That awkward moment...

[anagramofbrat]

...when you realize how much of your fragile little psyche was shaped in childhood by commercials? Yep, had one of those this morning when I put The Preciousssss on random at work and Bobby Darin singing "Mack the Knife" came up near the top of the list.

"Mack the Knife" is a pretty awesome song. It's kind of a gateway drug into the messed up little world of Bertolt Brecht, if you're inclined towards interesting pockets of music geekery and not so much into pop/jazz standards of the early sixties. The problem is that if your brain was at a certain stage of malleability/development around 1989 (which mine was) and you watched probably too much TV than the experts deemed healthy at the time, this is probably the first thing you think of when you hear it:

A big scary moon face wearing sunglasses that's only slightly less creepy than the Burger King. Who can't lip synch to save his life. (RuPaul would be telling him to sashay away after three bars.)

I have similar problems with Beethoven's "Für Elise" because of yet another steller ad from Mickey D's.

I still know every single one of these words. There's a fleeting wish for a little brother included with that so I could spitefully deny him french fries. Hands off, they're mine, all mine ALL MINE!!!!!

Well, I suppose I have cell23 now, but he buys his own goddamn fries.

You know what else I still know all the words to after all these damn years?

Man, the McDLT, talk about taking a person back. :P I remember having the little plastic record of this back in the day and thinking it was just CRAZINESS that they could etch things on a skinny strip of vinyl and your record player would totally PLAY THEM. CDs were still expensive space tech at the time.

I suppose a greater comment about the impact of advertising on children can be made here considering how far up into the delicate nooks and crannies of my brain the ads from one company in particular (and one pushing fast food at that) have lodged themselves and remain long after I've grown up, but I'm not making it right now. Instead I just amusedly shake my head (and my fist) at how McDonalds has warped my fragile little mind and to some extent my music taste.

I will note, however, that I now have a POWERFUL craving for McNuggets.

Comments

[horizonchaser.livejournal.com]

I'd like to teach the world to sing...

:D

[rhipowered.livejournal.com]

Mac Tonight. Oh god, I remember that. I think we had the little figure of him on a motorcycle.

[dreamweaver523.livejournal.com]

omg..the moooooon.

what about the whole "two all beef patties special sauce..blah blah blah"

[queencallipygos.livejournal.com]

When the "Mac Tonight" ad was out, I actually WORKED in my hometown's McDonald's, and they had a "Mac Tonight Tour" throughout southern New England at one point, where a guy dressed up in the big moon head would just turn up at various McDonald's and dance around waving at people. The music he danced to was provided by a really bored-looking guy with a boom box that played the Mac Tonight song on a continuous loop.

I'd burned the hell out of my arm on the fryolater about a half hour before he showed up (seriously, they sent me to the back room to get over my dizzy spell, then they sprayed a hell of a lot of bactine on me and wrapped my wrist in gauze; it was a 2nd degree burn, I think), and so they gave me "wander around on cleanup duty because that's easy," so I got to see the whole thing. Some people were really psyched, and one of my managers even came out of her office to do some swing dance moves with him at one point.

My favorite reaction was one woman who took three steps into the place and then saw him, and froze, wide-eyed. Mac Tonight saw her and started shuffling her way, pointing at her and nodding and doing this whole lounge-lizard-on-the-prowl sort of thing, and she just stared, as if all her behavioral instincts had completely abandoned her. When Mac got to her, he held his hand out to her to shake, and she very slowly raised her hand, watching it as it rose to meet his as if she was being controlled by an outside force.

I'm not entirely sure what that was all supposed to achieve. But now, nearly 26 years later, I'm suddenly wondering "what was the guy who dressed up like that feeling about that job?"

[extrajoker.livejournal.com]

While Christmas shopping last year, I was really disheartened to hear a small child sing, "Walking in a 4G wonderland..."