Boards of Canada soundtrack new Nike commercial

[Fireal420]

im not saying i am for or against the nike ad.

but i remember thom yorke from radiohead was asked a question in an interview about whether or not he believed in radioheads music being placed in ads

he said something along the lines of.. you cant release music, and then later use it in some random ad. the music may be yours, but it affects a lot of your listeners, the music becomes personal with fans and it isnt fair to place their memories into a random commercial.



the above is pretty much a breakdown of what thom said. he was pretty passionate about what he said, and i remember him throwing alot of f-bombs in there, lol

[iec]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6zVUvmkyvA&noredirect=1

henry rollins on selling out (required viewing)

Bill Hicks ripping Jay Leno a new asshole for selling out to Doritos, haha:

i guess there's a distinction vs. promoting a product directly (hicks, leno, doritos) and having music featured in an ad that promotes a product (nike, or the car ads henry mentions).

i think henry says it the best. "of course the ad is trying to sell you something, and by using a band you like, attempting to gain your confidence by exploring the band's integrity for a commercial end. so what?! you're not a moron, are ya? you see through that, don't you?! what would you rather be hearing?!"

[mr3]

^^ Hicks ripping Leno a new one is burned into my mind, I'll probably take it to the grave. I bet he'd still slap his mother for a promo dollar.

...we have to keep updating our hardware / software or eat dust.

Might be better not to know why, I don't think you'd be pleased. There seems to be a music industry equivalent, for example

That's just the nature of the beast in general. All institutions under a capitalist system can only run off of cyclical consumption. They need more and more energy and resources to survive.

I also must admit I love that BoC can inspire conversations like this just from a song being featured in a commercial film. Tomorrow's Harvest indeed!

I think you're on to something, especially BOC-inspired topics! With this particular situation though (the current state of sw/hw) I think it has a lot less to do with capitalism and a lot more to do with morals. It boils down to people having the power to do things like provide less for more, set back advancement for their own gain, declare the latest ill-advised 15 oops 10 Commandments of Computing, etc...and then deciding to do just that. I'm surrounded by people like this, and it takes patience to consistently prevent it from getting on me in any real way. Big music labels in this mindset seemed to peak in the '70s (and heck they ironically inspired things like new sounds in music). It seems to be this historical echo--that same old story of what happens most often when you mix people and power. It's great to see how much the situation has changed for music at least.

[lumpenprol]

this is pretty lame and you guys know it.

I mean, Nike? They of child labor sweatshops?

Sigh...

[Spaced]

this is pretty lame and you guys know it.

I mean, Nike? They of child labor sweatshops?

Sigh...

agreed. i am telling myself it will help them buy a new synth or speed up their release turnaround in some fashion. aside from the moral quagmire with aligning themselves with such a questionable organization as Nike Inc. I feel sad that this track which with the video was the mood setter for the new LP has been diminished and reduced to a "cool" background soundtrack to a nonsense ad for a shitty corporation. but whatever. i will just get on with life and forget it. i am realistic about BoC and have never thought of them as anything other than 2 talented blokes who have to pay for a pint of beer like any other bloke.

[mechanismj]

this is pretty lame and you guys know it.

I mean, Nike? They of child labor sweatshops?

Sigh...

agreed. i am telling myself it will help them buy a new synth or speed up their release turnaround in some fashion. aside from the moral quagmire with aligning themselves with such a questionable organization as Nike Inc. I feel sad that this track which with the video was the mood setter for the new LP has been diminished and reduced to a "cool" background soundtrack to a nonsense ad for a shitty corporation. but whatever. i will just get on with life and forget it. i am realistic about BoC and have never thought of them as anything other than 2 talented blokes who have to pay for a pint of beer like any other bloke.

It only diminishes it if you let it.

[Spaced]

I guess I just don't have your will power. There is an incongruity here when you place this decision alongside their image and what they say in interviews, that is where the disappointment lies.

[Cupz]

I'd sell my music to Nike if it would bring me food on the table for a year. Hell, I'd even sell it for 15 bucks. You know how many cigarettes I can buy with that?
You should all stop bitching about this.

The commercial is pretty good, except for the music (and that stupid back-cut in the middle). The music is pretty good except for the commercial. But thats the creative-director's fault.

[long shadows]

I guess I just don't have your will power. There is an incongruity here when you place this decision alongside their image and what they say in interviews, that is where the disappointment lies.

Agreed! I understand they have to license their music to make money, but you'd think, as artists, they'd know that symbolism is everything, and Nike is one of the biggest symbols of exploitative manufacturing (even if it is not the worst). Why allow their art to be aligned with Nike's attempt to artfully whitewash its practices.

I work in the Human Rights sector in Cambodia where Nike sources some of its labour. The issue is complex, but Nike and its fellow manufacturers are clearly failing to be responsible employers:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/world ... -nike.html
http://www.opendevelopmentcambodia.net/ ... try-model/
http://www.cleanclothes.org/news/2013/1 ... fullscreen

[Geogandhi]

It's nice to see that most people in here realise the ridiculousness of getting wound up by something so trivial is pointless, unlike the facebook link BoCpages posted. You do not own BoC, you have no right to their children, you just are allowed to watch and listen from afar. If they do something you do not like then fine, you don't have to agree with anything anyone does but they did it, they have reasons and it's not your place to question them.
I personally agree that it's not a great ad and it does not fit but, who gives a fuck? it is what it is. I will not lose sleep and BoC could not give a shit what I thought anyway.
Brian Anderson is a seriously rad guy and I don't like him any less because his idea didn't quite work.

Anyway, nice to see there are other skaters in here.

[Fireal420]

ive still never seen the video displayed by nike on television, or even on nike's youtube page.


are we sure this is even real? someone may have overdubbed reach for the dead into a new nike commercial

[zeoevil]

you have no right to their children

Ha! I see what you did there.

[Spaced]

you have no right to their children

nor does Nike have the right to children in sweatshops.

[paul]

you sell out the day you decide to sell your art. lets move on from that moot point since all artists have to eat. the point is more about how such a powerful song is used for such a disempowered piece. i hate to say it since i know there was a lot production value to it, but you can't touch Reach For The Dead unless you are touched by an angel. at least you shouldn't.

perhaps any other track - but this one is so special it almost needs to be left alone. Neil did it first and did it right. its arguably one of THE BEST BOC tracks of all time ... yeah i said it. but i think i said it about 4 months ago too and maintain it is truly one of the most emotional songs they have ever recorded. so if the ad was perfect, i wouldn't be so critical but this track is an anthem and must be given due respect. the ad is good but not perfect, so it falls into the category of the short that does not live up to its soundtrack.

but what do i know? if i were they, and Nike called me ...

[Geogandhi]

you have no right to their children

nor does Nike have the right to children in sweatshops.

Poor argument. of course it is bad that companies use these factories but the other side of the coin is that these factories are at fault for their poorly paid work force. Life out in those places is hard and a kid getting paid as opposed to not getting paid is the difference between life and death. If these factories were to not get orders and close then alot of people go without. Of course, this does not make it right. There needs to be better standards put in place for factories and companies to follow to make fairer rights for workers. It's not black and white.
If you oppose what Nike do then you oppose alot of many industries. Unless you are Amish etc etc then you are guilty of supporting this "sweatshop" industry.
Then again, you may be sat in your cabbage patch, naked playing your BoC vinyl with the beak of your pet sparrow.

[jcnporter]

Deleted.

[WeHadNormality]

I can pretty much guarantee that all the people wading in on this thread with the 'Nike are a big child exploiting corporation' argument have contributed to forced labour, underpaid labour, exploitation and unethical companies in some way or another. Whether you like it or not, it's everywhere.

Michael Sandison wears trainers made by Nike.

[Spaced]

Poor argument. of course it is bad that companies use these factories but the other side of the coin is that these factories are at fault for their poorly paid work force. Life out in those places is hard and a kid getting paid as opposed to not getting paid is the difference between life and death. If these factories were to not get orders and close then alot of people go without. Of course, this does not make it right. There needs to be better standards put in place for factories and companies to follow to make fairer rights for workers. It's not black and white.
If you oppose what Nike do then you oppose alot of many industries. Unless you are Amish etc etc then you are guilty of supporting this "sweatshop" industry.
Then again, you may be sat in your cabbage patch, naked playing your BoC vinyl with the beak of your pet sparrow.

it wasn't actually an argument. it was a bit of wordplay like yours only with a sober intent. so one can only be critical of capitalism if they live like a monk? is that it? and the workers should be glad that they have big corporations to save them from even worse fates in dem bad countries. rightio.

Boards of Canada make beautiful music and a great part of their aesthetic appeal i believe is down to this nostalgia factor they tap into. but when you examine the world and see how unfair the system is you realize this warm and fuzzy nostalgia is only available to a lucky minority. and likely will never be felt by people working in sweatshops or Foxconn, wherever. this is why this Nike thing just seems wrong to me.
anyway, it's done now and i feel the old 'you're on a PC you can't criticize" argument is close to rearing it's head. i will likely not concern myself with the matter once it falls out of sight and off the first page. such is the privilege of not being a poor fucker living in the 3rd world.

[Geogandhi]

That's cool, I just read my comment back and realised that the wry smile is well and truly hidden in that one. I have that problem in places like this, I assume people know what i'm like so I be myself and if I say something opposing another opinion they can get over it easily, because it's just "me" ha.

Anyway, as for people having opinions matching what the corporate want us to have is right, Like I said, it's not black and white. You can only have opinions based on the facts available, anything past that is a fabrication of your own. I can't assume any details of the business between nike and the factories is uses. Business at that level can be deep, cutthroat and shrewd. We are not going to know what goes on ever. Facts, investigation results can easily be doctored when high stakes are involved. Take the pharmaceutical industry for example: Drugs like Seroxat is big news because of huge suicide rates, investigation after investigation brings back different results and the news of testing bodies being paid off to push the drug through without adequate testing is criminal and is ultimately killing people. Anyway, far too serious and deep to get into on here.

[revertedhexagon]

Am i the only one who doesnt give a hoot? Its just an ad.