define "love"

in the last blog, i dealt with subject matter on what happens when you lose your love for a song. mainly, it dealt with losing your love for a song because of a certain memory associated with it.

it's possible.



yes,it does happen.
that's the best way i could simulate the nodding of a head to support my claim.

anyway, in my last blog, a reader proposed the question:



to answer that question, i think i have to think of a few different ideas before i can really answer it. i rarely answer what i'm asked. it's not out of disrespect. it's not because i like to revolt. it's because my brain usually scatters in more directions when proposed with something interesting and that harbors possibility for more than one response.

i'll take this step-by-step.



(if you don't remember the association with the phrase "step-by-step" that i make with this picture, then you should disregard it completely. and you should be ashamed that you never watched t.g.i.f. on friday nights as a child)

1. you can love songs in different ways.

for instance, i love this song:



and it was used in this commercial:



our reader asks: "what happens when you hear a song you used to love used in an advertisement? what does that do to you? to the song?"

well, reader: what happened to me was that i was reminded of my youth. i remembered the muppets and everything they stand for. what does that do for the song? well, i think it brings it back to life a bit. it's not everyday you turn on the television and see your youth in a commercial. in this instance, i don't associate an advertisement as being a bad thing to my love for the song or for the song itself. maybe because it's a timeless song. maybe because it's a song that's meant to be fun.

but, i think this happened because i don't love the song like i love other songs.


2. what about when you really love a song and it gets played out by an advertisement?

thank god and everything decent and holy that i have not been subjected to this yet.



in a non-pretentious way, i don't think that a lot of the music i listen to would ever be mainstream enough to make it on to an advertisement that would never go away. i mean, i'm not saying that independent musicians have never been played on popular media or culture.

for instance:



the cw's show gossip girl, featured a song by motioncity soundtrack, a band that isn't quite mainstream enough to hear on the radio or see on mtv.

i love this band. do i love the fact that their song is featured on that show?

not really.

but do i think it's a great break? sure. they are really talented and they need to be heard. the only thing that makes my skin cringe is the idea of tweenie girls running around making claims that they "so discovered motioncity soundtrack." that's what bothers me.



but, if a song such as this one... (butch walker's "atlanta")
a song that moves me. a song that has made me tear up a bit (i don't regret admitting that)...

well, if a song such as that one ever made it to an advertisement and i had to watch it be butchered by anything that does not do it justice such as soap, shampoo, triscuits, banks, eye-candy for teens to get off to, sodas, ointments, or anything of that nature...then i might take out the west wing of the corporate building that made that possible.

don't alert the authorities.



i just feel strongly about that man's music.

so, to answer the question, i think that it totally depends on the context. it depends on the song. it depends on the love for the song. it depends on whether or not the advertisement is tasteful and what comes along with it. do i ever want a song i love to be a part of an advertisement?

not for me.

but, if it helped the artist, then totally.

judgment. i think they should use good judgment, though.

in the end, it all comes down to the definition of love.
yeah, you can love a song...but then again, you can really really really love a song.

until next time
-nick