the ultimate sell-out? or what?

Subject: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: Dani
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 10:43 PM

Say it ain't so....

I just heard Woody Guthrie's "Take Me Riding In The Car" in a........ NISSAN AD?!?!

What gives?

Dani

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 11:18 PM

Or so what?

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: Abby Sale
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 11:38 PM

:-) Well, I guess it was written as a baby song for Arlo, so it's not such a big step.

Recently Roy Book Binder mentioned one of his songs was about to be used for some national TV ad campaign. He noted that if such an offer had been made 30 years ago he'd have been outraged and walked out in a huff. Now, he simply asked, How much?

I'll never forget hearing Beetles songs in an elevator.

Even Beethovan took hack work from Thompson, Burns' publisher, to do treatments for an upscale tea table book of Scottish folk & wrote songs. (A guinnea per volume as I recall.) Then he compounded the stuff by swiping the material as if new for the Scottish symphony.

Oh, so many "spokespersons" for so many things.

About 100 years ago I asked my sister howcome the ads seem to have better (new) music than pop music. She opined the ad companies pay more. Seemed reasonable. Of course, it's much cheaper to rent old music.

Oh, I guess I get outraged too but nobody offers me $500,000 to endorse their sneakers or cars.

What would Woody have said? Might depend how hungry he was or if he cared - someone pays you for a song - that's good. He did take the commission for those songs on Boulder Dam, etc. I think Pastures of Plenty was one - good song.

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 09 Dec 05 - 11:52 PM

You are crazy if you think that Woody did not write songs to make money.   His music was the way he earned his living.

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 12:05 AM

Like to see them use Woody's Mrs. Roosevelt song in an ad - where Woody says that Mr. Roosevelt liked Stalin but not Chruchill.

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: Dani
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 12:14 AM

Sure, I'm just wondering who makes the money on/from/with that song. If it's the Guthrie estate, lovely. If it's Nissan, I'm sad.

Go ahead, call me a Pollyanna. For some reason, this just hit home. What a world.

Dani

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 01:22 AM

Why is everybody acting all surprised about this. It's been going on for years. During the 1960's Tom Paxton's song "My Dog's Bigger Than Yours" was the jingle for Ken-L-Ration Dogfood and the Kingston Trio sang a TV jingle for Pepsi.

Stephen Lee

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: open mike
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 02:30 AM

and johnny cash "I've been everywhere" is a hotel commercial.
but it is NOT true that "ring of fire" is used for a preparation H commercial---or is it?

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 04:00 AM

Actually it's Johny Cash's cover of HANK SNOW's "I've Been Eveywhere".

Stephen Lee

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 06:23 AM

The original was wriiten by an Aussie - still alive.

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 03:26 PM

Hank Snow was Canadian.

Stephen Lee

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: Peace
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 03:47 PM

The ultimate in sacrilege was a commercial I saw years back that went

"Bar-bar-bar, bar-barbeque
Bar-bar-bar, bar barbeque . . . ".

THAT was horrible.

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 04:03 PM

I remember being upset the first time I saw David Niven do a Nescafe advert. I think it's the heroes with feet of clay shock thing.
Giok

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 04:20 PM

Are there 'bar-be' commercials in Australia? There must be one or two. Perhaps 'Fire up the bar-be...'

(Oh, fergit it. I am reminded of another silly thread, about Starbucks selling exclusive cds.)

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: GUEST,Art Thieme
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 05:08 PM

The Guthrie Children's Trust Fund probably is the recipient of the money. Several of the kids in that lineage have died of Huntington's Disease. Until a cure is found, I do suspect you can see one or two valid uses for that money.

Art

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: GUEST,Wesley S
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 05:31 PM

At least the song is getting some exposure. Now we can sing it for kids - and they will be open to it because it's familar. After that we can say - "And here's another song by the same guy".

It's a foot in the door.

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: Once Famous
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 05:50 PM

I can't understand why making money for art is such a problem.

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 06:45 PM

Like the guy above says (one of the few times I can agree with him), what's wrong with this ?

Anybody who believes that professional performers write and sing songs for any other reason than making money lives in cloud cuckoo land. Singing and playing for pleasure is one thing but when it's your source of income it ain't that easy and always that pleasurable.

It's an advert for a damn car, and it's earning money for Guthrie's estate. Do none of us drive cars? Do we have to buy one because we know and like the song that is being used to promote it?

Sell out nothing, it's just a damn shame that Woody isn't around to reap the benefits.

Hoot

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: GUEST,Dani
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 10:25 PM

I know, I know. You're right.

It was just jarring, is all. Those songs were baby songs for my kids, too, and I don't watch much TV, so when I see something like this, it takes me a while to catch up with the world.

Dani

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 10:48 PM

The world welcomes you Dani! Glad you could catch up!    :)

Of course Nissan is making money with the ad - if it is effective. More power to them! I hope it works and suddenly the airwaves are filled with folksongs again. Let's put money in the pockets of people who deserve it - artists and the company included.

The Guthrie estate will make something too.   I've only heard the commercial once, and I wasn't sure who was singing. I think it was the Ramblin Jack version. If so, he gets a piece of the pie too.

I am surprised that no one really complains when they shell out $25 or more (usually a lot more) to see Arlo or someone of that ilk sing a song they like.   They might even purchase a CD for about $14. No problem until they hear that same song on TV - then that artist is suddenly slammed as a "sell-out".   Am I the only person who sees something inconsistent with that logic?

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 11:29 PM

About a year ago I spotted a headline in my local newsrag:

Dylan Doesn't Sell Out

"Of course" says I.

"Man of principal"

"Dedicated to his causes"

"A man of great character"







Turns out they'd booked him for the "big arena" and didn't sell enough tickets. They moved his engagement to the bar across the street and booked some "trash jockey" as a replacement for the arena.

John

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 10 Dec 05 - 11:54 PM

What is a "trash jockey"?

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: samirich
Date: 11 Dec 05 - 12:00 AM

It is not the fact that the song makes money for somebody else or that the person who wrote the song gets money for it. Folk belongs to and in and with the folk. Capitalism is our political system, but sensitivity to the folk that vote should mean that who ever negotiates the sell of these songs says ok you can use the words or the music but you can't use both on your commercial. Unless you play the whole song. All 5 minutes of it. Then we would gain some exposure to some of the great folk songs and the commercials might not be so predictable. Of course, that means I have to think about something other than myself in the decision making process. Get off the animal farm.

I love the song and just heard it for the first time this summer. I can't wait to teach it to kids, a whole room of little chil'ren ridin' in my car car, brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brm brrm b' brrrm.(engine noise made by holding the lips loosely together and saying"boom" explosively so that the lips vibrate against each other, resulting in a sound something like "brrm.")

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 11 Dec 05 - 01:57 AM

I see the contradiction, Ron. I wasn't slamming or making value judgements. I was just observing that this is not a new thing and shouldn't surprise anyone.

Stephen Lee

Subject: RE: the ultimate sell-out? or what?
From: Ernest
Date: 11 Dec 05 - 11:49 AM

Isn`t it grat when a good song gets airplay (even just very little)? And isn`t it good when big companies see the value of a good song (among other things: that it is possible to make money with it)?
Let us hope they will learn that this kind of music is better than the one made by so called "Super Stars" pushed - and cloned- by the music industry!