I saw this over at The Swarm. Woody Guthrie for Audi.

As always, make sure the parking brake is firmly engaged then, click pause on the music player located in the side bar before playing the YouTube.

5 reasons why this ad doesn’t appeal to me….

1. I’m not a fan of that kind of animation.

2. There was a big stink several years back when Jib Jab used “This Land Is Your Land” for one of their cartoon parodies and the publishing company that owns the rights to the Guthrie catalog sued Jib Jab. The publisher settled out of court after somebody figured out that they had neglected to renew the copyright. The publisher is also tied to the Woody Guthrie Foundation that claims they are dedicated to preserving Woody’s legacy. Just my opinion but, I’m thinking Woody would be more in to Jib Jab than Audi. I may be wrong but, who knows?

3. Syncing the master rather than just licensing a song seems more like an endorsement so it goes back to-Just my opinion but, who knows? Somebody or committee is making that judgment.

4. Many years ago I had a job as a driver at a car wash in California. My job was to drive each car as it came through and park it in a small lot crowded with attendants and customers. It could get pretty nerve wracking because the pace was fast and there were so many people milling about. Every morning I would get a mimeographed warning about how Audis had a tendency to jump out of park and in to gear for no reason. There were a lot of Audis coming through this place and the thought of one jumping in to gear was terrifying. This machine kills pedestrians.

5. Woody’s voice is so endearing and genuine singing nonsense phrases that this ad is bound to appeal to little kids who will grow up to be Audi owners because of it.

Here’s a different kind of gig; from AP.

The final note of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign may very well be sung by Jon Bon Jovi.

The musician is performing at a fundraiser for the former presidential candidate as she tries to close out her campaign debt, which stood at $6.3 million as of last month.

The Jan. 15 performance at Manhattan’s Town Hall is being billed as “a final evening in support of Hillary Clinton for President Debt Relief.”

Ticket prices range from $75 to $1,000.

The political fundraiser gig is one where you have to weigh the consequences anyway. Do you want to risk alienating half the audience by showing public support for a politician as any politician is a polarizing figure? Now, a lot of players look at it as mercenary work because, surprisingly, many fund raising gigs are paying gigs. I’m getting paid so, I’m going to play. No different than being a caterer; do the work take the cash. Except, when was the last time you saw an AP story about who was catering a fund raising party?

And, some players feel the need to take a public stand on their political views. And, some feel that the publicity grab outweighs polarization.

Debt Relief? How un-sexy is that? Thinking about it though, it’s pretty easy to spin that one your way. “Really, I’m taking a stand on debt relief”.

Hmmmm….maybe it’s time for a concert for the National Debt. Debt Aid. Al Gore, he’s an experienced concert promoter. He could ramrod the big Debt Aid show.

It could be a coming together, a healing process; Debt Aid featuring The Dixie Chicks and Toby Kieth. You could have Jimmie Vaughan sitting in with Kanye. Nas and Charlie Daniels. Jackson Browne doing a comedy sketch with Victoria Jackson (Jackson and Jackson).

Mull it over and get back to me.

Rounding out the unexpected week of shoe posts, Turkish shoemaker Ramazan Baydan is making hay while the sun shines. From sundayszaman.com.

The Bush shoe is now in high demand in many countries around the world, including the United States and Britain, and in neighboring Muslim countries. “We have received orders for thousands of pairs of this model, already exceeding the number of orders we usually receive in an entire year. We have been selling these shoes for years, but orders have increased incredibly after the shoe-throwing incident,” Baydan stated.

Baydan’s company is said to have recruited an extra 100 workers to meet the orders. Baydan said he plans to offer the al-Zaidi family a lifetime supply of shoes.

“We have also received offers for advertising from many international companies. We are working on new advertising campaigns. We plan to prepare posters advertising the shoes that will read, ‘Bye Bye Bush, Welcome Peace,’” Baydan continued.

A little searching and I found this…

These are the shoes that Baydan shoes claims to be the version thrown at President Bush by the reporter in Iraq. Although hundreds of newspapers have mentioned Baydan shoes as being the supposed creator of the shoes, we cannot give any refunds if this happens to be false. Ourselves and hundreds of thousands of other people believe they are indeed the ones thrown at bush.

Hmmm…well, if you feel like taking your chances and wish to buy the Alleged George Bush Shoes…click here.