Sell Out!

Nothing brings trendy indie kids and punk rockers together like their mutual love to debate whether or not a band is selling out. Whether it's The Shins licensing a song for a McDonald's commercial or Against Me! signing a deal with Sire records, everyone suddenly has an opinion.

In the Washington Post last week Bill Wyman took the selling out debate to a new level with an actual mathematical formula. Named aptly enough The Moby Quotient (for those who forgot, the baled-headed vegan made every single song off of his album Play available for licensing), the formula "determines the degree to which artists besmirch their reputations when they lend their music to hawk products or companies."

Each factor is ranked on a scale of 1 to 10; the number assignments can be subjective, but the formula is useful in gauging the relative outrage fans should feel with each instance of this continuing cultural blight. The higher the result, the greater the degree of selling out.

So, as Bill points out, the fact that a Fall Out Boy song is used in a Circuit City commercial should warrant very little outrage from fans - these emos kids have made no secret that they like the cabbage. More money means more guyliner!

On the other hand, someone like punk rock Godfathers The Clash, rightly got a lot of flak when "London Calling" showed up in a f-ing Jaguar commercial. Yup, the common man's band, who continued to squat in abandoned buildings even after signing a record deal, saw it as appropriate that their legacy be tied to a car for rich bastards. White Riot indeed.