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June 22, 2009
Monday PM
1. My man JP found me a treasure trove of truly excellent GIFs (pron. "jifs" - see previous entry) and goodness gracious they are spectacular. Seriously they made my night last night. Thanks homie. Check these out for sure because they're modern gifs - word to Courtney Melody - and they're spellbinding. My favorite one's up top.
2. Whoa. You gotta see this. "Body inflation" - aka saline injections that make you look like 1/10th of an Elephant Man. Via the Bloglin, of course, because the dudes are Mishka lovers, of course.
3. The closing quote of this article is hilarious.
4. Speaking of beer ads... My sister, who just graduated from MIT and doesn't have cable, was really bummed out a couple weeks back when she was watching the Lakers in the Finals and heard Santigold's "Lights Out" in a Budweiser ad for the first time. I had told her to buy the album when it first came out, cause I knew she'd love it, and she did buy it, and she did love it. And "Lights Out" was - is - her favorite song, and hearing it used to hawk Bud was pretty jarring for her. She called me up right then and there, as soon as she saw it, and she sounded outraged and kinda hurt even. I told her to chill out, that the song had been in ads all the way back to the beginning of football season, that Santi needs to get paid like everyone else, and that if she likes the song, who cares who else likes it? And I do feel like that - and least, I do feel like that sometimes. But a while after I hung up, I texted her to let her know that I know how she feels, too. Because I do. I was bummed out the first time I heard it in a Bud ad, too. Not mad at Santigold or anything, cause I know she needs to do what she needs to do and I'm sure as hell not the Integrity Police or Jesus Christ or the Dalai Lama or Neil Young. But still I remember the first time I saw it I was just kinda like, awwww man... this makes me feel funny. You know? And yeah, man, I know we're living through a weird time (end times?) for the record industry, and I know that revenue streams long since dried up and turned dusty, and that you gotta get your music out in front of people anyway you can, and that a paycheck is a paycheck. I hear all that. But yeah... I knew what my sister meant, and I wished she hadn't seen the ad.
I'm thinking about this apropos this new article by Seth Stevenson of Slate. Stevenson's my favorite advertising critic, and here he's writing about selling out generally and the new Black Eyed Peas ad for Target specifically.
First, I still hate when a piece of music I love - something that stirs profound emotions - gets directly associated with a brand or product. I want to believe that the art means just as much to the artist as it does to me. When a deeply moving song gets sold for an ad, it's like finding out that the cute girl you've been having long, philosophical conversations with at the coffeehouse spends her weekends turning tricks. Call me sentimental. Call me naive. It's just how I feel, and that will never change.
Second, and more important: We as a culture must reserve our right to shower disdain on the Black Eyed Peas.
I could do without the stale prostitution analogy, sure. And obviously accusing the Black Eyed Peas of selling out is like accusing Rush Limbaugh of being a loudmouth conservative jerk. Nothing new. (Stevenson acknowledges as much.) But still, while I understand the reasons for taking the cash and the exposure, I think ultimately I'm with Stevenson and my sister. I know, easy for me to say. It's not like Bud wants to sponsor el stence. Besides, I like Miller Lite, mostly b/c it's less filling and tastes great. Ahhhhh. Cold Miller Lite.
Anyways.
Posted by caps at June 22, 2009 09:59 PM