Song Of the Day: June 2, 2005
None
You know what I'm tired of? I'm tired of hearing rock music everywhere I go.
Sure, part of this rant has to do with the occupational hazard of working in a record store, but that's hardly the full extent of it. I go into the Chipotle to get some iced tea and I hear Sly and the Family Stone and James Carr. I go to the grocery store and I hear Aztec Camera or Roxy Music. I don't go to the Gap but I'm told you might hear the Fiery Furnaces there. When did we decide that we need to have rock music, much less relentlessly hip rock music accompanying every mundane aspect of our lives?
An excess of any commodity makes it less precious. As a pre-pubescent I remember pulling the clock radio under the blankets at bedtime, keeping the volume low to avoid parental hassles, hoping to hear just one more song before I went to sleep. Mine surely must have been the last generation to do this. Why would anybody bother doing that now? For heavens sake, tomorrow you can watch TV all day, and the commercials have plenty of cool tunes in them. When I used to check groceries, I couldn't wait to get home at the end of the day, because then I could play a record. If I still worked at that same grocery store, I'd get to bask in yuppie-friendly edginess ("Wow, man, Prefab Sprout. That's crazy!") all day long, and I'd probaby feel like doing what I do now when I get home from work, which is anything but listening to music.
And when did we all get so hip? Are all advertising agencies and marketing firms run by former college radio DJs these days? "But wouldn't you rather hear the Smiths than Britney Spears while you're waiting in line for Tacos?" Maybe. But maybe not. I don't have any emotion invested in Britney Spears; it's white noise to me. But to have something I actually loved used to create an ambience of hip so that white, college-educated people will know that this is a good place for discerning people with sophisticated taste to spend their money...well, that siphons some of the magic from those times when I may decide to play that music in an environment of my own choice. And if the process is repeated enough, the magic disappears completely. If something is used as background music long enough, it ceases to be capable of being anything else. If something is saturated for long enough, no matter how beautiful and powerful it may be, it will grow tired and trivial. Witness the destruction baby boomers have wrought upon the catalogues of the Beatles and Motown Records.
Don't think it can't happen to Joy Division.
14 Comments:
I work in the ad world, and you hit the nail on the head when you asked if all ad agencies are run by former college DJ's...it's half true. Most of the creative directors are young and extremely conscious of trying to be hip and spend a lot of time to be so. You'd be surprised at how much effort is being put out by labels as well to get their music heard by the agencies. It's a big part of many label's marketing - get the creative director to like a song and you can have an instant hit.
I could go on...but I'll shut up.
Jon,
I completely agree. My local supermarket has been playing Murray Head's "Say It Ain't So, Joe" for MONTHS, every day, presumably 20 times a day. I don't want to be forced to listen to my favourite records when I'm not 'ready'. (I also do not want a fake MC5 wandering the globe sucking up all the MC5 air.)
Is it better to have muzak in the mall rather than Stereolab? OK, bad example, but, well, yes... as long as it's not that pan-pipe excrement which has destroyed any mystery or beauty in that particular instrument ('Picnic At Hanging Rock' barely survives... good job the girls look cute and the vibe's so solidly witchy).
So I agree: STOP THE INSANITY! It's fucking assault, is what it is.
Great essay, Jon. I have mixed feelings about this whole trend. On one hand, if commericials are filled with the sounds of T.Rex, Nico, the Buzzcocks, and Nick Drake, it's bound to raise our collective taste in music. On the other hand, it's sad when a secret pleasure is no longer a secret, and shared with people who (arguably) don't appreciate it as much, or used in inappropriate contexts ("Lust for Life" in a cruise-line ad?!!). If "Another Girl, Another Planet" was a big hit, would I have loved it so much?
And by the way, I can easily imagine Joy Division's "Atmosphere" being used in a commercial aimed at old folks planning their retirement.
Thanks for articulating what I think a lot of us experience every day. We seem to move fom one musical sound "bubble" to another with very little down time between them. Initially I bought an iPod to let me decide what I wanted to listen to and when, but lately my strategy has changed. Instead of wearing it while walking around town or on the El, I've stopped using it so I can enjoy the simple act of listening without being inundated with non-stop music.
Also, to follow up on the comments, I am a bit frightened to see where this trend of music "synergy" is going. Sure, I chuckle every time I hear "Lust for Life" with "the liquor and drugs and the sex machine" excised -- and cry every time I hear Nick Drake plugging VWs -- but I'm fraid it's only going to get worse. As guanoboy mentions the ad world isn't just occasionally using pop songs to sell products, the new trend is to actively seek out songs and bands that best match their brands. (Witness the recent U2/iPod success -- who's next, Bob Dylan for Victoria's Secret? -- oh, wait a minute...!) But now that tunes are being plugged into commercials, movies, TV shows, and even ring tones, it's having a radical effect on how we listen to and consume them.
I'm not sure what the answer is, but when we wind up using music to block out the sounds around us, I think we have a real problem...
By the way, it's indisputable that Nissan's use of the Velvet Underground's "Heroin" is the most egregious example of this trend, right?
You know, I wonder whether some of these ad execs think that they are doing a good thing by including "subversive" songs in commercials. Think of how many of these songs you've put on mix tapes for people who you've tried to introduce to cool music. Maybe some of these ad execs with hip taste think that they're making a mix tape to the general public, and doing everyone a big service (including the artists whose songs are used, some of whom might be getting the first real paycheck of their entire careers). I'm not saying that what these execs are doing is therefore a-okay, but just that some of them might be acting with noble motives.
I totally agree. Its bewildering and annoying to have our alternative legacy co-opted by the footlocker, but it's no excuse not to keep going Jon. I want my MTV, err, little hit! -grin- So get off your futon and mine another gem for us! I'm stuck in a cube farm and while I may not be able to literally crawl under the covers, I can put on the headphones and go there anytime, thanks to you and the artists you showcase here.
Somehow, this made me feel better about having to listen to Kansas City's own 99.7 KY all day. It's lame that so many classic rock songs have been ruined for me through repeated exposure, but at least it's ruining Journey and Boston for me instead of songs that I grew up loving.
Thank you Little Hits. Don't be gone too long.
Please: come off that ledge, Jon. Think of your wife. Think of your cats...
That essay made me sad. I remember having my mind blown by music; it's been a really long time since that happened. I used to blame it on age, but now I'm not so sure.
My vote for most egregious offense has to be the Buzzcocks/Land Rovers playing polo debacle (or whatever the hell brand it was).
Ah, commerce. Muzak was once the whipping boy of the music biz and mall shoppers alike, so Muzak literally changed their tune and started licensing real music-they call it "Audio Branding"-to malls, grocery stores, taco huts, and presumably elevators.
No doubt there have been some stupid licensing agreements (Mike's right - Nissan=Heroin is the worst) but it doesn't bug me at all that Kurt Heasley licensed Lilys songs to Nike, Levi's, and Channel.
I think the worst effects of Audio Branding is that it killed old Muzak and it killed the jingle. I miss those cheesy instrumental versions of standards and hits...with strings! And the jingles..."You Asked for it, you got it, Toyota"..."Call 988-oh eight hundred, Empire" What are the jingle writers doing now - working for Aerosmith and Kenny Chesney?
Mark Johnson is a Chicagoland poseur!!!!
"Five eight eight, two three hundred... Em-piiiire!"
And to think it all started with Jefferson Airplane's Levi commercial...
sigh...
This message was brought to you by Bret, "the hippest dude in Lawrence". (circa 1989)
Man o' man you hit it here. We have to listen to Muzak at work. It isn't the Muzak of old but a piped in satellite service and they play the same friggin' songs every day. There are many stations but few that really work as just general pop/rock/soul hits and it's a pain to change te stations and someone inevitably complains and changes it back. I can't hear any of the songs now. They're done. Sometimes I hear the station in other places )or are all work music selections the same!??!!)! Are there really only a day and a half worth of songs to choose from or is Muzak just cheap (I know the answer)? I agree that I often don't want music when I leave work. Anyway, great post!
I heard Teenage Fanclub's `Take The Long Way Around' in the furniture giant IKEA. Apparently, they play that one all the time because it's a long way around the store. Horrible.
They do this a lot of movies these days, too, co-opt a swell song for some inane scene.
Post a Comment
<< Home