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June 21, 2005

Slate on Sleaziest Uses of Classic Songs in Ads

The winner: Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life," a song about shooting up smack used in the current Royal Caribbean ads.

That's just sort of funny, though. The song probably subverts the ad more than the ad neutralizes the song. The real travesties are CCR's "Fortunate Son" being used to sell Wrangler jeans and Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz" selling, well, you guessed it. In "Fortunate Son," they play that first line - "Some folks were born to wave the flag/Ooh that red white and blue" - then cut the rest of the lyrics, since the next line goes, "And when the band plays Hail to the Chief/They point the cannon at you." The whole song is about how patriotism is used as a cover for class exploitation and warmongering.

I wonder if Fogerty was hard up for cash, or if he lost control of his publishing rights as part of his general screwing by Fantasy Records. It seems hard to believe the former, since he was still playing "Fortunate Son" as a very appropriate anti-Bush song at Kerry rallies last fall.

What's the Worst Ad Song Ever? - The results are in. By Seth Stevenson

Posted by tedf at 12:19 PM | Comments (1)

June 13, 2005

NYT's Brent Staples on When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong

This is a harsh, but, I'm afraid, completely justified attack on the state of hip-hop today, which so often glamourizes not just fantasy violence, but the real-life violence committed by "thugs" like the 50 Cent and Game posses. Staples is particularly sharp on the complicty and hypocrisy of the hip-hop media, which mocks "snitches" while staying outraged that the murders of Jam Master Jay, Biggie, Tupac, et al remain unsolved. I started my freelance career as a hip-hop journalist, writing for The Source, Vibe, Spin and Details. I'm glad I got out of it before things turned this crass and ugly.

The Hip-Hop Media - a World Where Crime Really Pays - New York Times

Posted by tedf at 12:27 PM | Comments (0)