but hearing Beatles songs by other people when you know they had no control over it grates me.
If it's yours, do what you want. God knows Iggy Pop, the Buzzcocks and DEVO didn't make any money off these songs the first go around. They deserve some compensation. It doesn't ruin a song that I love to see it unaltered in some hip car commercial. It just makes me think, "Hmmm, that advertising agency has good taste. They're trying to get me to want this car by playing a song I like. It's not working."
But my hat's off to those artists who pass when their song is associated with some product that's less than flattering. I guess I'm thinking of that time some hemorrhoid cream wanted to use Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." He very rightly declined.
If it's somebody else's song you're selling, then you will most certainly burn in hell for all eternity. I'm looking at you, Mr. Jackson. When was the last time you heard one of that pedophile's songs in a commercial? Pepsi?
Post a Comment