There has been the vague, wet, typical outpouring of mild-ire surrounding an indie band allowing one of their songs to be used in advertising. It’s ‘selling-out’ apparently. And god knows, that’s the worst thing an indie band can be accused of, right?
And of course, there’s a terribly saccharine John Lewis advertisement that’s doing the Christmas rounds this year which features a cover version of The Smiths’ ‘Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want’.
Johnny Marr is at pains to point out that the song featuring in a commercial doesn’t sully the memory of the song at all and The Smiths haven’t sold out, actually. And you know something, he’s right to say that it doesn’t sully the memory of the band.
Marr took to twitter to answer disappointed Smiths fans (is there any other kind of Smiths fan?) and claimed that the memory of the group hadn’t been sullied at all.
He said:
Writing ‘Please Please…’ one Friday in ’84 is one of the best memories of my life. This ad has not sullied that memory one bit.
He went on to criticise the fans who had been…
“bitching and moaning whilst, wait for it, watching X Factor”
And Marr is absolutely correct in his assertion that the use of a cover of a Smiths song in a television advert doesn’t sully the memory of the band because, the point here is that we’re dealing with a band so gaspingly overrated, so mediocre from top-to-bottom that any use of their song doesn’t harm their legacy, rather, brings the fine reputation of John Lewis down.
That’s right. Lovely John Lewis who sell all those nice things are now associated with dismal, vacant 6th form poetry shot through faux-kitchen sinkery and a collection of faces so long that you could trip over their chins.
Poor ol’ John Lewis. Being lumped in with those talentless berks.
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fatherb says
What?