Do you get depressed when you hear one of your favorite songs used in a commercial? Sure, we all do! When I get sulky about one of my favorite songs being used to sell cars I do one of two things. Sometimes I write an irate item, and sometimes I think of Iggy Pop. Maybe in your case Iggy Pop is the one who let you down because there was a time when Lust For Life was in every single commercial on television.
For all I know it is still in every single commercial but right now I can only think of one, and that would be the cruise ship commercial. If anyone could use ten days of buffets it's Iggy Pop so I hope they threw him a complimentary vacation or two in addition to the regular royalty check. If it is Iggy Pop that is making you want to holler, "Sellout!" at your television, let me remind you of his Behind The Music.
I haven't seen his Behind The Music in years so I only remember a handful of things. For the record, I did go see Iggy Pop a few years ago but I've never had an Iggy Pop phase. No, I haven't had a Stooges phase either. I should because everyone seems to think I would love that first album but have you seen the price of that LP? Used it's going to cost a fortune and the only new copies that I have seen are nifty remasters and those carry a nifty remaster price tag. And the odds of me actually caving in and buying a nifty remaster are not good. I'd rather get five used records! Value!
Anyway, these are the things I remember from the Iggy Pop Behind The Music: Iggy Pop seems like a pretty nice guy, Iggy Pop has a son that looks like a cleaned up version of Iggy Pop, and Iggy Pop does not really care who uses his song for a commercial. That isn't exactly what he said, he said something along the lines of, "It wasn't written for commercial purposes but if you want to use it go ahead."
I'm thinking that his Behind The Music debuted in 1998 or 1999 and that might also have been the time that Lust For Life first appeared in a commercial, so that is probably why they asked him about it. Maybe it's been in ads longer than that, I couldn't say for sure. Ever since I saw him say that, I try to relax when I hear one of my favorite tunes on TV. I tell myself that it wasn't written for commercial purposes so it's okay.
That works most of the time and if it doesn't at least I get to use the phrase wiener champion. However, I've been having some sports-related music issues these days. I have no problem with We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions at the arena, those have been used as long as I can remember so what I am gonna do? But could everyone please stop using Welcome To The Jungle as soon as possible? Please? Pretty please with Slash's hat on top? I think LCG is tired of hearing the same tirade every time I hear Welcome To The Jungle during a sporting event. Won't someone think of LCG's mom's children?
Every time I hear that opening riff in a sports setting I slump down in my seat (at home or in the car or at the stadium) and say to LCG, "Do you remember what this song used to be?"
LCG: Oh, you mean before it became the rallying cry for every sports team in every league?
Me: Yes.
LCG: Yes, I do.
Me: Do you remember how fresh this song sounded? It was exciting! And the video! Skinny ass Axl and the best hairdo he ever had...fantastic. Things started going downhill for me when he combed out his hair and started wearing the bandana.
LCG: And things ended up here.
Me: Safe for parents to listen to. You know, Guns N' Roses was not a family friendly band once upon a time.
Of course, the more I pay attention to the music played at hockey games the more I realize that the list goes on and on. I've got the hockey game on the radio right now and so far I've heard Centerfold and expect to hear the Ramones any minute. I don't know exactly what my problem is because even though hearing Welcome To The Jungle sort of makes me feel old, I don't mind feeling old. That's probably because a large percentage of my emailers are under the age of twenty so I feel old on a daily basis.
I guess the main problem is this: when does a rock and roll band go from being rebellious to being sports rock? Is there some sort of timeline that I don't know about? Does rebellion carry an expiration date? Because when I was a young lady in the eighth grade, listening to Guns N' Roses was the rebellious antidote to Belinda Carlisle and Whitney Houston.
They were even the antidote to Poison and Whitesnake because by late 1987 everyone liked those guys so we early adopters of Guns N' Roses were a smug bunch indeed. And now that first shining star in the Guns N' Roses story is the entrance music for football teams. What happened there? I guess two things happened there. Something more rebellious came along and I got old.