Rolling My Eyes

...because fuckin' Wendy's is using a Violent Femmes song in a commercial.

Allan thinks it's okay, because it allows the musicians to make an extra buck. I see his point.

But really. The Femmes? Wendy's? It's almost worse than Iggy Pop and that cruise line.

Oh hey, here are the lyrics to that song. Just so you can see how WRONG it is to use it to sell fast food:

When I'm a walking, I strut my stuff, then I'm so strung out
I'm high as a kite, I just might, stop to check you out

Let me go on, like a blister in the sun
Let me go on, big hands I know you're the one

Body and beats, I stain my sheets, I don't even know why
My girl friend, she's at the end, she is starting to cry

Let me go on, like a blister in the sun
Let me go on, big hands I know you're the one

Whisper:

When I'm a walking, I strut my stuff, then I'm so strung out
I'm high as a kite, I just might, stop to check you out
When I'm a walking, I strut my stuff, then I'm so strung out
I'm high as a kite, I just might, stop to check you out
Body and beats, I stain my sheets, I don't even know why
My girl friend, she's at the end, she is starting to cry
When I'm a walking, I strut my stuff, then I'm so strung out
I'm high as a kite, I just might, stop to check you out

Loud:

Let me go on, like a blister in the sun
Let me go on, big hands I know you're the one

Yah. The anthem of many an 80s teenager. Fuckin' Wendy's. Need I say more?

Comments

[Ms. George]

Glad to see I'm not the only one with a problem with the context of the song. I don't mind the money making schemes of bands-I-used-to/still-listen to, but I really do not think staining the sheets and Wendy's hamburgers need to be in the same brainwave. Not to mention hanging on until his girlfriend is finished.
Wasn't there a car ad with "Turning Japanese" a few years ago?

[Allan]

Follow me to the libertarian dark side.

Mwahahahahahaha!

[Another Aligator]

I'm on Allan's side with this one... but then again, I'm one of the soulless marketing fiends (and textbook Libertarians).

That said, I have to wonder if some of these rocket scientists listen to the *lyrics* of the songs.

Everytime I hear Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life" as the BGM for a Disney or kids' movie trailer, I just cackle and think, "You just used a song about crystal meth and blowjobs to sell your kiddie flick." XD

[sizzle]

that pains me. deeply.

[Mist 1]

I'm not sure if I want a cheeseburger or if I feel like masturbating right now.

I was in a commercial once that used Blister in the Sun. That's how I know it's about masturbation. The song, not the commercial that I was in.

Gawd.

[rebecca]

I KNOW!!!! (said like Monica from Friends)

i said this last week in NWG's blog. it made me angry at first, then sad.

what is this world coming to!!!!

[newwavegurly]

Don't even get me started.

More and more 80s songs (and I don't mean the bubblegum pop of the era, I mean the more "alternative" tracks) are being used in commercials. This makes me sad, yet does make me chuckle a bit too. I mean really, with the association that most of us have with "Blister In The Sun" (though they deny that the song is actually about masturbation), why would Wendy's use it — though if you notice, they only use the instrumental, nothing with actual lyrics...

[ALY]

I LOVE the femmes and that song, but I agree...it's a little bit NAUGHTY for a burger commercial. It certainly doesn't make me feel like eating (not that Wendy's makes me feel like eating otherwise).

[gina]

WTF? A masturbation song in a fast food commercial? That is really f'd up. And for the Violent Femmes to sell out like that? Horrible. Absolutely horrible.

[Neil]

This selling out of a good song to some dumb company happens so often now I don't even blink.

[Emil]

As Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. would say,

And so it goes...

Aren't we the people making these commercials--people who grew up listening to this music, and now have a chance to incorporate it into their work? Not that I condone it. Some friends of mine are in a band called the Album Leaf, and they've had songs played on the O.C. and on Hummer commercials. Of course their not going to turn down that money! And it's not like they're selling that show, or that vehicle; they're selling records (or CDs, if you prefer).

Believe me, I hated it when Volkswagen came out with the commercial for their then new Beetle, featuring the song Little Fluffy Clouds, by the Orb. It bothered me to no end. Why? Because they were tapping into my pleasure center, using some of my fondest memories, and trying to tie them to a symbol of mass consumerism. But you know what I did? I canceled the cable.

And you know, I always heard that Blister in the Sun was about something considered much more deviant than mere pud-pullin', but supposedly it's not about that or masturbation. In any case, it's fun to think that a burger joint would sell their shit using a song with such cultural baggage! And what if the people at Wendy's do know what they're doing? Maybe they want people to associate their square patties with carnal gratification...genius!

[Catheroo]

I think fast food joints should use Milli Vanilli songs. Fake band. Fake food.

[rebecca]

Yep. Just saw a Honda min-van commercial done to a Parliament song.

CRAP!!!

[Karan]

I actually enjoy the joke when Madison Ave. uses songs with less than middle America appropriate lyrics. It's like a private gag that The Doors are selling cars with "Come on Baby Light My Fire"....a way sexually charged song. Same goes for the Violent Femmes. HAHAHA

[Carrie]

Clearly not the best choice that's for sure.

I've been angered by many commercials using old classics. The most recent is the theme to Mary Tyler Moore. God help me, if I could rip the music out of that commercial with my bare hands I would. lol

[AlisonM]

Oh, come on. Nobody EVER really listens to the lyrics. That's why people request "Every Breath You Take" for their sweethearts on valentine's day radio shows. That's why idjits chose Uncle Kracker's "Follow Me" for the first dance at their weddings. The number of songs about masturbation and drug use that end up on easy listening stations always cracks me up. Heck, take an elevator ride every once in a while and actually listen to the Muzak - you get a lot of extra space that way, too, because all the other riders will back away, not knowing why you suddenly burst into raucous laughter. If a band you like can make money from an old song and pull a fast one on the company that buys it at the same time, you should find it really funny, because I'll betcha that the band does too, every time they cash their checks.

[Michael C]

I read yesterday that Julian Lennon sold his stake in his dad's Beatles songs. Who knows what that could lead to...

[Betty C.]

To respond to Michael above, it can lead to the Crédit Agricole bank in France using "Imagine" as an advertising theme and phone "hold" jingle. That's been going on for a while, though. Imagine!

[Betty C.]

BTW, the Typepad commenting system has been refusing my URLs this morning. I don't know why -- I finally just commented without one.

[rebecca]

laughing is fun, isn't it?

[cmhl]

I agree, I dont' want to be thinking about "blister in the sun" while ordering my frosty..