The Trouble With G. Love

"I'd like to buy the world a Coke, and chill with it a while."

I know I may be stepping on some sandy toes when I diss G.Love, his being chummy with the Malloy brothers (who directed the commercial), Jack Johnson and every other surfer who has picked up a guitar, but that new commercial sucks.

For an artist to blatantly pimp a product on as vast a scale as Coke's and to do it in such an uncreative and, frankly, humiliating way is inexcusable. G. Love has become a parody of himself, marble-mouthing his way through the white boy rhymes that lead to the chorus mentioned above. And what the hell does it mean, anyway? He wants to chill with the world a while? Or does he want to chill with the Coke he bought for the world a while? Shit, I don't know. All I know is that the commercial reminds me of the horrible one with Garth Brooks sitting on his front porch rhapsodizing about how great Dr. Pepper is (anybody remember the weird old man playing the washboard in that one?): "Be original, an individual, like Dr. Pepper."

I can just hear the ad execs sitting around a conference table saying: "Remember that song G. Love and the Saucy-sauce did a while back: I love them chilled beverages, or something? It would be perfect for selling our new Coke Zero!"

I remember that song - and I remember it was about BOOZE. I even liked G.Love back then, before he became the soundtrack to every frat/sorority party on the planet.

People may say that it is an artist's right to make money when he can, especially when illegal downloading is dipping substantially into their revenue stream. They may even say that G.Love is laughing all the way to the bank by aiming a sling at the Goliath Coca-Cola corporation. If that's the case, he could have at least looked cool doing it...

Case in point: I have some friends in a band that is less successful than G.Love who sold one of their singles to the Polaroid corporation to promote those small instant cameras that were the rage a few years ago. The band is Metric and the song was "Grow Up and Blow Away." It was a cool track and a hip video, but I think the whole experience left a bad taste in their mouths. A year later the lead singer Emily told me that she turned down placement of one of their songs in a Power Puff Girls episode. I said, "That's cool," but she could tell by my hesitation that I was considering all the other great bands that have endorsed the cartoon and how it may have helped gain them exposure. "Fuck you!" she replied. But I totally respected her because of how cautious she was with the band's integrity. It is a very precious thing.

Music: Metric - "Combat Baby"


P.S. But I totally approve of Metric appearing on the DaKine website since it is surf-related and because I use their products...