I just saw a commercial for Mars Bars that features the unmistakable opening bass riff from “Walk on the Wild Side” Nothing more mind you (although anyone familiar with the song would definitely have the “coloured girls” doo da doo da dooing in their mind) I find it hard to believe that the cantankerous Mr. Reed would sell this classic to a candy company.
Can a simple yet entirely recognizable riff (as opposed to a larger chunk of a song) be purloined for commercial purposes or did Lou go all Moby on us?
I seem to recall the same song being used some years ago for a motor scooter commercial. So if Reed sold out, it’s not recent.
Also (though I don’t know the specifics of this) it’s usually the owner of the copyright or publishing rights that get to decide if a song is used in something, not the artist.
Lou Reed actually appeared in ads for a motor scooter a good long time ago. The question right now is “does he own the publishing rights to ‘Walk on the Wild Side’?” If so, then he sold out. If not, then someone else sold out. Like his record company. Or a former lawyer/manager.
Still, I have to ask, what if he DID “sell out”? If he had a chance to make a few dollars by selling a few bars to one of his songs, where’s the harm?
Samuel Johnson once said “No one save a blockhead ever wrote except for money.” I’d say the same principle applies to music. Lou Reed NEVER gave his records away for free, did he? He was ALWAYS trying to make some money with his music. So, what’s changed?
I think it finally sunk in with that Jaguar commerical. A Clash song in a commerical for a rich guy’s car? But I guess there’s nothing else to do but tune it out. What is the alternative? Stop listening to all the sell outs? That’s a long list, and I don’t want to live in a world where I can’t listen to London Calling.
Still doesn’t mean he holds the rights to them. John Fogerty got sued for performing songs he wrote in concert, because he didn’t own the rights to them, and thus owed royalties for the performances.
Mid 80s. With the “Walk” tune in the background and Lou saying the tagline: “Hey, why settle for walking.”
So I shall praise him greatly for making the most out his product.
OTOH, selling Jaguars to “London Calling” had me ROFL at the sheer postmodern anti-irony of it all…
When “Walk On The Wild Side” was first used for the Honda Scooter commercial, Reed answered this question of selling out. I don’t have the exact quote on hand, but he said, basically, “So what? If it gets people to listen to my songs, then it was worth it.”
Let’s face it, an artist like Reed is never going to get rich with his own material, especially with releases like the aforementioned Metal Machine Music. (Although it would have been nice for him and those of his bent if The Blue Mask or New York caould have been more popular.)
I find the whole “selling out” thing ridiculous. It’s not like Lou Reed owes us anything.
I’m sure there are situations where fans can complain about a band selling out, but I haven’t heard of any. It’s not like Lou Reed is inserting “Eat at McDonalds” and “ask your doctor if zanexandironadal is right for you” ads into his songs.
Oh, and I wish people would stop saying that he’s sucked ever since Transformer. Magic and Loss and New York are great, though I haven’t heard anything of his more recent than those.
I have no problem with selling out, more power to Moby et al for doing it. Some artists just surprise me more when they do. The Clash selling Jags stunned me but I still love em. What I really wondered though is if the riff could be swiped for the commercial without paying Lou the way Offspring swiped “Obla di Obla da” for “Get a Job” Can you copyright sliding your finger up the bass then back down?
Hey, at least “LC” and “Should I Stay or…” have the requisite energy for selling fast cars. What the hell was the ad agency thinking last year when they tried to use the Smiths’ “How Soon is Now” to sell Toyotas??? The only thing missing was the car driving off a cliff!
Maybe I’m nuts, but I seem to recall one of the commercials in which he says “screw walking”. Or am I losing it?
I believe it was a Honda scooter, and Adam Ant & Grace Jones made ads for it too.
