Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
I love The Sound of Music; I love remixes, renditions and revisits; And so stumbling upon Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata‘s rendition of Rodgers and Hammerstein‘s musical is nothing short of brilliant. Check it out:
You can pre-order BRO’s upcoming album ‘The Hills Are Alive‘ here.
Enjoy watching this wonderful video, before reading why I absolutely hate it:
Now I’ll do the unthinkable and quote myself:
The war over mind share rages on and in the very near future it would be impossible to leave your home without stumbling into an advertisement, and most of the time you won’t even know you’re in one.
– - Shahar Golan, January 18, 2009
We are living in the age of über-fast memes, where an idea in the real world can be documented and uploaded to YouTube, watched anywhere around the world, and ‘downloaded’ back to the real world in another country. The following timeline is just one example of how this ‘cultural virus’ can spread:
And the dance will continue…
The fact that Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music is one of my favourite musicals is irrelevant. For all I care Julie Andrews could have danced right there on Antwerp’s Central Station, holding hands with the entire Von Trapp family – it still would not change the fact that we are losing the war over mind share and over public spaces.
The 3D hologram shark ad that startles Marty McFly in Back to the Future’s 2015? The ads that personally address John Anderton in Minority Report’s 2054? Why wait for hi-tech advertising, when you can get stuck in a real world commercial today? Just try and catch a train in Antwerp, New York or Tel-Aviv in the near future.
Oh… and if you’re thinking of avoiding the train all together by driving to work, better think again: KFC logos will soon be sprayed all over the road.
You can read more on this subject in Kalle Lasn’s excellent book Culture Jam: How to Reverse America’s Suicidal Consumer Binge – And Why We Must.
P.S.
Yes, I do realize that by blogging about it I add to the hype needed to perpetuate this phenomenon – but just like people printing books about the dwindling rainforests, there is just no other way of stopping this.
Been catching up on my TV lately, trying to cram five years of The L Word in just a couple of weeks. When the 2nd season premiere started and I noticed a new theme song, I started pouting, as I really liked the 1st season’s pseudo theme song consisting of ten seconds of electronic sounds:
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…but by the second time I heard the new theme song I had a smile plastered all over my face: if there is something I love more than a cover version – it is a reference to another song, an homage of sorts, the use of our common experiences as a language.
The new theme song by NYC-based rock band BETTY puts a twist on ‘My Favorite Things’ from the ‘The Sound of Music’. Taking the wholesome character of Maria and twisting her words is brilliant in so many ways.
Have a listen to the theme song, preceded by the relevant part from The Sound of Music:
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| My Favorite Things Girls in white dresses With blue satin sashes Snowflakes that stay On my nose and eyelashes … |
The Way That We Live Girls in tight dresses Who drag with mustaches Chicks drivin’ fast Ingénues with long lashes Women who long, love, lust Women who give This is the way It’s the way that we live Talking, laughing, loving, breathing, fighting, fucking, crying, drinking, riding, winning, losing, cheating, kissing, thinking, dreaming. This is the way It’s the way that we live It’s the way that we live And love |
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