Isnt it Ironic?

Mike Boom · Post by **Mike Boom** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 2:03 am

No, Alanis -

But in good old NZ there is an ad for a bank on TV at the moment that uses The Verves "Bittersweet Symphony" as its background music.

The fact the lyric contains the line "your a slave to money then you die" obviously passed them by.

verbal gymnastics · Post by **verbal gymnastics** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 3:16 am

Or maybe not!

selfmademug · Post by **selfmademug** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 3:55 am

They heard "watch this space" and thought, ah!, we've got our jingle...

selfmademug · Post by **selfmademug** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 1:13 pm

Okay, well that comment of mine made no sense at all as it was reffing a Sneaker Pimps song by accident, from that same time. Hey, I was loony with fatigue. Anyway, yes, it is ironic, and very sad.... I like those guys, despite how horribly overplayed BS was here. I saw them live, they were good.

Post by **BlueChair** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 1:34 pm

I've heard/seen "Bittersweet Symphony" used in at least ten different ads over the course of the past three or four years.

This is nothing new

DrJ · Post by **DrJ** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 1:34 pm

Well you see it's like this...

That orchestral/violin riff/motif on BSS is a sample from Andrew Loog Oldham's orchestral version of Jagger/Richards' The Last Time. The sample was used without permission and Alan Klein came looking for his money with the end result that Bittersweet Symphony is now credited to Jagger/Richards and published by ABKCO.

Thus The Verve, as well as losing all the lovely royalties, lose the control over whether the song (or more specifically, accurate rerecordings) can be used in ads.

Life's cruel, non?

DrJ

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sat Aug 16, 2003 3:25 am

Yeah, but they should have been less naive about it. Richard Ashcroft is a limited tosspot in my book, but The Drugs Don't Work is a classic which for me justifies his entire career.