Re: Rocket Man

[Richard Bensam <rabensam@earthlink.net>]

Neal Mulvenna wrote:

>A recent airline commercial in the USA uses Elton John's Rocket Man
>tune as a major part (an unidentified female singer, not Kate). This
>and a recent rehearing of Elton's own singing of it, brought to mind
>Kate's version.  Has anyone done a cover of it that even approaches
>the Kate Bush version?

I've never seen this commercial, but I have seen an AT&T spot which uses
the Elton John original as its theme music.  (The spot features a man on an
evening flight -- could we actually be thinking of the same commercial?)
The AT&T spot depressed me immensely when I first saw it...because of my
unblinking hatred of the use of popular songs in televsion ads, combined
with the fact that this particular commercial was amazingly powerful and
well edited to the song.  The airplane passenger is sad and lonely,
separated from his family and loved ones ("...on such a timeless
flight...") until we come to the triumphant, defiant burst of "I'm a Rocket
Man...!" when a fax from home restores the familial bonds of love and
communication.  Embrace the great god AT&T, which reunites families and
connects us all.  Blech.  I hate commercials, especially commercials for
hideously powerful, faceless multinational corporations, and I hate
effective and stirring commercials for hideously powerful, faceless
multinational corporations most of all.

I'm pleased to report that the original, effective commercial -- which was
somewhere in the neighborhood of two minutes long and used the song to
stunning effect -- has been dropped in favor of a much-edited version which
thoroughly mangles the song structure and is much less stirring.  In fact,
it's cold as hell.  Thank heavens for small blessings.


RAB

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