They Did it.

I am no longer 15 years old. This is a good thing. In many ways I was your typical angry teenager, apathetically convinced that the world of adults was built on a mound of bullshit and that every authority figure was some lame automaton doing the bidding s/he'd simply been programmed to do. And now that for that most part (I have my moments) I have removed that big, burdensome chip from my shoulder, I am a much calmer person.

But They can still stick it to me, sometimes, you know? And make me feel 15 again.

C feels that in this day and age and, in viewing the world as adults and no longer as piss-and-vinegar-filled teenagers, there is no such thing as an artist "selling out." Allowing the use of one's music in a commerical or a television show or a film or something accomplishes some meritous things:

1: The use of an artist's music in other media disseminates said music among people who otherwise wouldn't be exposed to it, especially if the artist in question isn't particularly "radio friendly" (although in the Age of the iPod who listens to the radio much anyway)

2: Allows the marginal artist to make a living doing what they do, which is a good thing, clearly

3: Creates an entirely new "business model" for a musician pursuing a career in that rather than being forced to rely on radio play and A&R promotions, s/he can really take more personal control over his/her financial and populist destinies


This is all true and I'd be an idiot to argue.

But...but...BUT.....!

But some things are sacred, right? I mean, some things have meaning. RIGHT?!? Do things have meaning? Do they? I really don't know. I THOUGHT they did. I convinced myself they did because I really didn't think I could float around in my life without thinking that way. I needed this meaning. I needed to believe this. I still do.

Art Blakey (legendary jazz drummer) said the second most insightful thing about music I ever heard (the first most is another blog entry): "Music washes off the dust of everyday life." I like that. Don't you? I think it's so true. Replace the word "music" in that wonderful sentence with whatever does it for you (food, sports, Pokemon cards, alligator wrestling) and that pretty much sums it up.

So here's my problem: when music is used in a commercial, it BECOMES the dust of everyday life. And when that happens, what am I supposed to use to wash it off?

Over the last--what?--10 years or so, as Commercial/Corporate America has taken to using "popular" songs in commercials and other media, I thought I had built up a thick, rhinocerous-like skin against getting upset about this. Rage against the dying of the light? That's all well and good, but sometimes getting angry about that which one cannot change is wasted energy waiting to evaporate.

But...but...BUT.....!

"Do You Realize?", that absolutely GORGEOUS Flaming Lips song, in a Range Rover commerical? Really? Range Rover?

"Island in the Sun" in a commerical for some shitty cruise line? Really? Hell, it's not even the original performance; it sounds like it's done by Weezesque or something.

And the coup de grace:

"All You Need is Luvs?" Really? A diaper commerical?

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK.

Come on! Those songs have meaning! And purpose! "Do You Realize" is a song about DEATH and LOSS! "Island in the Sun" is a peon to Brian-Wilson-like world-weariness, to the idea that escaping this bullshit world with only the one you love is sometimes--at the most important times--enough to sustain oneself! And where do I fucking BEGIN with "All You Need Is Love?" You know what Lennon meant when we wrote that song? He meant: All. You. Need. Is. Love. He was SERIOUS. I'm no long-haired dirty hippie or something; I'm a serious guy. It's not like I'm sitting around pulling bongs, eating popcorn chicken and watching reruns of "Scrubs" all day long. But I can understand what Lennon was trying to say, as idealistic (and perhaps naive) as it was. Hell, I at least know that he wasn't trying to sell fucking diapers.

So, They did it. They still find ways to steal little motes of my soul. I'll tell you this, though: I'm going to hang on to the ones I still have like grim death. There's no way I'm going to allow anyone to take this away from me. Nothing takes off the dust of life like music. Fuck Them.