No Rock And Roll Fun

PICTURES OF SHINY NEW CARS SELL RECORDS: Chumbawamba agree to allow GM to use one of their tracks in a TV campaign, and give their share of the booty to anti-GM campaigns. See, they only let them use the track so they could sell some albums, and, of course, if they give the cash to a small campaigning group, it's karma-neutral, right?
Wrong. Because the Pontiac spot will be riddled through the American media for ages, while the $70,000 the Chumbs have given will fund - what? a small ad in the back of the new internationalist, a couple of banners for a protest outside Ellesmere Port, and maybe a small website. That'll balance it out.
Besides, when did selling records suddenly become so motivated to flog CDs? Back during the Band Aid era, they released the splentically titled Pictures of starving babies sell records. Perhaps true, but at least Bob didn't sign a deal to let Do They Know Its Christmas promote the very drought he was campaigning against. It all smacks of how lazy and indeed arrogant the band have come - as with the Brits a few years back, when they hoped a pisspoor dousing of John Prescott would stop people noticing they'd been paid hard cash to dance like buffons for his entertainment just ten minutes earlier.
Chumbwamba will sing for food - Next planning a 'have your cake, eat your cake' campaign for Mr. Kipling