driving minivans on the moon… and antarctica
Television ads have raided my collection (the one in my mind, the one on my shelf) for songs! Trying to relate to me by stealing from the magnificent soundtrack of my life, the one that I always believed belonged solely to me. may not be the way to go. Even though I know that many others enjoy the same tunes, I often fool myself into thinking that no one else can love this song more than I do.
Of course others love ‘this song’ as much as I do, and they might feel comfortable relating said song to a car, shaving cream, or a pair of jeans. I don’t. I want to remember that the first time I heard ‘California Stars’ from ** Wilco ** was while driving across the Bay Bridge in San Francisco en route to the infamous City Lights bookstore. I hope that it doesn’t end up in an ad for shampoo, because the image of a woman washing her hair to this song cavorting with my Bay Bridge memory would automatically decrease the song’s sentimental value. I started thinking about this when the ** Modest Mouse ** song “Gravity Rides Everything” was the ** backdrop to a commercial for the new Nissan Minivan **. I suddenly felt like my own memories were being overthrown by this ad. The image of modern surfboard-yielding soccer moms on their way to the beach was replacing events that had occurred in my ‘actual’ life.
Of course I have the ability to separate television from real life, but the significance and meaning of certain ** songs are cheapened **each time I hear them in an advertisement. I take pride in the fact that Word-of-Mouth is more original and has more of a natural flow, especially while television ads seem to be scouring my memories for new material. Poignant moments in which these songs played major roles are being canceled out as I plug into this constant noise and visual stimulation. How about talking and communicating naturally?
When I hear that ** Keane ** song in the new Victoria’s Secret commercial, I don’t feel the same thing. Instead I think about how my memory of hearing this song for the first time amidst the rolling hills of Vermont is invaded by a brigade of bras coming at me. This new image is trying to push everything else out and make a permanent home in my mind. Television ads are basically just getting to me. Playing songs over and over isn’t going to make me love a product more. Yet, the fact that I’ve written this means that they’ve (i.e. Nissan/Victoria�s Secret) caught my attention, which they surely wanted to do. I would much rather ride in a friend’s Nissan Minivan (Even though I don’t think any of my friends have minivans) blasting ‘Gravity Rides Everything’ while hearing about some great new bras than see these songs attached to impersonal ads with actors posing as soccer moms and models posing as ‘angels’.
Maybe I should just relish the fact that the songs I like are even more accessible now – what do you think?
Cheyanne
September 24th, 2004 at 8:16 am
I second that. If I hear Iggy Pop\’s \"Lust for Life\" one more time…
September 24th, 2004 at 8:21 am
When that Nissan commercial came out, I was SO upset…for a few days. After watching it again (and again, and again)…I realized something: it worked. Hot Damn. From where I see it, Nissan was trying to make their minivan look more hip than just a mom-bus. While I was sitting at the TV yelling “How could they do that!?” (They being Nissan, not Modest Mouse) – because if I would sell my songs in a minute if I were in their shoes. They certainly don’t make enough from CD sales.
So anyway, my wife (also a big Modest Mouse fan) basically said, “So what?”…..and then it hit me. Being young (relatively) and married…and probably in need of a minivan at some point…we are the target market!!
Nissan took a band that we both connect with as being young, independent, and underground, and slapped it together with a surfboard-toting mom. Fantastic. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not running out to buy a mini-van right now, but they don’t seem so far away either. Yikes.
September 24th, 2004 at 9:40 am
Oh my goodness. I suddenly feel so old. I\’ve never heard of the group Modest Mouse. Of course, while I consider myself relatively (isn\’t age always relative!) young – still under 40 – I do already have a mini-van and the three kids to go along with it. Sigh.
Using popular music in marketing has been going on a long time. I can remember commercials from when I was a kid (or teen) and finding out later that the music in the commercial was actually a song borrowed from the music industry.
September 24th, 2004 at 4:11 pm
After giving the publishing royalties to the Guthrie estate and splitting the rest with Jay Bennet and Billy Bragg, minus the production and promtional costs associated with making the album, I would be willing to bet that Jeff Tweedy doesn\’t care whether or not you have a sentimental attachment to \"California Stars\". Considering that Tweedy is a man whose genius has been touted more than his albums have been sold, I wouldn\’t hold it against him if he did sell it to Pantene. Musicians write songs for themselves and/or to avoid poverty, not to emotionally jerk people off.
I\’m tired of people claiming art for themselves and then ascribing to it a sense of authenticity. The song defined a moment in your life? SO WHHHAAATT! I\’m sure when the royalty check came in from Nissan, it constituted a pretty defining moment for all who benefited from it in Modest Mouse! And where is there a rule that says that a soccer mom can\’t like good music?
Word of mouth will self-destruct as people grow cynical about being stealthily marketed to. Until then, maybe we should just shout Pixies songs at people in BMW\’s as they drive by.
September 25th, 2004 at 12:30 am
Dear \"anonymous user\":
You obviously have never produced a piece of art/music in your life.
Musicians/artists produce art \"for themselves?\" If that were the case, why
would so many go through the trouble of trying to showcase their work?
As an artist/musician, I can honestly say that it is a difficult thing
to even THINK about selling a piece of your work because, through the
process of creating it, it is like selling a piece of
yourself. There are maybe some people out there just to produce or to
make money, but that does not change the fact that they have to sell
something that they\’ve created, and that is something that is still very
personal.
Any artist or musician who does or does not sell their work still has a
desire to connect with an audience through their music or art and, in that
essence, is not producing it just for themselves, but needs to connect with
and move people. This is exactly why using a particular song for a
commercial can be so effective – because it IS moving. If art or music
was so empty that it was created only by the artist\’s selfish motivations,
people wouldn\’t care so much about it.
I am SURE that John Lennon was ROLLING in his grave when the Beatles
song, Revolution, was used to advertise Nike!!! This is a perfect example
of a corporation using a piece of art that is very meaningful, to sell
something that completely flies in the face of what that song is all about.
And this is what the original posting is all about. These songs are
meaningful and moving. And then some corporation comes around and
hammers some cookie cutter plastic memory into your brain by linking
their mass-produced, unimaginative, badly-designed product with one of
your favorite songs, there by erasing all the real experiences you had
associated with it.
- amy
September 25th, 2004 at 2:42 pm
I\’ve written songs my whole life, even had one published. But, you\’re right. I dont know what I\’m talking about. See you next tuesday
September 25th, 2004 at 2:46 pm
ps- to the moderator, is it necessary to omit profanity? I mean, aren\’t we all adults here? I hope i dont have to resort to phrases like \’see you next tuesday\" again. It takes way too long to type.
September 26th, 2004 at 3:22 pm
did anonymous just drop the C bomb?
September 27th, 2004 at 1:19 pm
i think it\’s fair to say that offensive language has no place here. as an \"adult,\" you should be able to process someone else\’s opinion and respond intelligently. without resorting to offensive language. and if you can\’t be bothered with typing out some grade school, faux-clever way around the restriction on profanity, then you\’re one lazy \"adult,\" at that. thanks for being immature and wasting some cyberspace.
September 28th, 2005 at 8:56 am
Hi guys! We\’re NOT all adults here. Kids who are 13 can be Bzzagents,
right? (?). IMHO, as a woman who works in construction, I\’m all for a
well-placed curse word. But it\’s not always appropriate.
-BzzAgent kmacJp