LAMING-OUT

I think Black Lips are OK. They're a pretty charming, pretty unoffensive poppy garage rock band. However, the other day whilst reading some website or another, I noticed that one of the members of the band said the following, after someone suggested that it might not be too cool that one of their tracks was going to be used in a Tesco commercial:

“If it's not written specifically for the commercial then why not? I don't care when I see songs that I like in commercials, I'm like, ‘Well, at least they're using a good song and the person who wrote it got paid.’ They're not, like, jingle writers...I saw ‘Search and Destroy’ in a Nike commercial; he wrote that song 30 years ago, it's not like he wrote that song for Nike. They might as well use it. Good for Iggy Pop. He deserves it.”

In theory, there doesn't seem to be too much wrong with he's saying, but he's missing the point. It's not so much the selling out that bugs me so much, it's more that it's fundamentally a lame thing to do (a feeling perhaps the band are all too aware of due to the lengths they go to in this interview to point out that their track was pulled from the advert due to their lyrics being "too controversial").

When you believe in a band only to find out that they're cool with their song being featured in an advert, you lose a little bit of respect for them no matter how much they want to justify their actions. You die a little inside and like that band's music less as a result. Like when you saw this on TV for example:

Earning money from being in a band is a very cool thing to happen to someone and you shouldn't begrudge anyone this. If a good band sells some records then I'm happy for them. Hell, if a shit band sells some records and makes some money I'm happy for them - let them get on with their lives and go to hell afterwards. I don't beef the guy who runs the shop round the corner for making a buck. However, just as I wouldn't let a corporate clothing brand design our record sleeves, I sure as hell wouldn't let them use any of our music in an advert. Why? For no other reason that it sucks dick and is cheesy.

I mean, seriously, go to the Converse website and you will be confronted by an image of Pharrell Williams, Julian Casablancas and Santogold and the immediate reaction of your mind is to think "Wow, you three are lame to tha x-treme!".

If I ever see this type of advert and I'm with another person, or group of people - be it at the cinema, on TV, on a billboard - invariably someone will comment on how shit it is. So, if you've ever lent yours music or your image to an advert, the fact is, someone, somewhere will be taking the piss out of you long, long after the money has run out. Why the fuck do you think no-one watches TV anymore? They think the adverts are lame.

(Footnote: I know this makes no kind of sense, but none of the above applies if you are Nas).