. . . for obvious reasons.
I Gotta Have More Kick Drum
Preach
Since HBO cruelly ended Barry and Succession at the same time, this bastard is angry. I know the rest of you are doing your highbrow summer reading clubs, but I’m left waiting for:
- True Detective: Night Country (“sometime in 2023”)
- Fargo Season 5 (sometime late 2023)
- Dune Part Deux (November 3, 2023)
- The Witcher Season 5 (June 29, 2023 hey that’s sooner than I thought!)
Anyway, Gemstones drops June 18th.
Cello!
I watched Tár this week. The featured musical pieces include Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 and Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E Minor (above). The subtleties are lost on my underdeveloped musical perceiving apparatus, but I rather enjoyed the passages from Elgar.
Also, and independently, I learned that the lyric from “A Quick One While He’s Away” is not
cello cello cello cello cello cello cello
but
jerrald jerrald jerrald jerrald jerrald jerrald jerrald
The Other Other German Composer
John Groves, born in Hamburg to English parents.
I came to appreciate his genius when a vintage Mentos commercial recently appeared on one of my devices.
At the time it came out (1992) I had the same reaction as everyone, i.e.
WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS. But this being in the before times, prior to Makerbot inventing the internets, I had to simply wonder how the abomination arose, and wallow in ignorance.
But now…
Enter Bastard Research Division.
The candies, in various formats, have been around since the 1930’s, and are owned by the Perfetti Van Melle, an Italian-Dutch corporation. Van Melle hired the ad agency Pahnke & Partners out of Hamburg, to come up with the ad spots. Groves composed the theme, which is available in extended format!!
The bulk of commercials were shot in South Africa, and aimed squarely at the US and Canada.
Viewers who spotted the ads when they premiered in July 1992 were driven to distraction by one intangible: The ads seemed disconnected from actual human behavior, and the song itself was critiqued for appearing to be an English translation that didn’t get the lyrics quite right.
When Van Melle was asked “what the actual fuck?” they responded coyly, realizing they had a phenomenon on their hands. The less they answered, the more interest there was. Sales went from $20M in 1991 to $140M in 1996, worldwide. In the late 90’s, Altoids caught fire and were blamed for a decrease in Mentos market share.
The singer is allegedly Richard Ryan Graves (aka Frank Ryan), who takes zero credit for it on wikipedia or elsewhere. He was in Hamburg at the time, so he remains a likely suspect.
Jesus Is Coming
Better get a perm.
Decade After Decade
View this post on Instagram
Loathsome Collaboration
I would say that they should all know better, but it’s clearly untrue. Maybe pre-1985 Sting.
Please enjoy the schmoozy behind-the-scenes intro and soft focus.
Obligatory:
Loathsome Ad Jingle
You’re welcome.