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One of my pet peeves is the bastardization of music for the purposes of crass commercialism. Specifically, using music whose sound invokes a certain mood that its lyrics don’t match—often times actively oppose—in TV commercials.

One example is the use of Nick Drake’s Pink Moon—a song many believe was either Drake’s suicide note to the world, or at the least a song about death—in a VW Cabrio commercial about driving on a summer night.

The latest affront is the LL Bean backpack sale commercial that features the Harry McClintock recording of Big Rock Candy Mountain which was on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? sound track. This song is about a hobo’s idea of utopia, not about recapturing some kind of lost feeling by going camping with your family:

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
You never change your socks
And the little streams of alcohol
Come trickling down the rocks

You’d think the people putting together these ads would actually listen to the music they choose before they put it in an ad that gets seen by millions on national television, but that bit of good sense is evidently too far-fetched. &_&

Simply stunning. And the first in a series!

RadioShack’s new “The Shack” campaign is “plain lame.”

in the last couple of months, chances are you’ve seen these cool print ads for AT&T Wireless’ international roaming plans.

Clever, creative, unusual. My favorites are Zimbabwe and Jamaica—though the ads I’ve seen in the SF BART stations say they are for South Africa and the Bahamas, respectively.

are getting demolished out there. I know the Lakers are good at home, but 24 points? It’s outrageous.

And can I just mention how much I love those Charles Barkley/D. Wade T-Mobile commercials? Ha!

Update 2008-06-12 20:08—From 24 down to 2. Hell of a job, Boston! I admit I am rooting for them to win the finals this year.

Update 2008-06-12 20:51—What a comeback! What a game! Hoo-ah.

advertising agency. They should have fired them years ago. First there were those twins, then they came up with that stupid love train campaign, and now there is this unutterably awful fake coach interview series. It’s made worse because it’s actually a good idea, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired, the first and biggest problem being that they hired, like, the 4 most annoying guys in the world to be the fans.

Coors should hire the agency responsible for, say, the Nike Football commercial, or the one that Miller uses; in contrast to Coors, Miller has had a bunch of good commercials in the past few years, notably that series with the referees. The More Taste League series has potential, but I’m still withholding judgment on that.

And speaking of good commercials, I love love love that Snickers Feast series. They are so random, but they are damn funny. Ha!

being played in Detroit today. Wide receivers are dropping passes (like they’ve been doing all season), the running backs are just not getting it done (also like they’ve been, er, not doing all season), Griese is an at-best lackluster replacement for the dangerously self-destructive Rex Grossman, and there are penalties all over the place. About the only positive thing you can say is that the D looks solid, if not spectacular. Which is actually something of a miracle, as the secondary is simply decimated by injury.

That said, as ugly as this game is shaping up to be, the Bears are holding on to their 4-point lead by their fingernails.

In other news, how about that Tony Romo? God, he’s good. Now pay attention, boys and girls: the Cowboys are my early-season NFC champion favorites.

Also, speaking of the Cowboys, I have to say I love that Pepsi Max commercial with the yawning offensive coordinator. Ha!

the football-watching demographic from the commercials they play on Sundays—and one can, as I’m sure millions have been spent on just this sort of market research—I am a pickup truck-driving, HDTV-buying older man suffering from erectile dysfunction.

If I see one more Cialis commercial, I will not be responsible for my actions. What the hell is with those bathtubs, anyway? Jesus.