Clash's "London Calling" - So often misused and it drives me CRAZY!!!!

[Coventina]

Why, WHY?!?!?!
Does this song get so blatantly misused?
I had finally calmed down after the London Olympics, and now my local NPR station is using it to promote their local fund drive with a London vacation as a random drawing donor prize.

Even a casual listener can tell that these are NOT appropriate uses of the song!!!

(Not to mention its use to sell cosmetics, clothes, etc. ad nauseum).

ARGH!!!! It drives me mad!!!

It makes me even crazier than hearing the Police's "Every Breath You Take" at wedding receptions.

[onehandle]

1. 'I Don't Like Mondays' played at wakes after mass shootings.

Madness!

...I mean Boomtown Rats!

[Coventina]

2. Really?!?!? That's a thing?

That is truly bizarre.

Maybe it's some sort of weird grief thing. But wow.
That's even more inappropriate than what I was griping about.

Geez......

(Love the Madness joke, BTW!)

[LynneSin]

3. They used it for an Amanda Byrnes move where she goes to London to find her dad

Only reason I watched the movie - dad was played by Colin Firth. When you see him in a pair of leather pants it makes the torture of hearing "London Calling" being abused just a tad bit easier.

[Coventina]

5. Colin Firth in leather pants?!?!

Clearly, I've missed something important!!!

[LynneSin]

7. It was later on in the movie, not during the "London Calling" sequence

but yeah it's worth the suffering to see that.

[pipi_k]

4. One that always drives me nuts...

"I Will Always Love You" (I like Whitney's version) being played at wedding receptions.


Hello????


Do they ever listen beyond those five words?

[Coventina]

6. Argh! YES!!

It's a beautiful song (I'm partial to Dolly's version).

But so, so inappropriate for weddings!!!!

I HATE going to wedding receptions because I ALWAYS sit there and think of how much better I would be as DJ.

I remember, once, during "cocktail hour" while the wedding party was doing photos thinking, "Heck, I could play Sade's "Greatest Hits" for free! Why are they PAYING someone to do it?"
(BTW: Many songs on that compilation not appropriate, either!)

[Arugula Latte]

8. How about the Reagan campaign using "Born in the USA" as a happy, peppy, patriotic song?

Dumbasses.

[Coventina]

9. Oh man, that was truly terrible

A perfect example of song-use idiocy.

I always wonder about who makes these decisions?

I mean, seriously, how does that happen?

Are they really that stupid? Or do they think their audience is that stupid?

[Avalux]

10. I feel the same way about Walk on the Wild Side.

And Teenage Wasteland being used to sell cars.

[Coventina]

11. Hahaha! Yeah, it seems auto-advertisers are particularly tone-deaf.

*rim shot*

My two favorite examples are Chevy using Jesus and Mary Chain's "Happy When It Rains", and Subaru using the Pogues' "If I Should Fall From Grace With God."

Not blatantly HORRIBLE choices, necessarily, but head-scratching for sure.

[Avalux]

12. Those are good ones!

For me personally, I was completely disgusted to hear Ceremony used in an Absolut Vodka commercial a few years ago. It made me want to cry because I absolutely adore that song (ALL versions of it). It was heartbreaking to hear/see it used in that manner.

[Coventina]

13. Wha?

We're talking the Joy Division / New Order song?

Oh man, I'm glad I missed out on that atrocity!

[Avalux]

14. Yep!

Some knock-off band did a cover for the commercial and no singing. I'm glad you missed it too.