scarce

[ateolf]

very little to share...though i did purchase a Roland KC-500 keyboard amp on ebay...this should help the band out tremendously when it arrives...in so many ways...one of its best features (aside from being made for keyboards/synths) is that it has four independent channels...quite bitchin'...i went over to Jacques in hopes that practice would happen...unfortunately it did not...at least due to unavoidable circumstances and not just someone fucking off...so hopefully practice should be happening again in the near-future...and hopefully things start going more smoothly when that amp arrives, as opposed to the haphazard set-up we've got going now...i sat around Jacques' watching teevee...went home...watched The Boondock Saints...hopefully i'll bed myself soon, for i've class in the wee hours of the afternoon...oh shit! and i forgot the most zany bit of news of all! in the midst of teevee-watchin' i saw this terrible terrible terrible commercial (some jeans company...Levis?) and what the fuck should be playing in the background but Mogwai! "Summer" (Ten Rapid version) i guess it's not that bad 'cuz there's no way anyone unfamiliar w/ Mogwai could identify it as anything other than incidental commercial music, but i guess it's just that the actual commercial was SO fucking terrible...i hope they at least got a bunch of money from the deal...

Comments

[ex-albee437.livejournal.com]

I'm curious to understand how this form of whoring one's music out is a strike against integrity. I could see it if Mogwai on the screen, personally selling the jeans but providing music? In some cases I enjoy seeing it work against the product (i.e. The Walkmen's "We've Been Had" selling the Saturn Ion--how fitting!).

Suppose someone sees the commercial, caring fuck all for the jeans but likes the song enough to find out who the artist is and buying their cd? A converted Mogwai fan. How can that be bad?

Music and musicians themselves, making art to fulfill their sincere artistic integrity. It's a nice idea, but how to afford the instruments? *sigh* I guess we'll have to sell the horses, Mabel...

[amohongos.livejournal.com]

For me, my music is an expression of who I am. I think it's the same for most musicians, with the exception of pop stars, who are conceived as products to begin with.

To reduce music to an advertising jingle cheapens it. It's like saying, "my music is so unimportant to me that I'm going to use it to sell Coca-Cola." And I find that repulsive.

When your song is used in a commercial, you're endorsing the product -- after all, it's your music playing in the commercial. It's a strike at integrity because it's fake. After all, does Britney Spears really prefer Pepsi? Something tells me she'd be a Coke fan if Coca-Cola had hired her instead.

I don't see the difference between providing music and appearing in a commercial. Either way, you're still helping the company sell stuff.

If you figured out that the song was "fitting," don't you think they did too? They didn't just hear the song and blindly say, "hey, cool song, let's put in a commercial." They did focus groups, they studied the psychological effects the song has on people, etc. Advertisers long ago realized the value of perceived "working against the product" (for lack of better words). If they can make you think you're one of the chosen few in on the joke, you're a lot more likely to pay attention. And in today's advertising-glutted world, attention is everything.

[ateolf.livejournal.com]

i don't necessarily see background music as a strike against integrity...i don't see it as endorsing a product...Mogwai didn't write the song hoping it'd end up in some jeans commercial years later...it wasn't written to sell jeans...just some ad exec thought it'd work for some reason or another, threw it in the commercial, Mogwai got a little money out of the deal...i don't even see the issue of integrity really crossing into the picture...they're seperate entities...i do consider selling out to be a big deal...i do value artistic integrity above all else...but i don't think it applies here...sure, it's possible Mogwai could let it go to their heads and from now on try to make music they think would fit into commercials or something like that...but anything like that is left to Mogwai and the future...it's not directly related to one song ending up in one commercial...and really, they could use/deserve some money...

[ethangrim.livejournal.com]

True, the song prob'ly wasn't written to be in a commercial but it is such a horrid thing to watch, it affects my opinion of the song pretty strongly. The test of integrity for the band (or "artist") can still be gauged by the products they choose to endorse as well. Part of Britney Spear's contract with Pepsi was that they provide her with a case of COCA-COLA at any function she appeared at on their behalf. I don't feel the need to walk a mile in her implants to judge this as disgusting. Everything has a price but how high it's set and who ultimately pays should be considered.