First off, a big thank you to Lisa for covering the past few days!
“It’s a simple message isn’t it? ‘I’ve got the brains, you’ve got the looks, let’s make lots of money.’ A very insensitive thing that was meant to be a satire of Thatcherism. Actually, we’d written the Thatcherite anthem. But it’s very difficult to think, now, that there was a period before money culture. That was the changing moment. It wasn’t even an original thing to say because it was at the same time as Loadsamoney, Harry Enfield. It was that period where suddenly one’s sensitive left-wing soul was shocked by everything being about money. Now, of course, generations have grown that haven’t known anything else.”
— Neil Tennant
It’s amazing how things can get misinterpreted. I remember when I was a kid, Mercedes used Janis Joplin singing, “Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz” in their commercials. It used to drive my father crazy because the whole point of the song was that a Mercedes wasn’t a big deal and it was foolish to act like the car you drove had anything to do with your worth as a human being.
Right now, the song in today’s music video of the day is being used in an Allstate Commercial! Of course, in the commercial, all you hear is “Let’s make lots of money!” The commercial doesn’t include any of the lyrics that indicate that the singer is basically looking for someone who is dumb but good-looking so that he can be exploited.
There were two music videos for this song. This is the first one and it leaves no doubt what the point of the song actually is.
Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 