I’ve never been crazy about The Shins and now…I
don’t know, there’s something about Mercer’s songwriting that seems forced,
like he’s trying too hard. Dylan would never settle for a line like, “And away
they did run.” “Did run?” Seriously? It’s like bad poetry from a junior high
schooler who was just happy he found a rhythm and rhyme to go with “done,” a difficult word to find a rhyme for. But what
really bugs me is the first line of “Simple Song:” “This is just a simple
song.” I hate that. I first heard it while watching the band on SNL. I was in
bed. And after that, I squirmed and grumbled and couldn’t fall asleep.
Look, if it’s just to tell me what’s coming up in a
self-confessing way, then it’s laziness. For god sakes, get on with it and tell
me something new.
If it’s meant to be post-modern, I’m tired of that. Of
course I’m really not sure what is meant by “post-modern” anymore but if it’s
that self-conscious cynical view that makes fun of the medium it’s in while
trying to make a point, then, yes, I’m tired of that, too. Cynicism can turn
into cliché just like everything else.
I hear this sort of thing all the time in
presentations. Before I see the work, I hear, “We wanted to do something funny, sooo…..” and, “This is just a
simple spot…” and my personal favorite, "I showed this next spot to my girlfriend and she thought it was hysterical..." Let me be the judge of that, thank you.
To sell good work, we are constantly professing the power of
impact, wanting the consumer to discover a surprising conclusion. We’re right
about that. So we should apply that principle and have the
confidence to allow clients to feel the work. Before we tell them what to think.
Enough
said.
