Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

shilling for a song

I tend to despise jingles that appropriate popular songs and change the lyrics. The discontinuity between the lyrics I know and the revised lyrics I hate only conspires to get the tune stuck in my head for hours at a time, something that can make me grumpy and irritable and lamenting my favorite “stuck-in-my-head” songs’ inability in those moments to serve their function at my time of greatest need.

Last week, a Washington Post story delved into the selling out of one such song: the 1967 hit “Happy Together” by the Turtles. (“A Steak in the Heart of ‘Happy Together’” - 04/06/04) The song’s copyright owner, Carlin America, sold the rights to the song to Applebee’s without consulting the songwriters or the band, who are more than a little unhappy about the whole affair.

You listen and think, either this is a joke or the work of the Devil. Then you think that whoever pimped “Happy Together” to Applebee’s and turned it into a pitch for meat and seafood must be strangled. Or, if not strangled, at least asked a series of really annoying questions. The song is a little bit goofy and it’s no watershed — like “Yesterday” or “Smells Like Teen Spirit” — but it’s fair to call “Happy Together” beloved, and it certainly has delightful associations for millions of fans.

It used to, anyway.

Speaking of selling out, but in a different way, Slate has an ad review of the latest Victoria’s Secret television ad … featuring the music and visage of Bob Dylan. (“Tangled Up in Boobs” - 04/12/04) I haven’t seen the ad on television (and because I don’t want to install Windows Media Player, I can’t view the ad on my computer), but based on the reviewer’s description (and my own mental picture of Dylan), the ad sounds creepy, to say the least.

So, it makes some sense for Bob. But what about Vicky? Why would a brand that’s about sexiness, youth, and glamour want any connection at all with a decrepit, sixtysomething folksinger? The answer, my friend, is totally unclear. The answer is totally unclear.

Even if Victoria’s Secret hopes to bring in more boomer women, do those women want their underwear to exude the spirit and essence of Bob Dylan? Or, conversely, is Bob Dylan the sort of man they’re hoping to attract? Even if you’re of the belief that men frequently shop at VS for their ladies, I still don’t see the appeal of this ad. I, for instance, am a man, and I can assure you that Bob Dylan is not what I’m looking for in a woman’s undergarment. (And if I found him there—man, would that be disturbing.)

Why, indeed.