Posted on 12/10/2004 10:25:04 AM PST by 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?
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
This guy's name should be Moronford.
1978. Came home late one night very drunk. Wanted to hear some tunes. Parents asleep in the next room. Put on headphones. Cranked up "Blue Collar Man" to 11 (LOUD). Listened to most of the song, too drunk to realize that the headphones were not plugged into the stereo. Mom wasn't happy.
Maybe Morford is the real-life version of the "Effeminate Heterosexual" that used to be on SNL.
Hey man, we've all been there.
I read that interview...and you know, gay or not, the dude has serious issues with sex. I think he's either got arrested development or IS gay and in denial. Why else does he manage to turn every column into some kind of sexual treatise?
He needs professional help, quickly.
I agree that the current trend is lamentable, but at least rockers have a choice when they license their songs to commercials. What I feel enraged about is cheapening masterworks by putting them into contemptible commercials (e.g., the Stars commercial that blasphemes Beethoven's Ninth by replacing the text of the Ode to Joy with "Movies, movies, movies...etc.). It is an abomination. And then sampling Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony for some car commercial.
They of course use these practices because there is no copyright, which is why there are in need of protection. It's also stifling to today's composers--commercials would be a good way for them to have their music heard. One would hope that new creative output would be encouraged--but no. The same music will continue to be exposed to the public until it becomes commonplace and associated with trite items. Oh, mocking fate! Dulling the sword of genius on the rock of popularity!
Quick story. The kids were 5 and 2 years old. The wife and I were going out for an Anniversary dinner so the wife calls the neighbor's high school-aged (Senior) daughter to babysit for the evening. The young lady was an absolute knock-out. Blonde and a killer figure and she was a cheerleader to boot.
We got home that evening and the wife went up to get ready for bed while I payed the sitter and walked her back to her house.
Like most guys, as we (the hotty little cheerleader and me) stepped out the door, I could tell what my wife was thinking but, of course, I didn't say a thing.
When I returned 5 minutes later, Just before I walked into our bedroom where the wife was simmering, I yanked loose my tie and opened my shirt down to the waist, messed up my hair, loosened my belt and kicked off one shoe. I pushed open the door and staggered in, wiping my lips, etc...
Okay....., well, she didn't think it was too funny, but I sure did.
I agree. That is one commercial where I don't mind that they used a clissic tune.
I downloaded a video of Aerosmith performing 'Big Ten Inch' on a recent SNL . They were certainly rocking there. When ever I watch it, it brings me back to the good 'ol days when I used to see them play at the Springfield (MA) Civic Center....where they really rocked.
I saw them in 1978 at the L.A. Forum and they were atrocious -- short, sloppy show. But those albums in the mid/late 70's sure were amazing, weren't they? Get Your Wings ('74) is probably my favorite, followed closely by Rocks ('76).
Two important things to remember: many of the artists who wrote the music now appearing in commercials do not own the rights to their work. Jacko owning virtually all of the Beatles music comes to mind.
Second--did these artists mentioned in the article and within the comments write music to sell a product? No. The worst you could say is that many of these artists created music as a product. And is that really so bad? How many of us on the forum go to work but turn down a paycheck?
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