So last night I’m sittin’ up in my room, thinkin’ about you and what I’d write for today. Miss Bianca’s sifting through the Comcastic menu and stops — because how can you ignore? — on VH1′s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the ’80s.¹
And you know what? Some of those people were kinda bitter.
I certainly don’t know the feeling of a song being adopted for something like Burger King, Ritz cracker, M&M and Taco Bell commercials (like Modern English’s I Melt With You). I also don’t know the feeling of a song being held up as a lightning rod despite how your music may have changed throughout the rest of your career.
But let’s imagine those songs don’t happen. No one hears them on the radio. No one buys the album because they heard them. No one comes to the shows to hear them played.
Then what?
Then maybe sponsors don’t find you commercially viable, the record labels (which totally rely on trickle-down economics to fund less financially valuable artists with the revenue generated from stars at the top of the charts) aren’t interested in funding your next project and maybe everything comes to a dead halt.
Then give back some estimate of the proportion of your revenue it created (the cars and the houses, too), the relationships it started and helped forge and eliminate an equally representative element of your fan base.
But remember to cling to your sense of pride.
I just don’t get it. You write a song millions, if not billions, adore. So you don’t like it anymore. So it doesn’t “work” for you — *ahem* Radiohead and Creep *ahem.* I get that.
And it’s not like we, the fans, say “Jump!” and you ask “How high?” You’re not public servants. Just because that asshat in the front row starts yelling “Play [insert your latest radio-friendly single]!” as soon as the lights come on — and until the lights go off — it doesn’t mean you have to cater to her/him. I just think it would be nice to not be so much of an asshat yourself every once in a while.
Each song you ever record and distribute is a potential first impression. The idea that you could ever delude yourself into disbelieving that the only reason some people ever care about you is because of your one hit wonder, or that single they heard on the radio during the morning commute, is ridiculous. This happens for every single song. So what that it’s your 457th song? It’s some fan’s first time hearing you.
If you didn’t want this part of the business, then maybe you should’ve kept your band and your pride in your parents’ garage.
_________
¹Hosted by Judah Friedlander; known for the ‘burns, better known for being a World Champion at everything; best-known for 30 Rock.
Taco Bell ruined Feliz Navidad for me. But I’m pretty sure the dude that wrote that is dead.
I wore that Brandy CD OUT and had to buy another.
What? It is Thursday, after all.
Agreed–not a servent, but most of these people can lead pretty awesome, lavish lives thanks to these songs they come to hate. Fucking play it.
It’s impossible to pass up the one-hit wonders of the 80s, I hear ya.
And yeah, I feel so bad for these artists whose image/purpose/ideal has changed but they’re still identified for a mega-hit. Their lives are really hard.
I hate that as much as I hate actors that say people stop them in the street and say, “Hey… (insert popular quote from famous movie that made you a gazillionare)”
And they think,”Yeah, like I haven’t heard that one before” (insert arrogance and sarcasm here)
You know what frogface? Eff you. You arrogant pompous piece of grapefruit mothercracker. It’s popular quotes from popular movies that our attention that made you filthy rich to begin with grasshole!
that GOT our attention…
Those VH1 countdowns are almost all too impossible to miss. Somehow they suck you in.
I hate it when one hit wonders (or two or three hit wonders) go on stage and expect everyone to be quietly reverent when they play new material. That happened at my first concert, The Beach Boys (not that they’re one, two or three hit wonders, but the example works). They obviously weren’t the original Boys, but they tried to play a long set of original music in the middle of their show. It wasn’t working and the band had to tell the crowd to pay attention. It was pretty embarrassing for them. Not for me…I was like 8 years old.
You can hate it, cause baby jesus knows if I over hear a song, I will start to hate it as well. But, an excellent point you bring up and I agree, just play it.
Without us, without those songs being played on commercials, movies, tv shows or what have you, those musicians would be lost and forgotten. Some we wouldn’t even hear of them.
They need to not be so arrogant.
plz know that back in the day i was OB.SESSED with that Brandy song.
drove my dad CRAZY
little did he know I was just preparing him for the years of Backstreet Love to come.
HA!
I’m such a good daughter.
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