I'm stayin' here with some friends and they've got lots of room
You can sell your paintings on the sidewalk
By a café where I hope to be workin' soon
Please come to Boston
She said no, would you come home to me”.
The seventies had a lot of cool songs, apart from the dreck that makes up the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, which is how too many remember the decade. I wouldn’t say that Dave Loggins was a one-hit wonder, since he did have a greatest hits album, but if you were to try to name one of his songs, “Please Come To Boston” from 1974 would be it. His cousin Kenny certainly hit the big time more than Dave. But as we sit in our Luxembourg living room watching CNN--the only English language TV station we get!--it is Dave who comes to mind.
“Why, on earth,” you might ask, “does Dave Loggins come to mind as you watch mediocre TV?” Because of the plaintive commercials that plead with us to go somewhere else.
Far and away the most numerous commercials on CNN are pleas to visit other countries. The tend to come in three categories. The first is what I call the Boston Vacation. There are a lot of these, and they typically show smiling beautiful people snorkeling, mountain biking, petting rugs in carpet bazaars, laughing in quaint cafes. They are usually surrounded by beautiful mountains, lakes or seas. The city scenes are bustling and exciting and never dirty. Here are some countries with their alluring slogans.
Ukraine. Beautifully yours.
Love Cyprus. The Year Round Island.
Poland. The Place to Be.
Armenia. Noah’s route. Your route.
Montenegro. Experience wild beauty.
Azerbaijan. European charm of the orient.
Incredible India.
Malaysia. Truly Asia.
Uzbekistan. Young Uzbekistan opens its doors to the world.
And last, not least, and certainly not known for its subtlety--China. One commercial demands that we “Discover the mystery of China.” But my favorite slogan plugs Guilin, China: “Let’s go to Guilin now!”
The second grouping means Business. It is almost a holy mantra that there is no more important thing one can do than to visit their country for meetings, to make sales, and most important of all: to buy things. These countries center around the Persian Gulf, not so oddly. Because that is where the money is. Two of the most prominent are:
Qatar. At the heart of business.
Business Friendly Bahrain.
The third group wants you to actually move to Boston, or in this case, Dubai. The Al Zorah housing development sponsors the single most common commercial. The city fathers are burning a lot of Euros trying to get English-speaking professionals to move to a desert city with a fringe of lush man made greenery. As a distinguished looking gentleman who could pass for Omar Sharif talks to the camera, shown behind him are numerous amenities, such as luxurious shopping malls, a utopian city skyline, golf courses, waterfront houses, wildlife preserves. Barely visible in the distance is the vast Arabian desert. Al Zorah has taken Dave Loggins message to heart more than any place else. Perhaps they are looking for the professional expat drifters of the world who have the deep pockets to add to Dubai’s bottomless pockets.
By the way, the chorus of the song goes:
The second grouping means Business. It is almost a holy mantra that there is no more important thing one can do than to visit their country for meetings, to make sales, and most important of all: to buy things. These countries center around the Persian Gulf, not so oddly. Because that is where the money is. Two of the most prominent are:
Qatar. At the heart of business.
Business Friendly Bahrain.
The third group wants you to actually move to Boston, or in this case, Dubai. The Al Zorah housing development sponsors the single most common commercial. The city fathers are burning a lot of Euros trying to get English-speaking professionals to move to a desert city with a fringe of lush man made greenery. As a distinguished looking gentleman who could pass for Omar Sharif talks to the camera, shown behind him are numerous amenities, such as luxurious shopping malls, a utopian city skyline, golf courses, waterfront houses, wildlife preserves. Barely visible in the distance is the vast Arabian desert. Al Zorah has taken Dave Loggins message to heart more than any place else. Perhaps they are looking for the professional expat drifters of the world who have the deep pockets to add to Dubai’s bottomless pockets.
By the way, the chorus of the song goes:
“And she said, hey ramblin' boy, why don't you settle down
Boston ain't your kind of town
There ain't no gold and there ain't nobody like me
I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee.”
Ironically, there’s a TON of gold in Dubai. Whether or not Dubai has anyone like the homegrown American girl in the song is questionable. If so, they probably work as cocktail waitresses in the Burj Al Arab, the sail-shaped hotel that is the world’s tallest.
But maybe America gets the last word. The most interesting commercial to me stars Jeff Daniels extolling the business opportunities, the natural beauty, and the charms of living in Michigan. Yes, that Michigan. According to Daniels, Michigan is “The Upper Hand.” Is that because it’s advantageous in financial way, or because it’s shaped like a mitten? Apparently, Dubai ain’t your kind of town, but Detroit is. Who could have guessed?
Boston ain't your kind of town
There ain't no gold and there ain't nobody like me
I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee.”
Ironically, there’s a TON of gold in Dubai. Whether or not Dubai has anyone like the homegrown American girl in the song is questionable. If so, they probably work as cocktail waitresses in the Burj Al Arab, the sail-shaped hotel that is the world’s tallest.
But maybe America gets the last word. The most interesting commercial to me stars Jeff Daniels extolling the business opportunities, the natural beauty, and the charms of living in Michigan. Yes, that Michigan. According to Daniels, Michigan is “The Upper Hand.” Is that because it’s advantageous in financial way, or because it’s shaped like a mitten? Apparently, Dubai ain’t your kind of town, but Detroit is. Who could have guessed?
1 comment:
So Borat isn't pitching Kazakhstan on CNN? What a missed opportunity!
I haven't been to many of the places you've been hearing about . . . but I did snort when I read "Albania. Noah's route. Your route." They should go on to say, "But wait a couple years. We still have some clean-up to do after that nasty flood."
Sounds like you have a lot of choices in vacation spots. Please come to Mexico!
Post a Comment