escape club

[originally posted on myspace on 7/30/09]

- I was just thinking along these lines again this morning

Lately, I've been fascinated with the concept of escapism...why we pick and enjoy the outlets we do (i.e. music, drugs, movies, trashy romance novels, etc)...why we pick what we do and what need it feeds into or what need was there in the first place that this outlet would be the thing to (temporarily) fix it (which came first, the chicken or the egg sort of thought process).

Anyway, related, somewhat...I was listening to the '60s station on XM and they played a whole string of Beatles songs and I was more or less thinking about how their songs processed as they got 'older,' going from poppy, teenager-y songs to deeper stuff. They played "You're Going to Lose That Girl" and, as many times as I've heard that song, this was the first time I really listened to the lyrics and thought about them. If you have never heard the song (welcome back from that rock you've been under for the past 40 some years), it is essentially a guy telling another guy, 'be nice to your lady or else I'm going to step in and woo her, buddy,' Again, never gave it much thought, but I guess I before I always listened to it as a 'from one guy to another guy' sort of message...BUT...

...what if, instead, it was written to brillantly provide escapism to some teenybopper fan? How good a concept, no? Picture it, 1960s girl is at home, crying over her creepy boyfriend and she hears:

"If you don't take her out tonight, she's going to change her mind...and I will take her out tonight, and I will treat her kind."

She hears this and thinks, "yes, Dirk (or whatever 1960s name fits here) is a cretin but I bet Paul or John would take me out and be super nice and excellent boyfriend material."

And thus spawns (or further deepens) the girlhood crush. And if nothing upsets that crush, you got a fan for life (or at least, middle-age). So, there you go...play into the escapism factor and you got a customer for life.

(this is how my brain thinks...pop song equals bigger marketing/psychological device)