Are The Moldy Peaches Sellouts?
Published by oz May 16th, 2008 in Music Video, Music Musings.
I am not a Moldy Peaches fan by any stretch of the imagination. I do enjoy following the changing music marketplace to see how bands will earn more money or enhance their living, however. To earn additional revenue with much less effort than touring, many cut licensing deals with network television to feature their songs in shows like Scrubs and Grey’s Anatomy and others, like Band of Horses and Wilco, allow big brands to use their tracks in commercials and other advertisements. I think all of us music fans have decided that we don’t consider those scenarios to be “selling out.”
Remember? We discussed this.
The Moldy Peaches, however, have completely rewritten their “hit” song “Anyone Else But You” from the movie Juno to suit the needs of Atlantis Resorts. You can view it at Rolling Stone. Let’s ask ourselves - Is this selling out? At first glance, I think we’d all say yes. But let’s dissect it a little bit further.
The Moldy Peaches can’t sing, they don’t have a band, and from they can’t play guitar all that well. Seems to me that there is a serious lack of talent, which is unsustainable in any career. Call it what you will but instead of “selling out,” I prefer to call this “cashing out.” It’s like winning the lottery. Their stock will never be higher and they need to milk this one-hit wonder for all its worth and then dissolve into the abyss (Say hello to Biz Markie for me!).
The new, re-vamped song is catchy though…
“Let’s go ride a couple of dolphins, or maybe play tennis or do some golfing…bum bum-bum-bum bum-bum-bum bum-bum-bum-bum…” Sorry, I’ve got to go call Atlantis to book my trip before this deal expires.
Here are The Moldy Peaches on The View. Yes, that’s right. No, not Letterman or Conan. The View I said.
There’s really no point in trying to sell anyone on the merits of the Peaches. You either like them or you don’t. i think you’re really selling yourself short if you don’t check out some of Kimya Dawson’s solo stuff (particularly Hidden Vagenda and Remember That I Love You), but if you don’t like twee, what can you do?
i do, however, take umbrage at your dismissing Biz like that. Sure, the guy only had one cross over hit, but you need to check your old skool rap credentials, my friend. The guy essentially discovered Big Daddy Kane and wrote numerous 80s rap classics.
i’m just saying.
The point wasn’t really to trash the moldy peaches for their talent, but why compromise the integrity of your work?
As for Biz, I was just trying to think of a one hit wonder and he was the first to come to mind. In retrospect, Dexy’s Midnight Runners or Soft Cell could have been better choices.
As long as we agree that the Biz deserves more love, it’s all good.
Dexy’s Midnight Runners or Soft Cell? They both had quite a bunch of “hits” in their native country. Both were well respected bands here (England), and the Dexy’s album “Searching for the Young Soul Rebels” is something of a classic. I’m guessing you’re American? If those bands only had one hit in another country: say, Thailand, then I guess a Thai (without much musical knowledge) would consider them “one hit wonders”. According to that logic, if U2, for example, had only ONE “hit” in Papua New Guinea, a blogger from Papua New Guinea would, I guess, call them “one hit wonders”, but we wouldn’t take him seriously.
Know what I mean?