Aerosmith Sells You A Buick In which the rock icons waste their finest song,. . .

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 12/10/4 | Mark Morford

[SmithL]

Maybe rock n' roll finally died, really and truly and once and for all, roughly a decade ago, when Microsoft shelled out a whopping and still quite ludicrous $10 million to Jagger & Co. for the use of the Stones' classic "Start Me Up" for the massive overblown launch of the utterly awful and terrifically bug-addled Windows 95.

And maybe that sad epitaph was writ even larger a few years back when stodgy old Cadillac bought the rights to Zeppelin's manic mega-anthem "Rock n' Roll" for use in hawking the wildly mediocre CTS sedan to wealthy boho yuppies, all of whom vaguely remember inhaling back in the '70s and who might've once believed Page & Plant to be demigods but who now only fantasize about owning a riding lawn mower and having sex once a month and glimpsing the babysitter's nipples through her Avril Lavigne T-shirt.

Did you cringe at all when you heard Iggy Pop's fabulous "Lust for Life" during that commercial for the utter dystopian nightmare that is Royal Caribbean cruises? Did you laugh in a bitter and dejected sort of way when you read about that PR firm that wanted to use Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" to market a hemorrhoid cream?

Did a small but significant part of your rebellious antiestablishment anticorporate soul get slapped like a drunk Hilton sister when you first heard The Who's "Tommy" used to hawk Clarinex or Sweet's '70s glam-rock masterpiece "Ballroom Blitz" used to sell Nissans?

[SmithL]

Headline too long:
Aerosmith Sells You A Buick In which the rock icons waste their finest song, and rock n' roll finally gasps its last

Morfordite Alert!

He doesn't blame Bush until the next-to-last paragraph.

[Kokojmudd]

This is truly a low point for Buick. Dump Airysmith, Bring back the Electra 225!

[Huck]

Why should it be surprising when commercial music is used for commercial purposes? Because the consumers were fooled into thinking it wasn't commercial in the first place.

[Mr. Mojo]

Aerosmith's last good album was Draw the Line (1978) and their last great song was "Hangman Jury" (1987).

[Mr. Mojo]

Been a long time since they've rock and rolled.

[MichaelP]

There is nothing mediocre about the cadillac CTS...

Mike

[Rummyfan]

And maybe that sad epitaph was writ even larger a few years back when stodgy old Cadillac bought the rights to Zeppelin's manic mega-anthem "Rock n' Roll" for use in hawking the wildly mediocre CTS sedan to wealthy boho yuppies, all of whom vaguely remember inhaling back in the '70s and who might've once believed Page & Plant to be demigods but who now only fantasize about owning a riding lawn mower and having sex once a month and glimpsing the babysitter's nipples through her Avril Lavigne T-shirt.

Is Morford revealing something here? I thought he was gay.

[kc2theline]

My favorite is the Hummer commercial with the kid and the go-kart to the Who's "Happy Jack". Great commercial.

[Bluegrass Conservative]

*sigh* I actually agree with this article in a lot of ways. It kills me to hear such great hard rock being used to market items that no true fan would purchase!!! Yes, I want to jam to "Ballroom Blitz" while driving in a Nissan. Aiiiighhhhhh!!!!

But, as a kid of the early 90's and a big grunge fan, I must comment that I am a Republican that really does care for trees . . . especially when they're Screaming!!! : )

[Scythian]

STYX was the only true, pure rock band.

[Fierce Allegiance]

In high school, selling buicks meant something like this:

[Question_Assumptions]

I still wish I could get a studio version of Dream On from iTunes...

[Prime Choice]

Ah, Morford's just p!ssed off because all his anti-capitalist "heroes" from the 1960s are still cashing in big-time. The whole "article" (sic) reads like a heartbroken bubblegum teenybopper whose favorite rock star just ran off with Pam Anderson. (Come to think of it...what rock start hasn't run off with Pam Anderson? I lost track...)

[vetvetdoug]

These butthole surfers can't stand the fact that the rockers can sell their music to make money. So what? I am glad that the music is snippet-ed in commercials so that some that would not ordinarily ever hear the music would look to see from where the bars came. The only thing these writers approve of is bath houses that encourage multiple same sex partners.

[Bronco_Buster_FweetHyagh]

Why should it be surprising when commercial music is used for commercial purposes? Because the consumers were fooled into thinking it wasn't commercial in the first place.

Bingo.

[zetapsi]

I could do without the last minute Bush-swipe...... but other than that, I don't think i could agree more. There's absolutely nothing wrong with selling one's song for commercial use, the free-market is the free-market, but "jumping the shark" still leaves a sour taste.

[Prime Choice]

STYX was the only true, pure rock band.

With or without Tommy Shaw? *snicker*

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The Chambers Brothers' "Time" seems to be everywhere these days.

[vetvetdoug]

Marfadites are from Marfa, Texas.

[KJacob]

STYX was the only true, pure rock band

Are you implying that Dennis is a true pure rocker? Babe?