The Flavour of Drink

I find it odd how manufactures add different flavours to drinks. Whisky (or whiskey) seems always unadulterated but you can mix it with whatever your preferred dilution is. But Gin seems to have many variations like Whisky but when you start adding fruit flavours isn't that a bit odd? But then wine while usually grape based I think can have other fermentations.

Beer and Lager seem again unadulterated , but Stout sometimes has chocolate, and what is this with flavoured Ciders ? Ciders are Apple flavoured , Perry is Pear but when I see every other fruit flavouring cider I do find that odd. They seem to be the new Alcopops.

Then with the soft drink, Cola should taste of cola, not Vanilla, Ginger , Mango , Strawberry or whatever. I drink Coke because I like the taste of Coke. They don't need added flavour. But what do I know.

I mean Fanta is Orange, but now there are so many flavours that I lose count.

So we go with "Drink It Up" by Negativland  from the "Dis-Pepsi" album, you can listen to it all here because it's almost impossible to track down in any form.

Dis Pepsi Max - #Oktoberfest #17 - Drink It Up - Negativland

Yesterday I decided I had a motherlode for #Oktoberfest in the songs of Tom Waits, which is obviously true enough, but I don't think I've touched The Pogues, The Dubliners , Thin Lizzy and many others and I saw an ad for Coca Cola and this reminded me of one of my favourite albums ever "DisPepsi" by Negativland and fantastic discontruction of advertising and the Pepsi / Coke war. It is a bit difficult to track down now but it is available at the time of posting on Youtube here. An absolutely essential listen.

It's chock full of subversive tunes that are probably more relevant today that when it came out around 1990, still often played by me and I am listening to it as I type this, "Happy Hero" is so pertinent to Trump, Johnson and Michael Jackson.

The song I've chosen is "Drink It Up" which mainly refers to Pepsi but lists lots of other promoted beverages, but the whole album is an essential listen but I have never heard it on the radio on any station.

So what else?

The blog has hit 20K visits for this month and we are just approaching half way so it would seem it's very popular (with robots). I'm even getting the odd comment (though mostly advertising links) which I may or may not remove.

I have finished "The God Delusion" and is has hardened my attitude to religion significantly but it's time for another book now. I would still accept God if that God turned up and demonstrated that was actually what he was.

Time for Tea.

#LikeNoOther #5 Dispepsi - Negativland

This is a slight deviation from the formula but also the first time that an album taught me a lot about market manipulation and controlling the minds of the masses who buy products. The album was, I think legally challenged by Pepsi and possibly Coca Cola and there is a Wikipedia entry here which mentions the legal shenanigans.

It contains lots of samples including many famous people , digs at artists selling themselves to corporations and includes some clever and witty songs , woven together into a coherent blast at market manipulation.

Drink It Up

It's one the albums that I still listen to end to end, and suggest that you do the same. It came back into mind after watching a TED talk that said that 90% of the media production was now owned by six companies who an make us think about whatever they want.

That is very frightening and Dispepsi predicted what they are doing now over 25 years ago. The album is very difficult to lay your hands on though Amazon have a few very expensive copies here.

Listen to the Youtube link here, if you want a copy, contact me, I will direct you. Below is the TED talk by Christopher Bell that reminded me of this amazing , educational and subversive record, with its demonstration  that Disney are anti powerful female heroes. Listen then watch my friends.