Have we had a "Wilco are SELLOUTS" thread yet?

[Dalton]

I'm sure they struggled with the decision and as far I'm concerned, their integrity is still fully intact. It's an economical, fuel-efficient car, too.

I doubt they struggled at all. I bet they laughed like maniacs while stuffing the money in their pockets before driving a hummer to drink the blood of baby seals ...

 

[LemonMelon]

 

[jphelmet]

huge wilco fan, and my wife drives a vw- so win, win. the only commercials i don't fast forward through now are the vw ones.

from wilcoworld.net:

As many of you are aware, Volkswagen has recently begun running a series of TV commercials featuring Wilco music.

Why? This is a subject we've discussed internally many times over the years regarding movies, TV shows and even the odd advertisement. With the commercial radio airplay route getting more difficult for many bands (including Wilco); we see this as another way to get the music out there. As with most of the above (with the debatable exception of radio) the band gets paid for this. And we feel okay about VWs. Several of us even drive them.

If you're keeping track, this is not the first time Wilco has licensed a song to or even been involved in a commercial -- most recently a TV spot for Telefonica Mobile in Spain used a Wilco song and some years prior Jeff Tweedy appeared in a campaign for Apple Computer. Wilco have licensed hundreds of songs to television shows and films worldwide... from festival-only indie films to major motion pictures and weekly TV shows.

Thus far the songs in the VW campaign are "The Thanks I Get" (a bonus track from Sky Blue Sky sessions, available for download via the Enhanced CD and via iTunes) and "You are my Face". We expect to have more details re: other songs shortly. The current plan (subject to change, like everything) is for 5 or 6 songs to be used.

That's it. Don't believe everything you read unless you read it here.

 

[Dalton]

Say 'hello' to my new desktop!

 

[LMP]

At least they're endorsing a product they actually use

I'd pay to see Bob Dylan with an iPod. I'm not sure if he knows it's not 1974.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

Bob Dylan doesn't even notice changes in seasons. It was 95 when I saw him the other night, and he was still wearing a three-piece suit and a hat. Dylan with an iPod would be hilarious.

I was a little bugged about the Wilco VW commercials the first time I saw one. But then I realized that it's a much better situation for them than for VW, because it's giving them exposure they wouldn't get otherwise. Nobody's going to go buy a car because there's a Wilco song in the ads. It makes me sad that people either love Wilco or have never heard of them, because they're such a great band. Maybe this will get some attention for a great album that might slip through the cracks since there have been so many other great albums this year.

Wilco has been tremendously good to their fans. They routinely give away bonus tracks and downloads with shows, and they tour so often. I don't mind that they're doing something to help themselves now.

 

[Copy]

what a piece of shit of a thread.

 

[LMP]

You don't like Wilco or The Swayze?

 

[xaviMF22]

Bono rocking his Ipod

 

[Lancemc]

I love the new VW ads. Because I love Sky Blue Sky. And hearing Sky Blue Sky makes me happy. I love things that make me happy. Therefore I love the new VW ads.

 

[Dusty Bottoms]

I love the new VW ads. Because I love Sky Blue Sky. And hearing Sky Blue Sky makes me happy. I love things that make me happy. Therefore I love the new VW ads.

What if every time you hear those songs you think of VW ads now?

The Snow Patrol song Spitting Games was in a baseball video game a couple years ago, so whenever you were in the menu you'd hear that song. You'd hear it over and over again, so now, whenever I hear that song I associate it with that video game and can never really take it seriously. Same thing with Vertigo, you always remember the Ipod ad. But thats ok since Vertigo is a stupid song in the first place.

But what if they took a meaningful song like Sunday Bloody Sunday, and used it for WWE ads. So that whenever you heard SBS you thought of wrestling instead of the troubles in Ireland, or the Red Rock performance, or whatever meaning it had for you before?

Sure you can dismiss songs in commercials and say it doesn't really matter, but if you aren't careful sometimes it really can diminish the specialness of a song.

 

[Lancemc]

I find that only happens when I discover a song AFTER hearing it in a commercial for the first time, not the other way around. When I hear Sky Blue Sky I definitely don't think about VW now. That's just stupid.

 

[BVS]

Thus far the songs in the VW campaign are "The Thanks I Get" (a bonus track from Sky Blue Sky sessions, available for download via the Enhanced CD and via iTunes)

I think that's interesting that they would choose a bonus track.

Wasn't this song originally a Tweedy solo song?

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

The Matchbox Twenty of indie rock.

Oh u2popmofo, how interference misses you.

 

[U2girl]

Ah, the BMW jingles.

 

[impy13]

The Snow Patrol song Spitting Games was in a baseball video game a couple years ago, so whenever you were in the menu you'd hear that song.

I owe my liking Snow Patrol before they got ridiculously bandwagon with Chasing Cars to that game (MVP Baseball 2004). Apparently that type of marketing gained them a fan in myself, so it appears as if it can be successful. No one had a clue who Snow Patrol were at that time.

And as one of this forum's most outspoken Wilco addicts, I see no problem with the ads. They're all pretty cool spots and it's not as if Tweeds and Co. wrote material specifically for VW. If this is a way to get the Sky Blue Sky songs out there, then why not? I think anyone who is up in arms over this severely overestimates Wilco's exposure. They're fairly well known by those who know music, but I'd imagine the majority of the public has no clue who they are. As the best band not named Radiohead, they deserve the extra exposure and it's obvious that conventional means, which are quickly becoming outdated in this age, haven't quite worked for them. I've NEVER heard a Wilco song on the radio or seen them on TV other than doing Conan.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Sure you can dismiss songs in commercials and say it doesn't really matter, but if you aren't careful sometimes it really can diminish the specialness of a song.

I agree. This is the only issue I have with this whole concept, is what it does to my experience of the music. It definitely changes it for me. Without question. I hate it, in fact. Whenever I hear "Teardrop" by Massive Attack I think of "House," a show I don't even watch. It has completely ruined the song for me. It's not even that I think of "House," come to think of it; advertising doesn't even work for me like that. I don't actually associate songs with products or TV shows. But I associate songs with TV. When I hear Teardrop, I think "TV show," not the TV show "House." So it doesn't even matter if it's a product I respect, or a TV show I like because I won't go, "oh, VW's a good car" when I hear "The Thanks I Get." I'll just think "Wilco song in a TV ad." It definitely, definitely negatively affects the music for me.

Fortunately I haven't seen this VW commercial yet and I may never. I don't watch that much TV. It won't ruin it if I see it once or twice, but if I were to see it all the time, I could definitely kiss those songs goodbye.

I appreciate how difficult it is to get their music heard; I'm not mad at Wilco, I don't feel "betrayed" or anything like that. I'm just sorry it's come to this I guess.

 

[joyfulgirl]

The Matchbox Twenty of indie rock.

Now that's just mean.

 

[Zoots]

Whenever I hear "Teardrop" by Massive Attack I think of House, a show I don't even watch. It has completely ruined the song for me.

I don't watch much TV either but I've seen a few episodes of House every now and then. And yeah, hearing that song over the opening credits of every episode has kinda made me a little bored of it. Such a brilliant song but it doesn't do all that much for me anymore while listening to Mezzanine. But in general I'm not against using songs in commercials unless they're really silly commercials, like when they used INXS' New Sensation for Taco Bell or something!

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

Now that's just mean.

Hey I like Wilco well enough. It's a quote from long ago from u2popmofo though, way back in '05 I think.

 

[Zoomerang96]

i'm honestly not sure what to think of this.

i'll ask them when i meet the band in august.

 

[corianderstem]

You'll ask Wilco what you should think about it?

 

[AtomicBono]

You'll ask Wilco what you should think about it?

they will tell him to be outraged, no doubt

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

the Wilco show I was at last week was being taped for either MTV or VH1. I'm going to go weep and gnash my teeth about a fantastic band potentially getting some exposure that they deserve.

And then I'll go buy a VW since Jeff Tweedy subliminally told me to. Play Sky Blue Sky backwards, and you'll hear "buy a Bug"

 

[U2doggie]

How weird is that? When i played it backwards, all i heard was "FAHRVERGNUGEN"..........

 

[LMP]

Interesting, all I heard was random dialogue from Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.

"WHO IS YOU' DADDY? AND WHAT DOES HE DO?"

 

[Lancemc]

I want to talk to you about Thomas Aquinas.

 

[LMP]

IM A COP, YOU IDIOT!

 

[CrownVCJ]

Interesting, all I heard was random dialogue from Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.

"WHO IS YOU' DADDY? AND WHAT DOES HE DO?"

in other news, no wilco arent sellouts, what does that even mean.

 

[U2doggie]

Right on, Crown!

and BTW, "It's not a toomah"