Odds are, if you haven't been out for Black Friday yet, you already missed all the good deals. It's interesting that despite being a "holiday" clearly labeled as happening on Friday, it's now infringed itself upon Thursday by up to six hours, violating an actually wholesome national holiday in the process. Nothing sums up the retail culture of the United States (and the UK struggles with the same problem, if reports from our friends in London are to be believed). Just watch the video below to get the idea (our second anti-Illuminati video in a week...a new record!):
There is a place for music on Black Friday. After all, Record Store Day has increased the number of b-----n' exclusives you can purchase (if you get up early enough). So yeah, there's a bit of ridiculous consumer in us as well. The musicians behind these five tracks get the idea of Black Friday, even if the attitudes are vastly different. Put these on your iPod early for next year.
"Material Girl" by Madonna
Let's get the obvious one out of the way first. There have been thousands of songs about things, expensive things, and how you get them. Madonna took a different approach however, looking at the issue from an almost evolutionary perspective, as if it were a Devo single. She's not without her ideals but she's not oblivious either: She realizes that she's living in a material world, so why not be a material girl? This song still brings complaints from men who lament "gold diggers" and from women who accuse the pop star of delaying the empowerment of women. "Material Girl" isn't a master's thesis on corporate culture but it was a dose of reality to those who ignored it during the early '80s.
"Shopping" by The Jam
The problem with punk is that inevitably, some of the performers that produce it begin to get rich and spoil the image that made them famous. Everyone still loves Black Flag and -- although he's no longer in that band -- Henry Rollins has starred in a Michael Bay movie and Drew Barrymore hasn't (Bad Boys II). Hell, most punk fans would rather be living it large. Although hardly a 1 percenter, I enjoy both the Dead Kennedys and golf when I can get around to it. The Jam touch on this state of existence in its 1982 track "Shopping." Paul Weller, a new wave/punk figurehead, is known as the head of the Mod revival movement and he probably realized those sharp outfits and scooters weren't cheap.
"Throw It In The Bag" by Fabolous
We're going to give Madonna the benefit of the doubt and confirm that she was intentionally making a statement of consumerism with "Material Girl." Fabolous, we're not sure. Still, in the middle of literally thousands of tracks describing how much rappers can buy and how much of it, Fabolous' 2009 single "Throw It In The Bag" subconsciously serves as a warning about the dangers of wealth—one that many musicians and athletes should pay attention to. The theme of the song is that the young lady or whomever is traveling with the emcee should just "throw it in the bag," don't worry about the price. After all, he's got a "black AmEx." Fabolous is still hanging in there, a majority of rappers and athletes don't last very long in the public conscious. At which point, labels throw them out. Many of these guys don't have the skills to adjust back into "normal" society and suffer bankruptcy and worse as a result.
"New Jersey Malls" by Washington Social Club
We dedicate this one to fellow Music Times writer Joseph "Asbury Park Sand Volleyball Court" Degroot, someone who most certainly didn't get up early for Black Friday but who certainly has an interest in both his homeland of New Jersey and the pop punk scene. Washington Social Club engages us with an unusually deep narrative here as the narrator has a spiritual encounter with God while weaving his way through a crowded shopping mall in the Garden State. "I can tell by your expression you don't believe me at all," speaks the divine character. "But stranger things have happened in New Jersey malls." Indeed. You'll be able to find both strange and horrifying tales in the paper tomorrow. Perhaps a few more malls around the country should receive visits from God.
"Shoplifters of The World Unite" by The Smiths
Maybe we'll end up dedicating two songs to coworker Degroot, since he's responsible for roughly 94 percent of references to The Smiths at the office. As you might expect, Morrissey has no interest (read: utter disdain) for commercial culture. And, as you might expect if you're familiar with the Smiths' discography, this single never appeared on an actual full-length (although it emerged on a remastered version of Louder Than Bombs). Technically, although the vocalist and songwriter has clarified that this song refers to "shoplifting" in a sense more on par with cultural appropriation Nonetheless, the performer will probably take some amount of cynical humor if armies of shoplifters descended upon Macy's 5th Avenue come November 28.
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