The The - one of my favorite bands of all time has been sold out to schlep M & Ms on television!!!

"This is the Day" is now selling chocolate to Americans - most of whom probably have never heard this 23-year-old song!

I swear, if it weren't for the music and words of Matt Johnson (among others) I may have not made it out of my teens.


Here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/wa...hWv7l8Lm_A

Well... you didn't wake up this morning
Because you didn't go to bed
You were watching the whites of your eyes
Turn red
The calendar on your wall is ticking
the days off
You've been reading some old letters
You smile and think how much you've changed
All the money in the world
Couldn't buy back those days.
You pull back the curtains, and the sun burns into your eyes,
You watch a plane flying across a clear blue sky.
THIS IS THE DAY -- Your life will surely change.
THIS IS THE DAY -- Your life will surely change.
You could've done anything -- if you'd wanted
And all your friends and family think that you're lucky.
But the side of you they'll never see
Is when you're left alone with the memories
That hold your life together like
Glue

or maybe http://www.prince.org/msg/8/214936

lilgish said:

I'm angry about it.

applekisses said:

It really only bothers me when they change the lyrics, like they did with Devo on that swiffer commercial

Considering The The haven't had an album in a while...and considering the song came out like almost 2 decades ago, It's ok with me. It's really a great song and if it even spareks up a little interest in The The (HIGHLY UNDER RATED), I'm ok with it.

Even though I love them, I have more issue with the Goldfrapp songs I am hearing in commercials. As there are way too many commercials that have thier music and several use the same song.

superspaceboy said:

I agree with the Goldfrapp...they are in EVERY commerical.

Seems like getting your music synched to a commercial or tv show is the only way for a musician to make a buck these days. God knows the labels ain't payin.

lilgish said:

same here.

changing "Cool Jerk" to "Cool Whip" for instance.

Matt Johnson has a family and next to no income coming in. He hasn't released a record in seven years, doesn't have a recording contract, isn't gigging. His last show - to my knowledge - was a disastrous performance as part of Bowie's Meltdown in London in 2002. What you call "selling out", he'll call surviving. So would you if you were in his shoes.

On the plus side, this could help revive his career. On the downside, a bunch of people will get fatter.
[Edited 1/22/07 14:42pm]

Not to turn this into a P&R thing, but I just don’t see the big deal when a performer allows his music to be used in ads. Both parties gain; the performer gets a few bucks, and the advertiser gets the use of the track. It’s an economic transaction like any other, not so radically different from when you pay for a record or a ticket for a gig. The artist receives income, the user receives a benefit.
[Edited 1/22/07 16:04pm]

damosuzuki said:

The user receives no benefit. I think the issue is that most feel it cheapens the music somehow when it's used as an advertising score....a back ground filler that is supposed to evoke a feeling in order to sell a product. Oft times the commercial brings in unwanted subtext tot he song...ala "ring of fire" for Preparation H.

Sometimes it's at the expense of the song. Because NORMALLY you would not hear such and such song so many times in any regular day/sitting. But when I am watching a night of TV...hearing Oooh La La 7 times is a bit much. When you hear "I hate that song...they play it all the time on the TV commercials" then it's been played way too much.

superspaceboy said:

I think all of what you said occurs - but in the strictest definition, the user (the company advertising) does get a benefit; they get the use of the song to promote their product.

incoherence edit
[Edited 1/22/07 16:37pm]

damosuzuki said:

Yes, but why not use something original? It's obviously cheaper.

superspaceboy said:

They make their decision same way we do every time we buy anything - we ask ourselves if we'll get a benefit in excess of the price. If we think we will, we'll pay the cost - if not, we won't.

Honestly, I'm not positive what companies gain from using a relatively obscure act like the the or the buzzcocks - but clearly they perceive some advantage from it. We're sitting here talking about it - that's probably part of the gain.

Shapeshifter said:

That's actually a good point. Thanks

You people are exaggerating. My TV is on all day and I haven't seen one commercial yet with Goldfrapp in 2007.

I started to do a thread on Human League's "Don't You Want Me" being used for a Chips Ahoy commercial. They're always using 80's songs in commercials nowadays.

sextonseven said:

seriously? I mean....not so much now, but throughout the entire year....last year. I swear to you at one point multiple Goldfrapp commercials were running at the same time.

AnckSuNamun said:

Lovin' it.

i'm kind of suprised that the the would even make it into an american commercial. i guess the cool kids must be growing up, getting real jobs and injecting some good taste into the corporate scheme.

i think this same song was used earlier last year to schlep dockers...

oh well...matt johnson's got to eat too, i guess. i'm not sure, but i think he owns the rights to his music...i know he's been a vocal advocate of artist's rights, at least.

hopefully he's getting paid enough to finance a new album...

AnckSuNamun said:

Even last year, the only ones I saw over and over were Target's "Fly Me Away" and Verizon's "Strict Machine". I saw one with "Number 1" a few times and I vaguely remember hearing "Ooh La la" a long time ago. Maybe I'm watching the wrong channels.

sextonseven said:

That's a hell of a lot of Goldfrapp songs right there.

On a related note, I just got back from seeing The Fratellis play (great show! ) and they closed with a cover of "Ooh La La".

minneapolisgenius said:

Not to threadjack, but how was Jarvis?

damosuzuki said:

It was amazing! I'd do a thread about it, but so few people even care. Plus, I'm total crap at reviews.

It was a great show. I was right up front, but to the side though and all the photographers were pushing me out of the way. Other than that, I had a great view and the show was really better than anything I had expected. He's really such a funny guy, and he'd just talk with the crowd between every song, and joke around about how the tour has been going, about drunken biking through Amsterdam, asking if his jeans were too short, etc. I'd go just to listen to him talk about stuff like that.

Plus, I got the set list and the big poster they had at the venue, so Yeah, it was amazing. He sounded brilliant and the band was also top notch. He also played guitar on a couple of songs.

And he ended with "Purple Haze"! I had seen other setlists where he ended w/ "Life On Mars" so I was kind of expecting a Bowie song, but to end w/ Purple Haze was just really a surprise. He really rocked it out too, flying all over the place and all that.

See? I'm crap at reviewing anything. I just end up sounding like a gushing teenager most of the time. And I use way too many emoticons it seems.

minneapolisgenius said:

Give us the setlist MinneapolisG - and then STOP HIJACKING THREADS ABOUT OTHER ARTISTS, YOU MEMBER OF AL COCKER YOU!
[Edited 1/24/07 4:45am]

Shapeshifter said:

Is this thread about an artist other than Jarvis?

I'm just the female version of MikeMatronik you know, except without the Madonna factor. But to correct you, I actually brought up The Fratellis in relation to Goldfrapp, which was SORT OF on topic. Damo brought up Jarvis.

Ok, here goes (and sorry applekisses )...

Fat Children

Don't Let Him Waste Your Time

Heavy Weather

One Man Show

I Will Kill Again

From A - I

Tonight

Big Julie

Disney Time

Big Stuff

Black Magic

-----

(encore)

Cunts Are Running the World

Purple Haze



But he didn't do Quantum Theory or Baby's Coming Back to Me.

minneapolisgenius said:

NO PULP!!!! Oh dear. He's made a great album, granted, but he should have thrown in some Pulp stuff. You know, the obscurities, like Common People, Babies and Help The Aged.

Shapeshifter said:

So, let's talk The The? Do you actually like them/him?

I think Matt Johnson's a hugely talented and intelligent songwriter who's never made a bad album. Mind Bomb was a tad patchy, but all the other albums are great. Favourite is of course Soul Mining.

Shapeshifter said:

Oh I already knew he wouldn't be doing any Pulp songs. The cool thing though was that NO ONE yelled out "Play Common People!" or anything like that. I would just look around at the faces of people in the crowd and everyone just had huge grins on their faces the whole time. I guess he hadn't played Holland since '95. Of course I would have just lost my mind of he did some Pulp songs though.

And I thought it was cool that all the amp and equipment cases all said "Pulp" on them. I took a pic w/ my camera, but I don't think they turned out all that well.