Go Your Own Way is used in a couple of recent commercials as a “This is a n upbeat positive message!* Nope. It’s an “F” You!” from Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham to Stevie Nicks.
One could argue that the first appearance of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life was in an ironic context. In any event, its use at sporting events is certainly a different setting than the original.
“Sarah Palin’s views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song ‘Barracuda’ no longer be used to promote her image. The song ‘Barracuda’ was written in the late ’70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The ‘barracuda’ represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there’s irony in Republican strategists’ choice to make use of it there.”
Sting has said that he’s disconcerted by how many people tell him that they played the Police’s Every Breath You Take (which is about a obsessive, jilted lover) at their weddings.
The Sting reference made me think of Sarah McLachlan’s Possession getting the same treatment.
But that led my mind to the significantly stronger weirdness of McLachlan’s Angel, a song about overdosing on heroin, becoming the stray dogs & cats anthem. And with Ms. McLachlan’s blessing as well.
I’ve caught several commercials using Dave Mason’s “Feelin’ Alright?” in a cheerful context. The song is about depression after a breakup, and they always leave out the next line: “not Feelin’ too good myself.”
I saw Lyle Lovett live on PBS taking call in requests. On woman asked to hear “L.A. County,” which they played at their wedding.
The song is about a stalker who tracks a woman down and shoots her and her husband at the church altar.
Lovett said, “Do you know what that song is about?”
I was going to suggest the same song, but when it gets used for (republican) political campaigns. Look, I get it, they hear ‘born in the usa’ and assume it’s a patriotic song. But for all the vetting and PR that goes on behind the scenes, you’d think someone would look at the lyrics to the songs they use. With a song like that, you don’t even have to get into symbolism. It shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds to realize that “So they put a rifle in my hand. Sent me off to a foreign land. To go and kill the yellow man” might not be as “I love my country” as they think it is.
Similarly, Fortunate Son. The meaning might be buried a hair deeper than it is in Born in the USA, but it’s still there.
Then there’s Every Breath You Take used at weddings. I’ll give people credit for that one since it’s not immediately obvious what the song is (actually) about and it’s just a couple picking out music for the DJ to play at the reception, it’s not that their careers could be derailed by the wrong music choice. Well, unless you’re an older man marrying a barely 18 year old and choose Don’t Stand So Close To Me. That might squick people out.
“Here She Comes” by the La’s, and later remade into a big hit by Sixpence None The Richer, is also about heroin addiction. IDK if it’s been used in commercials, but it’s played in places where it has a positive connotation.
And then there are the “love songs” that really aren’t.
“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” has also been used by the Humane Society, also with Roberta Flack’s approval (and appearance in that commercial).
I have a feeling that the line “The first time ever I lay with you…” is not about a pet curling up in your bed at night.
There was a commercial, maybe for Chevy or Ford trucks that used the first two lines from CCr’s Fortunate Son: and I nearly choked expecting the next lines, which of course weren’t used:
Some folks are born made to wave the flag Ooh, they’re red, white and blue
And when the band plays Hail to the Chief Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord
Another WTF! moment was the short commercial spot for the Mercedes CLA driving down the road that used the first two lines of Sympathy for the Devil. What! You want to associate your car with Satan?! I just found the full length Superbowl commercial that I’ve never seen before and it makes sense within that context, but not in a 15 second commercial.
Janis Joplin’s Mercedes Benz has several times been used in TV ads for Mercedes-Benz cars. The song is generally considered to be a satire, with the Mercedes-Benz brand typifying the illusory promises of consumerist materialism.
