I designed some of my own versions of those ads, one where African Kids in dustbowl villages are huddled excitedly around a shiny new Coke Machine, while the Bottling Company Upstream has dammed their river (cue music), and another where people are all driving Bradleys and Tanks down the highways to the mall, which is full of the same..

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The Big Country
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I see the shapes,
I remember from maps.
I see the shoreline.
I see the whitecaps.
A baseball diamond, nice weather down there.
I see the school and the houses where the kids are.
Places to park by the fac'tries and buildings.
Restaunts and bar for later in the evening.
Then we come to the farmlands, and the undeveloped areas.
And I have learned how these things work together.
I see the parkway that passes through them all.
And I have learned how to look at these things and I say,

(CHORUS)

I wouldn't live there if you paid me.
I couldn't live like that, no siree!
I couldn't do the things the way those people do.
I couldn't live there if you paid me to.

I guess it's healthy, I guess the air is clean.
I guess those people have fun with their neighbors and friends.
Look at that kitchen and all of that food.
Look at them eat it' guess it tastes real good.

They grow it in the farmlands
And they take it to the stores
They put it in the car trunk
And they bring it back home
And I say ...

(CHORUS)

I say, I wouldn't live there if you paid me.
I couldn't live like that, no siree!
I couldn't do the things the way those people do.
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to.

I'm tired of looking out the windows of the airplane
I'm tired of travelling, I want to be somewhere.
It's not even worth talking
About those people down there.

Goo Goo Ga Ga Ga
Goo Goo Ga Ga Ga

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Peak Oil and Kunstler's suburbia hatred in one song.

I actually posted excerpts from this article at Kunstler's site a few days ago.

What was most interesting about it was how it actually shows a number of people not buying into certain current American myths - and this group ranges pretty wide, with music over decades. Strange how it becomes interesting news to get an occasional reminder that principle is still part of being a person.

And Byrne has his own radio station at -

http://www.davidbyrne.com/radio/

We don't really need the mass media, which is why I wonder so many people care about the MSM - notice that this article, spreading through the Net, is not really MSM in the traditional sense - though it is very good journalism. Read about Byrne's experiences, and you might notice that the MSM is part of the problem in a number of ways, some quite concrete. There are certain inherent virtues in not using corporate sources except as completely untrusted information sources requiring thought and cross-referencing.