The MLB playoffs have been fine. But the BS going on between innings is something else altogether....

Commercials bother me. Commercials bastardizing the music of my youth bothers me even more. The latest example being the Honda commercial that has been run often during the MLB playoffs, using one of The Who's best, if not the best, songs, "I Can See for Miles."

The kids were once alright. The two left are now just rich old capitalists.

That Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey are making big bucks licensing their songs to anyone who gives them a briefcase full of 50's and 100's doesn't bother me all that much, as it's their music to do what they wish. It's how the songs are being used totally out of context that gets me.

Does Honda, or their advertising agency, actually know the lyrics to "I Can See for Miles?" Here's a sample of the lyrics...

Well, here's a poke at you
You're gonna choke on it too
You're gonna lose that smile
Because all the while
I can see for miles and miles

Not exactly the uplifting tune about a grand future that Honda makes it out to be, is it? But the chorus, taken out of context, works for them, the rest of the iconic song be damned.

Unfortunately, as the population ages, the music we loved as youthful rebels is now nothing more than the soundtrack to crappy advertising. That's depressing as all Hell...

It's not just The Who. Ted Nugent, whom I worshiped back in high school, does reality shows. The Clash, the ultimate in politically charged bands, sold Jaguars. Led Zeppelin pimped Cadillacs to those who once thought of them as the ultimate rock Gods. The Rolling Stones once partnered with, of all corporations, Microsoft. The subversive Devo was emasculated and Disney-ized into a kiddie group called Devo 2.0. The Beatles were used to sell Nikes, for Christ's sake.

Now I'm REALLY depressed...

Not helping me with my pissy mood is something they are doing that I sincerely hope will backfire on TBS. It is just driving me to total distraction during the MLB playoffs. It's not the misuse of iconic tunes. It's Frank TV.

I say, "Fuck Frank."

Jesus Christ, TBS is running the Frank TV ads during every break in play! Viewers have been continually pummeled over the head with the Frank TV promos for what feels like decades. It's gotten to the point that whenever Frank Caliendo pops up on the screen, it doesn't being laughs, or even a smile. It brings...RAGE!

This is the face I make every time this tool turns up on my TV between innings...

ENOUGH! I'm begging you suits at TBS, just stop the madness. Please. Stop. It. No mas, no mas...

I'm to the point where I'm going to refuse to tune into Caliendo's show, just out of pure spite. Repetition does not make the heart grow fonder, it just pisses us off. The promo people at TBS haven't figured that one out, it seems...

CBS = The tool of the advertising devil

As much as I enjoy the NCAA tournament, and with Duke and Notre Dame being knocked out, the Big 10 doing well (Save for Wisconsin at the moment), Gus Johnson (tWWLiS's Bill Simmons, an unabashed Johnson fan himself, called Gus "A smoldering volcano!" Damn straight!) getting to call a close game, and Michigan State winning easily, I'm enjoying March Madness immensely, these is an aspect of the CBS broadcasts drive me big time batshit crazy.

That aspect being the unrelenting commercials. What doesn't help is that many of us are sitting through both the afternoon and night sessions, exposing us to the same damn ads over and over and over. I'm seeing Turtle from "Entourage" in my dreams. For example...

The number of CBS promos thrown at we viewers is overwhelming. On CBS Action Thursday! "How does a live man end up on Duckies autopsy table?" "NCIS?" Who watches that show? The average viewer demographic of "NCIS" is older than "Matlock's " It's "CSI" for the Abe Simpson set.

Turtle pimping DirecTV. It's run at least five times a half. In EVERY game! I'll admit that the ads for DirecTV that morph from actual movie/TV footage to one of the characters breaking the 4th wall and speaking to the audience are well done. But don't you think that struggling actor Johnny Drama would have been the obvious choice? He'd do any commercial in a heartbeat. Turtle is too busy getting stoned and playing video games. As Drama would say, "VICTORY!"

The ads from esurance, which star the cartoon chick. I see her more than Turtle. Enough! Sorry, Andrew...

Some of the greatest rock bands in history are selling out their back catalogs to the highest commercial bidder. I'm looking at you, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltry. Isn't it bad enough that you allowed the "CSI" franchise to butcher the Who's music, but "Baba O'Reily"used in a cisco ad? That's outright criminal. I can't explain...

"Mr. Faaaanncy Paaaannnts!" "What's next, an amp? AAAAHHH!" and the rest of those strange ads asking you to go Pontiac.com. Their reverse psychology isn't working. Those ads sure as Hell don't make me want to buy a convertible. They just get me annoyed with Pontiac.

The Michelin tire dude is outright creepy looking. If I see a giant French bloated blob made out of white rubber coming at me, I'm headed in the opposite direction.

"Vonage saves me about 100 bucks a month." "I save 60 dollars." Jesus H. Christ, how much do these people use their land lines that would allow them to save so much coin using Vonage? Stop living on the damn phone, folks. There's also the fact that when you hear The 5,6,7,8's "Woo Hoo" nearly as much as you see Turtle, the damn song is stuck in your mind for the rest of the tournament.

I so want to stay in the "Final Four" suite. Get me the reservation desk, pronto! But what in the living Hell does it have to do with State Farm Insurance? On the other hand, I'd buy insurance from Pedro Cerrano and Allstate. Come on, it's David Palmer, just the best president ever! If you can't trust him, who can you trust?

What in the living Hell is TIAA CREF? Can anyone tell me what on earth they do? Anyone? Bueller?

Lowes comes off über cheap in their ads. They sponsor the NCAA's, which I'm sure cost big money, yet don't shell out the few extra bucks for the license that would allow them to use actual universities? It makes the commercial cheesy as Hell. I see the schools named "T," "State," "A," "W University," and "Tech." Personally, I root for "Whatsamatta U."