Friday, February 12, 2010

FAMW: We Built This City

Today is the real birthday of Abraham Lincoln. To honor America's sixteenth president, and in anticipation of the President's Day weekend, we feature him in a cameo of the 1985 music video for “We Built This City” by Starship (formerly Jefferson Starship, formerly Jefferson Airplane). It was listed as “the #1 Worst Song Ever” by Blender magazine. Why? According to magazine editor Craig Marks: “It purports to be anti-commercial but reeks of ‘80s corporate-rock commercialism. It’s a real reflection of what practically killed rock music in the ‘80s.”

Anyone who really studies the history of rock music (and is the least bit honest with themselves) will tell you, that the whole idea of a revolt against commercialism in the late 1960s, was nothing more than a marketing ploy. Just start screaming about peace-love-dope, and all that revolution jive, and the kids just eat it up. Ka-CHING!!!

I remember how hilarious it was to learn, that among the aspiring teenybopper magnets auditioning for a spot on that TV show The Monkees, was that Woodstock Whiz Kid himself, Stephen Stills. If that were not enough, every idiot knows that Marconi never played the mamba, but you can still listen to the radio, because he invented it.

Something to think about as we ponder this week's Friday Afternoon Moment of Whimsy.
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Anyone who really studies the history of rock music (and is the least bit honest with themselves) will tell you, that the whole idea of a revolt against commercialism in the late 1960s, was nothing more than a marketing ploy.

Yep. That dawned on me awhile back when I turned over my Rage Against the Machine CD and see that it was brought to us by the Sony label.