My views of the use of songs by rock and roll bands, particularly from the punk and new wave communities, has evolved over the years, and I have extensively written about the topic here and elsewhere.
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| We're selling what to who? |
While always recognizing the artist’s right to use, license, etc., his
or her work in any way he or she chooses, I used to feel and express serious
outrage over some perceived insult when a song was used for some product too
trite, from an enormous corporation or that the song was too important or meaningful
or other way sacrosanct. My favorite band, or at least one of its main
songwriters/creators, has all but put the stake in the heart of my outrage.
In its recent advertising campaign, Westin Hotels is/are using the
Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” to try to entice people to stay at
their hotels. The song, the second-most popular US single in the Clash’s
history (“Rock the Casbah” obviously number one), is a simple love/love ending
song sung by guitarist/vocalist Mick Jones.
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| Paul Simonon is not a Cadillac fan. |
It is hard for me to get offended by the sale and use of this song (with
singer/guitarist and the band’s other songwriter Joe Strummer dying in 2002,
Jones and Strummer’s estate apparently made the decision). I mean, it’s not
like the band sold one of its most political and meaningful songs, the title
song of one of rock and roll’s all-time best albums, to a car company; oh,
wait. I mean, it’s bad enough his baby drove off in a brand-new Cadillac, but a
Jaguar?
