It's been three years since the Violent Femmes' "Blister in the Sun" appeared in a Wendy's commercial, but bassist Brian Ritchie is still bitter over the incident. In a new interview with Spinner, he blamed singer/guitarist Gordon Gano for the song's misuse, revealing that a reunion is now out of the question.
"I don't like having my sound misappropriated to sell harmful products, such as fast food," Ritchie said. "That's not why we made the music. It should not be hijacked."
These words aren't nearly as harsh as what Ritchie said back in 2007, when the advertisement first aired. At the time, he sued Gano, as well as made a post at OnMilwaukee.com stating, "When you see dubious or in this case disgusting uses of our music you can thank the greed, insensitivity and poor taste of Gordon Gano, it is his karma that he lost his songwriting ability many years ago, probably due to his own lack of self-respect as his willingness to prostitute our songs demonstrates."
While his current criticisms aren't quite so cutting, he nevertheless told Spinner, "There are certainly some disputes that haven't been resolved."
Ritchie apparently still retains his belief that Gano has lost his songwriting ability, claiming, "There's no will to do anything creative there."
Ritchie also confirmed that "Blister in the Sun" is about masturbation - hardly the most appetizing topic when it comes to selling burgers.
"I don't like having my sound misappropriated to sell harmful products, such as fast food," Ritchie said. "That's not why we made the music. It should not be hijacked."
These words aren't nearly as harsh as what Ritchie said back in 2007, when the advertisement first aired. At the time, he sued Gano, as well as made a post at OnMilwaukee.com stating, "When you see dubious or in this case disgusting uses of our music you can thank the greed, insensitivity and poor taste of Gordon Gano, it is his karma that he lost his songwriting ability many years ago, probably due to his own lack of self-respect as his willingness to prostitute our songs demonstrates."
While his current criticisms aren't quite so cutting, he nevertheless told Spinner, "There are certainly some disputes that haven't been resolved."
Ritchie apparently still retains his belief that Gano has lost his songwriting ability, claiming, "There's no will to do anything creative there."
Ritchie also confirmed that "Blister in the Sun" is about masturbation - hardly the most appetizing topic when it comes to selling burgers.
