Friday, October 03, 2008

integrity, why hast thou foresaken us?

I know that in a world where Pictures Of You by the Cure sells printers, Atmosphere by Joy Division sells bank accounts and Town Called Malice, In Between Days and pretty much every other song ever written sell cars I shouldn't be shocked by great music and its makers bending over to be violated by the engorged scaly phallus of the consumerism.

But I can't switch off this thing that expects people who create something of worth to honour what they have achieved instead of soiling it.

Only a couple of weeks after Antony and The Johnsons gave a new track to Prada in London Fashion Week come two TV adverts with John Lydon selling butter.

Lydon tries to justify it not with one of his his usual 'I make loads of money hahaha' statements but a claim that he's done it because this specific butter is just so great.

I for one am proud to be British and I’m proud to get behind a proper British brand. That’s why I’m supporting Country Life butter.

People know I only do things that I want to or that I believe in and I have to do it my way.


I think we can safely assume he got a fat cheque for his services.

Can we really believe he would have done it for free? If not, then his comment about believing in a particular brand of butter is a load of bollocks. He's a millionaire pretending to like stuff for more money.

Here's the deal, folks. You do a commercial, you're off the artistic roll-call forever. End of story. You're another corporate shill, you're another whore at the capitalist gang-bang. And if you do a commercial, there's a price on your head, everything you say is suspect and every word that comes out of your mouth is like a turd falling into my drink.
- Bill Hicks

4 comments:

Gyrus said...

Just saw that ad on the tube. What a sorry twat. And Antony & the Johnsons? Shit. Kind of takes the edge off the hilarity of watching greedheads freak out all week on the news.

peter said...

wait another 50 years when the copyright runs out, and they'll be using footage of Bill Hicks to advertise Nicorette.

Paul said...

One of Jonathan Richman's tunes, Egyptian Reggae, is providing aural wallpaper to a Weetabix ad at the moment. Just thought I'd mention it.

peacockpie said...

I've seen some of these ads now and I'm just baffled. I just don't associate Lydon with butter. What's in his endorsement to encourage me to buy it? Now, if it were Maria Schneider telling me that it was great butter... hot damn! I'd pay attention then!