Issue xiv - Emory University

WMRE Executive Staff
‘Zine Editor
Valerie Gaimon
General Manager
David Ogles
Programming Director
John Hartung
Treasurer
Catherine Garofalo
Technical Director
Joseph Sabado
Personnel Director
Erica Davis
Top 10 Week of 04.25.05
Artist
British Sea Power
Morrissey
Architecture in Helsinki
Weezer
Hot Hot Heat
Des Ark
Oasis
Pale Pacific
Garbage
The Raveonettes
Album
Open Season
Live from Earl’s Court
In Case We Die
Beverly Hills single
Elevators
Send Jolly to Raleigh
Lyla single
Rules are Unpredictable
Bleed Like Me
Pretty in Black
Music Director
Leuwam Tesfai
Publicity Director
Lauren Baker
Business Manager
Alexander Sachs
Oh no! It’s Nalini’s farewell letter! We didn’t even have time to haze her!
listen-ers, I’m so sad to leave. I’m weeping as we speak; it’s debilitating, but
not so powerful that I can’t summarize what it’s meant to me in a limerick.
Social Chair
Stacy Komitor
There was once a girl named Nalini
Who headed the WMRE ziney
When she had to leave
She felt bereaved
But then made herself a martini.
Webmaster
Joseph Sabado
Members At Large
Spencer Koch
Trish Harris
Corey Licht
Eric Stein
Brian Sholer
Rachel Gottschalk
Nalini Abirahman
Larry Oji
As you can see, I’m prepared to move on. I’ll miss you all so! I wish my
comrade Valerie S. Gaimon the very best in taking care of the 12-page
faberge egg that is listen. With that, I’m out. Pablo, hold my baby!
Keep it typeface,
Nalini
Zine Poll
If you had to listen to just one band for the rest
of your life, what would it be?
Miles Davis & The Cool School – Nalini Abhiraman
The Beatles – Valerie Gaimon
The Roots – Daniel Spivack
Reel Big Fish – Lauren Baker
Radiohead – Marnie Florin
Beat Happening – Chris Daresta
Led Zeppelin – David Ogles
David Marek – Neutral Milk Hotel
The Velvet Underground – Andrea Gunadi
Vinyl Fetish
Have you noticed a superfluity of vinyl record sections and store openings around Atlanta? I’m all for
the retro craze when it comes to music, fashion and design, however, retro technology is something we can all
be without. Do we really need to relive a world without microwaves, jet engines or Toaster Strudels? If that’s
the case, I’m first in line to return my ringer T-shirts to Urban Outfitters.
Purists maintain the sound quality is unbeatable. There is supposed to be a warm, homey quality that
gets sucked out by the heartless bastards who digitally re-master music onto CDs. I can imagine my vinylhappy friends in their best Jon Stewart impressions asking, “Dude, have you ever listened to Led Zeppelin IV?
Have you listened to it… on vinyl?”
Yes, in fact, I have. The only difference I found is that the music “popped” and “hissed” more than on
CD (in fact CDs never pop or hiss, that’s why they were invented) and I had to get up, turn over the record and
place the needle back on the 12” hunk of obsolescence before I got to hear “Misty Mountain Hop.”
Ok, I’ll admit that there is something cool about “roughing it” like the old days. I enjoy camping and
hiking as much as the next guy (only if I can bring my portable mist-fan). But is it really practical to buy music
on a medium you have to sell off if you move across the country? I’ve heard several horror stories of DJs
having to pawn off each of their records for a buck apiece, because it would require an entire moving truck to
transport all of them to their new house
Maybe it’s not the sound itself that has revitalized interest in the LP. To me, the recent vinyl trend is
a backlash against the death of cover art. The digital revolution has effectively destroyed any awareness
or appreciation among our generation for album covers. Show me any college student scouring for music
through Instant Messenger or iTunes for an album cover, and I’ll show you a college student who won’t
recognize the band, album, release date, or record label under which it was released. Some of the most
recognizable pieces of art in the last few decades have been on album covers, from Pink Floyd to David Bowie
to the naked people on the Frankie Goes To Hollywood cover. People like to look at pretty things, and perhaps
this is a reason for people to buy vinyl.
But I think the vinyl trend can be attributed to one more aspect of our conversion to digital music. Frank
Zappa once said, “Communism doesn’t work because people like to own stuff.” Using his logic, maybe mp3s
won’t totally eliminate record stores in the future. People like to have a sense of ownership when they buy
something, and vinyls have become rare enough recently for even the greatest albums to become collector’s
items. One can take great pride in a large mp3 collection (my hard drive is bigger than your hard drive) but
what is the real financial impact of losing 10,000 songs that you never bought or properly owned to begin with?
Lose even 20 vinyl records and your friends will be hearing about it for months, especially if one was a rare
import.
All right, I admit I jumped on the vinyl bandwagon a few months ago. If you ever stared into the cover
of Elvis Costello’s This Year’s Model and saw your reflection in his big, goofy glasses, you would understand.
In the meantime, I’ll see you crazy retro kids thumbing through the antiques section at the local Value
Village.—David Ogles
“Born a bastard child in New Orleans to a woman I’ve never seen. I don’t know if she ever
held me. All I know is she let go of me.”
Louisiana’s songstress Mary Gauthier (pronounced go-Shay) is carving out a place among our
nation’s best poets and songwriters. Citing Bob Dylan, John Prine, Jim Morrison and Neil Young as
muses, listeners can hear their influences in the midst of her unique sound. As a songstress, poet
and philosopher, Mary’s led an interesting life. At fifteen she stole her adopted parents’ car, was in
detox multiple times as a teenager, and landed in jail on her eighteenth birthday. Still on drugs, she
majored in philosophy at LSU then moved to Boston, where she managed to open a restaurant called
Dixie Kitchen, also the title of her first album. Culinary success prompted her to clean herself up, and
at age thirty-five Gauthier was finally sober and wrote her first song. Of her writing she says, “I hit my
stride when I wrote this
song called “Goddamn HIV”
from the perspective of a
gay man who’s got the virus.
I realized that something
has to happen when I write.
If it raises the hair on
my arms, I know I’ve nailed
it.” Her first album was
nominated for a Boston Music
Award for ‘Best New
Contemporary Folk Artist.’
She soon sold her share
in the restaurant to produce
her second album, Drag
Queens in Limousines, which
garnered a four-star
review in Rolling Stone and
won her the Independent
Music Award ‘Country Artist
of the Year.’ But Mary
Gauthier keeps getting better.
I saw her perform to a
packed crowd at The Red
Light Café this past winter, where modest Mary thanked the audience for her first sold-out show.
“Things are looking up, boys,” she mused to her back-up band. She politely chatted with us after the
show, autographing the scores of albums she sold that night. I bought her third release, Filth & Fire,
the title referencing “Sugar Cane,” a song about burning sugar cane for harvest clouding the air black
in her bayou hometown Thibodaux, Louisiana.
Every release is personal yet relatable, and more compelling than the previous; her latest,
Mercy Now, is no exception. She conjures up incredible images in the Doors-esque “Wheel Inside
the Wheel,” like Marie Laveau (a famous voodoo queen) promenading with Oscar Wilde. And though
her songs are often love elegies, they don’t depress, but let us mourn with her about our own losses.
The title song of Mercy Now leaves this prayer:
“Every living thing could use a little mercy now
Only the hand of grace can end the race
Towards another mushroom cloud
People in power, well
They’ll do anything to keep their crown
I love life, and life itself could use some mercy now”
--Valerie Gaimon
The Fiery Furnaces @ Emory
As I began to write this article I realized I am probably the most biased person that could possibly
review the Fiery Furnaces concert at Emory. Not only am I a huge fan, but I organized the friggin’ event.
Therefore, I decided to write this article as another person. I am now a dorky Freshman boy named Jeffrey.
So, walking back to my dorm on Friday the fifteenth of April, I noticed a brightly colored orange flier (or twenty)
advertising a band called the Fiery Furnaces was playing on campus. This was
good, because as usual I had no plans for Friday night. Like all Emory students
attending an event on campus, I arrived over an hour after the advertised start
time (even though the flier said to arrive early because space was limited). When
I got there, a line stretched from the doorway of the Munroe theater all the way to
Einstein’s. I decided to wait since I had nothing else to do. Plus there were some
girls standing next to me. The opening band, Dios Malos, could be heard from
outside the doorway. They seemed all right. Right as I was about to get really
whiny, all the people standing in line were allowed to enter just a few songs after
the Furnaces began.
And boy was it worth the wait. I don’t know what to say; it just rocked.
The entire show was practically one continuous medley of Fiery Furnaces songs.
The energy of both the band and the crowd (a mix of students and scenesters)
was electric. During one song (I think maybe it was a love ballad) Eleanor looked RIGHT AT ME, and I totally
sprouted a chub. The band members had really good chemistry. You could tell they were into it, creating music
each song instead of just playing the same version that could be heard on any store-bought record. Aside from
Eleanor, of course, the drummer really stole the show. He hit those things (cymbals?) really well. I almost cried
when I thought they were finished after their forty-five minute set, but Eleanor heard my plea, and they returned
for a thrilling fifteen minute encore. It was definitely the best concert I have ever been to. Even better than
when I saw Cowboy Mouth at Centennial Olympic Park. Yes, it was that good. Afterwards I rushed over to buy
their latest release. I’m definitely a fan for life.—Rachel Gottschalk
Ingredients: Sugary sweet pop, a cute couple as the vocal duo and heart of the band, a horn section
seemingly coming straight from a spin-off high school band playing in their garage. Stir in youthful
exuberance, and you can bet the group is just an odd lot having
fun on stage.
Dish: The Brunettes
The music may not be the most complex, the lyrics not
the deepest, the mix not the most profound out there, nor the
instrumentation particularly amazing. Yet it somehow works. This
group from New Zealand plays an intelligent brand of feel-good
bubblegum pop—it’s as simple as that.
It’s hard not to like The Brunettes. They won’t be your
favorite band you might proclaim is making the greatest music
today, but you certainly will enjoy their music.
Their trademark sound, familiar to Kiwis but just becoming known stateside, contains
handclaps, vocal harmonies and the glockenspiel played by the adorable lead singer Heather
Mansfield. Think Belle & Sebastian, heck even The Partridge Family, or better yet and most
accurately, Brian Wilson.
Some of the songs as played by the quintet broach on surprising topics, such as physical
deformity, self-abuse, and emotional numbness. Other topics are quite typical—love and lust.
Currently on tour with the Shins, you can catch The Brunettes opening for Rilo Kiley in June.
--Daniel Spivack
The Arcade Fire is the Epitome of
Indie Rock & Why I am Getting
a Shins Logo Tattooed on my Face
Is it just me, or has indie
rock become the biggest marketing
tool ever? What was once a phrase
to describe any music on an independent label. The style of music
could vary but to say, “I like indie
rock” generally meant I like music
outside mainstream record labels.
Now indie rock is a term used by mainstream acts like Hanson to describe their own music. I don’t think
Hanson had to face the same kind of punishment as Black Flag, Minute Men, or Fugazi had to endure in order
to get their music heard without sacrificing their artistic integrity. Indie rock has even become a look: black
frame glasses, tight jeans, Converse All-stars, and fake vintage t-shirt from Urban Outfitters. Nothing wrong
with that, but it has been interesting to see how pigeonholed indie rock has become.
People always ask me what type of music I like, and anyone who knows me and has seen my record
collection knows I like a wide variety of music. It is also hard to describe to someone who has never heard
noise or no wave what it sounds like or why anyone would want to listen to it. I often say, “I like indie rock.”
This used to just get an “Oh, okay, whatever,” and the conversation would move on. Now it’s, “Oh, so you like
the Arcade Fire?” !!!!!!!!! Seriously this happens all the time. What the fuck? The Arcade Fire is the definition
of indie rock now? When did this happen? They have a video on MTV2, which is the new MTV. How indie
rock is that?
So all I want to say is, take indie rock back.
Actually, no, don’t worry about it. Pretty soon all music will be used in a Gap commercial. Seriously, I
really want to hear “Man is the Bastard” when I am buying frozen chicken nuggets at Publix. Then life will be
complete. Some John Zorn at Starbucks or Boredoms when I get a Frosty at Wendy’s. Pretty soon everyone
will have Converse, and they will become part of our feet so that we are born with protective plastic covering
our toes and canvas enveloping our feet. Yes, it will happen. Yes, it will.—Chris Daresta
Dear Jeff Mangum (of Neutral Milk Hotel),
Where have you been? It’s been seven years since you released In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, and
we’re desperate for more of your paradoxically life affirming/fatalistic jaunts into the convoluted worlds of love,
innocence, and mortality. Considering the works of genius your two full-lengths were, your absence from
the music scene has been excruciating. It’s hard to think of a more harrowing album than On Avery Island.
Complete with droning masterpieces like “Three Peaches” “Naomi,” and “Song Against Sex,” the album is both
a carnival and a funeral procession — an album that finds hope even in the direst situations.
While most artists would have slacked off and lived off success of that one album, you instead
released In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, which surpassed your previous works by leaps and bounds. With a
cohesiveness of Sgt. Pepper’s proportions, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is less an album and more a work
of art. Songs like “Holland,” 1945” and “Ghost” are carefully crafted puzzles whose lyrics are replete with
beautiful absurdities and paradoxical imagery. Displaying a versatility that few songwriters possess, the album
switches between dark descriptions and uplifting lyrics, rendering it a bittersweet reflection of life.
In the face of a cold, rational world hurtling towards its doom In the Aeroplane Over the Sea let us
know that if we simply find the small joys in everyday life, the little things we discover will be enough help us
live on in happiness. By finding love and happiness in the ruins of a desolate world, In the Aeroplane Over
the Sea is on the level of great works like Candide or Catch-22. I think I speak for everyone when I say we
desperately need your music right now. Since the turn of the century, the world has been torn apart by war,
hatred, and crimes against humanity, and we need your music to help us find hope in what at times seems to
be a hopeless world. Please, come back Jeff. We need you.
Mournfully,
David Marek
What’s Your Favorite Rock and Roll Brand?
The Rise of Commercialism in Popular Music Part II
In the last edition of Listen, I posed the question, “Does the rise of commercialism in popular music spell the end of rock
and roll as a critical societal institution, or does cooperation with corporations provide musicians an opportunity to expand
their uncompromised messages to a broader audience?” In this second section I investigate the integration of brand
names and commercial content within the lyrics of popular songs.
“Now enough Adidas possessed by one man is rare
Myself homeboy got fifty pair
Got blue and black cause I like to chill
And yellow and green when it’s time to get ill
Got a pair that I wear when I’m playin’ ball
With the heel inside make me 10 feet tall
My Adidas only bring good news
And they are not used as selling shoes
They’re black and white, white with black stripe
The ones I like to wear when I rock the mic
On the strength of our famous university
We took the beat from the street and put it on TV
My Adidas are seen on the movie screen
Hollywood knows we’re good if you know what I mean
We started in the alley, now we chill in Cali
And I won’t trade my Adidas for no beat-up Bally’s
My Adidas…” (My Adidas – Run DMC, 1986)
From singers to poets to novelists to playwrights, writers of all forms have referenced branded products in their
work since the rise of national brands in the late 19th Century. Brand references in popular songs are a natural reflection
of a writer’s culture. Even folk songs like “Stack (Stagger) Lee” and classic standards such as “Take Me Out to the
Ballgame” reference branded products (in these cases, Stetson and Crackerjacks respectfully). Occasionally entire songs
sound like extended advertisements: just listen to Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz1”, Chuck Berry’s “No Money Down”, or
David Allen Coe’s, “Jack Daniel’s If You Please.” The chorus of the Coe song:
Jack Daniels if you please
Knock me to my knees
You’re the only friend
That has ever been
That didn’t do me wrong
Brands are designed to add symbolic value to products. Marketers spend billions of dollars each year attempting
to forge associations between their brands and various symbols, images, and even personalities. Brand allusions enable
songwriters to succinctly evoke these associations. Consequently, brands provide songwriters with descriptive lyrical
tools. Simply by singing “pink Cadillac”, Bruce Springsteen poetically conjures up images of fun, luxury, and excessive
American hedonism. Marketers refer to these unpaid brand references as word-of-author advertising, although historically
the objective of songwriters has not been to hock products.
The rate of brand references in popular song lyrics has increased over the last fifty years. In an academic study,
Psychologist Monroe Friedman found that songs written in the 1950s contained an average of 43 brand references for
every 10,000 words. This rate rose to 64 brand references per 10,000 words in the 1970s. Friedman attributes the rise
in references to increasing commercial influence on society. Advertisers encourage people to think of products by brand
name rather than category: “Don’t say beer, say Bud.” Songwriters learn from their ad-drenched environment to refer to a
brand instead of a generic category, since the average person views thousands of promotional messages a day.
In fact, brand allusions in popular songs have become so prevalent, Agenda Inc, a pop culture marketing agency,
has begun cataloguing references in top twenty hits. According to their report aptly titled American Brandstand, 40% of
last year’s 105 top 20 songs mention at least one brand. Last year’s break down by number of references as follows:
cars, 449; fashion, 281; and beverages, 251. Agenda Inc. suggests this increase is largely due to the rise of hip-hop2
for its luxurious and materialistic images. The six brands most frequently cited in 2004 top 20 songs are: Cadillac,
Hennessey, Mercedes, Rolls Royce, Gucci and Jaguar, all luxury brands. Musicians alluded to brands ranging from
discount hotels Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn, and Days Inn to television networks MTV, ESPN and BET. Rapper Jadakiss
even uses his song “Why” to ask Mercedes, “Why don’t they make the CL6 with a clutch?” Other entertaining references
from last two years include: “But Louis Vuitton bras all over your breasts / Got me wantin’ to put hickeys all over ya chest”
(Ludacris – Stand Up) and “Couldn’t afford a car, so she named her daughter A-Lexus” (Kanye West - All Falls Down).
Changing cultural values aren’t the only reason modern popular songs tend to sound like advertisements. In
many cases, musicians are compensated for plugging brands. McDonald’s recently made an open-ended offer to any
musician willing to plug the Big Mac, offering up to $7 for every time such a song is played on the radio. Considering
top forty radio stations play the same five songs on repeat, this could provide hit-writing musicians, and especially
bling-lusting rappers, adequate incentive to write about Big Macs, Happy Meals, or the entire Value Menu. In the past,
marketers were more discrete: rather than publicly offering money, which could possibly damage the artist’s credibility and
therefore promotional effectiveness, marketers typically offered musicians free merchandise, endorsement deals, crosspromotional money, or company stock. Occasionally musicians are compensated after the fact. Adidas gave Run DMC a
1.5 million dollar contract after their 1980s hit, “My Adidas.” Alternative compensation methods make it nearly impossible
to distinguish a marketer-induced placement from an authentic reference.
The increase in compensated brand references, called brand placements or product placements, is reflected by
the rise of marketing agencies, including Agenda Inc. and Mavin Strategies who specialize in plugging brands through
popular songs. What’s more, marketers sometimes compliment brand placements in popular songs with additional
promotional. Polaroid centered an entire campaign around Outkast’s reference, “Shake it like a Polaroid picture,” in the hit
“Hey Ya.” This marketing influence has compromised the originality and quality of song lyrics--some brand references are
flagrantly sponsored, as in Petey Pablo’s song “Freek-a-leek,” where he raps, “Now I got to give a shout out to Seagram’s
Gin/ ‘cos I’m drinkin’ it and they payin’ for it.” (Mavin Strategies helped place Seagram’s into the lyrics of this as well as
four other hip-hop songs in 2004.) In other instances brand references seem arbitrary and detract from a song’s meaning.
Madonna’s “American Life” is an example: “I drive a mini-cooper/And I’m feeling super-duper.”
Many musicians don’t need incentive to plug brands in their songs, and frequently musicians use lyrics to promote
their own brands. In his 2003 hit “Beautiful,” Snoop Dog raps about his own cleverly titled line of apparel, “Snoop Dog
Clothing,” and in his cameo in “Drop it Like it’s Hot,” Pharrell Williams plugs his brand of “Ice Cream” sneakers. For hiphop entrepreneurs like Russell Simmons, Jay-Z, and P-Diddy, songs are merely a tactic for building awareness and brand
image, or “street cred,” which they later leverage to sell more profitable products like clothing, perfume, beverages, or
even snacks. Hip-hop is a $5 billion industry, only a fifth of which comes from record sales. The majority of “hip-hop”
revenue comes from related products consumed under the burgeoning umbrella of hip-hop culture. (For more on hip-hop
brands see the Hip-Hop Brand Extensions side-blurb.)
What happened? At its inception, hip-hop stood for more than piles of benjamins and Bentleys. Public Enemy
rap-pioneer Chuck D. once referred to hip-hop as “the black CNN.” A hip-hop record could expose a listener to realities
that mainstream media didn’t reveal. Truth at least co-existed with bravado. With few exceptions such as Outkast or
Eminem, modern mainstream hip-hop has the authenticity and soul of a Pepto-Bismol jingle. Chuck D recently lamented,
“Fifteen years ago, rappers rapped for the people, where as today they rap and rep for their companies, because money
dictates direction.” Rock-and-roll and hip-hop began as voices of rebellion. By giving a voice to a younger generation,
early rock-and-roll helped bridge America’s racial divide and inspired the youth movement of the ‘60s. Similarly, by
depicting the realities of black urban culture, the rise of hip-hop increased acceptability of African-American culture and
renewed societal consciousness of inner city problems. The music inspired these changes because of its relevance to a
large group of society and the unique voice of its message. The ability to affect people at different levels of society is what
makes music work. If instead songs merely rehash messages from other media, music loses its impact and becomes
either another hackneyed entertainment vehicle or obscure high-art. The biggest problem with the rise of commercialism
in rock-and-roll is not that it contradicts initial anti-commercial sentiment, but that these plugs jeopardize the authenticity of
the music’s messages. This problem is furthered in that commercial influence in music today is most rampant among the
most popular musicians. The increasing commercial influence in hip-hop has paralleled the genre’s rise on the Billboard
charts. Additionally, popular musicians in other genres are showing signs of overt commercialism, like Beyonce Knowles’
blatant Pepsi plug during the MTV Music Video Awards. Mainstream musicians have the ability to influence the masses,
yet squander this opportunity by echoing marketing-motivated media.
Licensing songs to advertisers presents musicians with a trade-off. Having a song in an advertisement will
likely increase a band’s fan-base. On the other hand, the advertisement will likely muddle or distort the song’s intended
message (See Section 1 of article from issue 13). Songs with sponsored brand-references cannot contain a legitimate
independent message. Though a plug appears on one line of a song, sponsors will not pay for the brand placement
unless the overall message or image of the music expresses what they want associated with the brand. Music glorifying
commercialism and brand proliferation just mimics mainstream media. This music has no unique voice or independent
message and, consequently, has no value beyond entertainment. If rock and roll and hip-hop are to remain an impact
on society, popular musicians must maintain a voice independent from marketers. In a time of consolidated media and
wildfire marketing clutter, society needs a raw, independent voice. I need an independent voice. Rock and roll once
provided that voice, but is now in danger of becoming another meaningless corporate slave.
--Caleb Warren
most people overlook this song’s satirical use of Mercedes and take the lyrics at face value, even Mercedes who used the song in a
TV commercial.
2
to view the American Brandstand report, go to www.agendainc.com
1
The GagMe Awards Part II
The GagMe awards are intended to honor and ridicule the best, worst, and most prevalent branded bands and banded
brands. The last issue presented awards for music and advertising. This issue’s are for brands and bands who have
exceeded all rationale and bounds for good taste by integrating brand names into the lyrical content of songs.
Billboard Brand Royalty
Best Branded Cocktails
1 - Cadillac: mentioned 73 times in top 20 songs in 2004,
1 - 50 Cent, “Disco Inferno”; “You mix a little Coke with a
has references ranging from Lightning Hopkins, Aretha
little Dom Perignon / And a little Hennessey you know we
Franklin, and Bruce Springsteen to Outkast.
fine to carry on.”
2 - Hennessy: A favorite of Tupac in the 90’s with 69 top 20
2 - Bruce Springsteen, “Johnny 99”; “He came home too
mentions in 2004. “We can kick it and go puff on a bluuunt
drunk from mixin’ Tanqueray and wine/ Got a gun, shot a
/ Oh you don’t smoke? Grab a pint of Hen’ then we can get
night-clerk, now they call him Johnny 99.”
druuunk” (Chingy – One Call Away)
3 - Juvenile, “Slow Motion”; “I like how them Victoria’s
3 - Mercedes: mentioned nearly 200 times in top 20 songs
Secrets sit in the ass / Lemme pour some more Hp(notiq)
in 2003 and 2004, the topic of a classic Janis Joplin tune.
and Hennessy in your glass.”
Biggest Brand Buddies
Biggest Brand Lyric-Sluts
1 - Run DMC, “My Adidas” inspired a fashion trend and
1 - L’il Kim referenced 14 different brands in her 2003 hit,
won the rappers a $1.5 million dollar endorsement deal.
“Jump Off.” Skank!
2 - Bob Seger, “Like A Rock” became the center of Chevy’s
2 - Kanye West referenced 19 brands in his 4 top 20
campaign in the 1990s and solidified the position of Chevy
singles in 2004 (though many meant to satirize, not
trucks as rugged, All-American, all-terrain vehicles.
promote, gross materialism). “I drink Boost and Ensure
3 - Busta Rhymes, “Pass the Courvoisier.” It’s still
for dessert/ Somebody ordered Pancakes, I just sip the
uncertain if Busta was prompted to write this song by the
Sizzurp,” from “Through the Wire.”
liquor brand. In any event, the song became a number
3 - Petey Pablo is the lyricist with the most obviouslyone hit and introduced Courvoisier to the hip and ghettopaid-for brand allusion for: “Now I gotta give a shout out to
fabulous.
Seagram’s gin, ‘cos I’m drinkin’ it and they payin’ for it.”
Bands and Their Brands: Brand References in Song Lyrics
Just as people infer the personality of a brand from the personality of its consumers, you can often get to know a
songwriter by the brands he or she sings about. This mentions a few brands referenced by a variety of popular musicians.
Bruce Springsteen: Chevrolet in “Thunder Road”; SevenThe Beach Boys: Ford Thunderbird in “Fun Fun Fun”;
Eleven and Chevrolet in “Racing in the Streets”, Cadillac,
Corvette in “In My Car”; Honda in “Little Honda”
Honda and Subaru in “Pink Cadillac”
Modest Mouse: Orange Julius in “Teeth Like God’s
Outkast: Polaroid and Cadillac in “Hey Ya”; Volkswagon,
Shoeshine”; Coca-cola in “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes”;
Pontiac Bonneville, and Cadillac (Coup de Ville) in
Dramamine and Listerine in “Dramamine”
“Aquemini”; and Cadillac in “Two Dope Boys”
George Thorogood: Budweiser and Miller Light in “If You
Prince: Corvette in “Little Red Corvette”; Disney in “Lady
Don’t Start Drinkin’”; Budweiser, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam,
Cab Driver”; Cadillac in “Jack You Off”
Old Granddad (whiskey), and Johnnie Walker in “I Drink
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Johnny Walker in “Poison Whiskey”; and
Alone”
Old Granddad in “Whiskey Rock a Roller”
Kanye West: Avis and Lexus in “Jesus Walks”; Geico and
Chuck Berry: Cadillac and Ford in “No Money Down”;
Toys ‘R’ Us in “Through the Wire”; and Nike Air Jordans,
TWA (Airlines) in “Brown Eyed Handsome Man”; Cadillac &
Mercedes, and Jacob the Jeweler in “All Falls Down”
Ford in “Maybellene”; Chevrolet in “You Never Can Tell”
Tom Waits: Shell (gasoline) in “Frank’s Wild Years”;
Jay-Z: Burberry and Timberland in “’03 Bonnie and Clyde”;
Schwab’s (drug store) in “Invitation to the Blues”;
Maybach, Rolls Royce, and U-haul in “Change Clothes”;
Greyhound (bus) in “The One That Got Away”; Chivas
and Armadale (vodka), Maybach, and Cristal in “Excuse Me
Regal in “Downtown”
Miss”
50 Cent: Bentley, Hennessey and Mercedes in “Disco
Radiohead: Prozac in “Bones”, Gucci in “Paranoid
Inferno”; Bentley and Mercedes in “21 Questions”; and KAndroid”; and Time magazine in “Myxomatosis”
Mart and Mercedes in “In Da Club”
Hip-hop Brand Extensions
Many rappers use music to create hip-hop branded empires. For contemporary mainstream rappers, nothing is too
commercial or mundane to be packaged and pawned as hip-hop. Here are a few musicians and their affiliated products…
Jay-Z: Rocawear apparel, Armadale vodka, and S.
Snoop Dog: Snoop Dog Clothing
Carter Collection sneakers with Reebok
50 Cent: G-Unit clothing
P-Diddy: Sean Jean apparel
Wu Tang Clan: Wu Wear apparel
Eve: Fetish clothing
Russell Simmons: Phat Pharm clothing
Eminem: Shady Casual Sportswear
Britney Spears: Curious perfume
J-Lo: Glow perfume, J-Lo & Sweetface clothing
Jessica Simpson: Dessert (edible!) make-up
Nelly: Pimp Juice
Ruff Riders: Thug Workout apparel & Ruff Ryder dog food
Lil’ Jon: Crunk Juice
Rap Snacks: a new brand of food dawning the visages of
Pharrell Williams: Ice Cream Sneakers
hip-hip icons from Warren G to L’il Romeo.
ARE YOU ROCKABILLY?
Conversations with a Rockabilly Hero
“Have you accepted rock and roll as your personal lord and savior? Have you let rock and roll into your heart and
have you been redeemed by the holy fucking spirit of rhythm and blues?”
No. I hadn’t.
Not yet at least. But as he leveled this question at me—leaning over the table, peering at me with fiery bloodshot
eyes, and pointing at me with his burning cigarette—I couldn’t help but begin to question everything I had ever known
about music, God, and rock and roll.
We were in his hotel room, a Friday night following an Atlanta show. The ashtray was by this point over-flowing,
and the beer all but gone. He sat in a wrinkled crimson suit, tie undone and pompadour disheveled. He doesn’t tell me his
name, but only says to call him “The Rock & Roll Hero.”
He is a rockabilly; a rare and endangered breed of musician savagely protecting a seemingly archaic tradition of
rock and roll forged in post-WWII America. He and his rockin’ brethren proudly uphold the traditions of Elvis Presley, Jerry
Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. Armed with an acoustic bass, a rhythm guitar, and some drums, these noble
warriors stave off the onslaught of hip-hop, rap, indie-rock, and pop.
“Its not that we don’t like other music,” says The Rock & Roll Hero (who later admitted to being a huge fan of
Outkast), “its just that rockabilly speaks to us in ways that other music can’t. You simply will never get a sound more raw,
more powerful, more emotional, and more energized then this rockabilly sound.”
I asked him if he really thought that nothing was more raw, powerful, energized, and emotional then Elvis.
“Well, to be sure,” replied our Hero, sipping on his can of Pabst Blue Ribbon, “Elvis was in another time and place.
And anyway, he just ripped off what the black rhythm and blues musicians had been doing for years and rode the fucking
rocket of other people’s talent to stardom. Elvis was a fuck. But that sound he used was essential. You got to remember
that in 1955 [rock and roll] was like a fucking revolution. The rock and roll menace took over the country while everyone
over thirty-five stayed in doors waiting for the storm to pass. Dig? Well that stuff now seems tame, but as times have
changed so has the music. What we do now is a lot harder, it’s called psychobilly.”
He paused to light another cigarette, and I asked him to elaborate about psychobilly.
“Well, you see it’s like the angry cousin of rockabilly. It was once described to me as what happened when punk
and rockabilly got drunk, fell in love, had a kid at a truck-stop, and left it to be raised by murderous mechanics.” He
laughed and I noticed for the first time that two of his teeth were missing. Important ones. Ones he needed. “Psychobilly
is all about love and murder and gasoline. It’s about giving people the fucking creeps; making them fall in love, shit their
pants, and want to dance all at the same time.”
Given the isolated nature of this specific subgenre of music, I assumed the audience would be somewhat limited.
But the Hero explained to me otherwise,
“Rockabillys are among us. They could be your neighbors, your friends, even your family. There are many more
then you would expect. Besides, it’s huge in Japan. Like, every fucking Japanese person is a rockabilly I hear.”
I asked if him if he’s ever been to Japan. He said no.
“The point is,” he continued, “is that if you love rock and roll—you’re a rockabilly at heart. ‘Cause everything rock,
from the Rolling Stones and the Beatles to AC/DC or Metallica, they owe it all to those first few originators, those first few
rockabillys.”
There it is, in a nutshell. If you love rock and roll—you’re a rockabilly at heart. So next time you go “jam out” to
your latest Hootie and the Blowfish or Maroon 5 CD, remember our Hero: valiantly spreading the gospel of rock and roll,
selflessly championing the back-beat, and nobly defending a musically endangered way of life.
–Nicholas Justice
The Rock & Roll Hero is a drummer for the Atlanta based Screamin’ Demons. They will be playing Captain Skiff’s Shrimp
and Boogie Club in Memphis on June 3rd, the Springwater Supper Club and Lounge in Nashville on June 4th, and will be
back here in Atlanta on June 12th at Mulligan’s
Mulligan’s.
WMRE 2004-2005 DJ Awards
Best Show: The Quiet Storm (Cecillia Kelley, Tiana Patterson, Daniel Spivack)
Best Rookie Show: Craig and Drew Show (Craig Newman, Drew Bury)
Best Personality: Craig Newman (check the spelling)
Lifetime Achievement Award: Noah Gold
WMRE Bonecrusher Award: Mark Cullip
A lyric poem from Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde for WMRE’s graduates
Ev’rybody knows
That baby’s got new clothes
You know it balances on your head
Just like a mattress balances
On a bottle of wine
Your mama’s moanin’
You better go now
Sooner or later
Everybody must give something back
Sometimes it gets so hard, you see
Well, they’ll stone ya when you’re trying to be so good
They’ll stone ya when you’re tryin’ to make a buck.
They’ll stone ya when you are young and able.
They’ll stone ya and then they’ll say, “good luck.”
Not too many can be like you
You just did what you’re supposed to do
With your pockets well protected at last,
With your childhood flames on your midnight rug,
And your streetcar visions which you place on the grass,
Who among them do you think could resist you?
Who among them do you think would employ you?
DJs, Class of 2005
Spencer H. Koch
Rachel A. Gottschalk
Lawrence O. Oji
Christopher K. Daresta
Tahira A. Augustus
Noah J. Gold
Marcus T. Ballenger
Vandana Botta
Erica L. Davis
Jason B. Neider
Tahira Augustus
Peram Behzadi
Abin Banyopadhyay
Hans Mouser
Sanjay Shah
Well, early in the mornin’ ‘til late at night,
Hopin’ you’ll come through, too.
--Valerie Gaimon, zine editor
Mini Reviews
Album: Sightings -- Arrived in Gold
Sightings are at the forefront of the New York art scene. Borrowing from the scene led by
Black Dice, and the ever present influence of the almighty Sonic Youth, and combining postpunk rumblings of the Liars with a fusion of Providence’s artsy noise bands, even the influence
of no wave, Sightings attacks the listener with a fusion of sounds. Using all the traditional
instrumentation of bass, drums, and guitar but making them sound like other instruments, for
example the guitar like drums, and the drums like chimes or bells. This makes Arrived in Gold
quite a unique album. However it is much more accessible than previous efforts, and is not the
full-on assault for which they were previously known.
Show: Hella & Out Hud at MJQ
Tight Bros. created the ultimate showcase of two unique bands playing very different styles of music. Hella, a twopiece guitar and drum duo, play extremely frenetic math rock. This shit was completely insane. They decided to change
things up, and had a bass player and a dude playing both guitar and keyboards accompany them. This completely pushed
the boundaries of their sound. Looking like caveman or unwashed hippies they played some of the most intricately
constructed math rock soundscapes that left the audience in bewilderment. Out Hud then took the stage to provide their
unique blend of house music, dub, and post punk. Bodies slowly began to gyrate to the sweet sounds of synth beats,
soothing female vocals, cello, and pure sexuality. Slowly, the more rambunctious and less inhibited members took over
the floor creating a party that made the movie 24 hour party people look like a frat party. Members of out hud even
jumped into the fray to booty dance with audience members. The phrase “Excuse me I thought I was dry humping my
girlfriend’s leg” was often used. Wait no it wasn’t but it could have!—Chris Daresta