Ad: The Jesus And Mary Chain - Damage And Joy
Targeted?: Yes?
Hello again from lockdown, where I haven't been blogging even though I've been at home with nothing to do. I hope everyone is staying safe and enjoying the sunshine responsibly. I was going to come to you today with an exploration of some ad content in my email inbox, but it's been quiet on that front since Apple made the 'unsubscribe' button from newsletters really prominent. One of the newsletters that I've removed myself from is the Penguin Reading Challenge, which I wrote about at the start of this project - despite really enjoying the first couple of books it suggested to me, I felt like it really deviated from the "books you've always meant to read" theme by recommending books I've never even heard of for the last few months. Don't worry though, I've read 13 books in the last 5 months, which is usually my annual figure, so I'm managing to find plenty to read without Penguin's suggestions! If you want to know more about what I'm reading you can keep up with me on Goodreads.
Anyway, on to YouTube, which is recommending TikTok as the top video ad today. I've written about TikTok before for this project and it's only gotten bigger since; actually, even though I was unimpressed with it back in January, I downloaded it back onto my tablet this week... I'd jump over there and see what sort of things it advertises to me, but it doesn't look like there are any ads on the For You page so I'm not sure where they appear, if at all.
So, on to the first suggestion on my YouTube homepage, which, just like when I looked at YouTube for this project in the past, is for the song 'Age Of Consent' by New Order as part of 'My Mix'. I promise that it doesn't suggest that to me every day and it's not the only thing I ever play on YouTube!
Before the song started there was an ad of sorts in the form of a YouTube survey about online dating sites, asking me which of the listed sites/apps I would consider using. The idea of dating apps doesn't appeal to me at all, so I picked none, then I got my New Order video.
After three songs I got an ad, but it was just the YouTube interstitial before taking me to my fourth video: 'Just Like Honey' by The Jesus And Mary Chain. This video had an ad in its annotations right at the start, saying "Damage and Joy out now". I clicked on it and was taken to the JAMC merch store, which was showing all the sold-out pre-order bundles for the album, which, it turns out, came out in 2017. Rather than buy the album, I decided I'd stream it on Spotify instead.
My knowledge of The Jesus And Mary Chain doesn't go too far - they're Scottish and I have a copy of their first album, Psychocandy, which I like a lot. Other than that, I've heard a few songs but not a full album's worth so I don't know how their sound has changed in the 34 years since Psychocandy came out.
My initial impression on hearing the opening track, 'Amputation', is that they're less noisy and more like a standard indie band - it reminds me of 'Bohemian Like You' by The Dandy Warhols. A lot of the JAMC hallmarks are still there - the pace is slow with the same drumbeat and simple guitar riffs as ever - so even without same haze of distortion, it's still recognisably them. There's also elements that remind me of the little 90s JAMC I know - there's some Americana in there (the chorus of 'Los Feliz' goes "God bless America, god bless the USA") and some female harmonies that recall their duet with Hope Sandoval, both of which make me want to see what they'd produce if they linked up with Lana Del Rey.
There's no song on the album that sticks out to me as being a highlight - the only one that will probably stick in my head is 'Simian Split', which alleges that "I killed Kurt Cobain" on his wife's orders and made me feel a bit uncomfortable - but overall I think it's a good record and I'm glad to hear that the band are still making good music. I considered going to see them at Glasgow Summer Nights this year, which I assume is now cancelled, but if they postpone and play Kelvingrove Bandstand in 2021 I'll think about getting myself a ticket. This album, like most of their back catalogue, would sound great sitting in the park on a hazy summer's evening.
This was a targeted ad inasmuch as it was included on the band's music video, which was recommended to me by YouTube since I've played it about 20 times, but I think it was a safe bet to assume that people who want to watch The Jesus And Mary Chain's videos might like to know that they're still going. I don't usually click on YouTube annotations, in fact I usually disable them, but this time it paid off.
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