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The Mike & Carla Morning Show

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M&M Candy Mascots Are Changing Again

Carla Rea January 24th

The M&M’s mascots are changing again.

They updated the M&M’s mascots a year ago, and switched out the female characters’ shoes after people complained knee-high boots and stilettos were sexist.

Now they’re taking an “indefinite pause,” and not using them in commercials until they’re updated again.  It’s amazing how a bunch of computer-animated cartoons can cause so much drama.  But the M&M mascots are changing – AGAIN.

A year ago this month, the company tweaked them after people complained they were sexist.  Specifically, the female M&M’s. The green M&M used to wear knee-high boots, and gave her sneakers instead.  And the brown M&M switched from stilettos to chunkier heels to look more professional. She’s an M&M, but ok. We all understand comfortable shoes.

Now apparently the candy company decided it wasn’t enough, or that they took the wrong approach.  So they’re not using them in commercials for now. They tweeted out an announcement this week that said they were surprised at how much backlash the new mascots got.

“In the last year, we’ve made some changes to our beloved spokescandies.  We weren’t sure if anyone would even notice.  And we definitely didn’t think it would break the internet.  But now we get it – even a candy’s shoes can be polarizing.” (That’s mainly a reference to the anti-woke backlash they’ve gotten online, and from commentators who’ve made fun of them a lot.)

They said that they’re taking an “indefinite pause” from them, and their new temporary spokesperson is Maya Rudolph from “SNL”. Their tweet doesn’t say much more than that, but they also put out a press release that says they’re updating the entire brand this year.  It says they’re working on giving the characters a “fresh, modern” look, and “more nuanced personalities to underscore the importance of self-expression.”

It also talks about adding “different shapes and sizes of M&M’s,” and suggests they might add some new colors of the candy as well. 

So how long will the M&M mascots be gone?  Hard to say. But – here’s what I think: Super Bowl Ad!  It’s an elaborate lead-up to a huge Super Bowl ad they’ve got planned!

But here’s the thing: It’s just candy. So whatever they do or don’t do, whether you’re woke or not woke – keep enjoying M&Ms. Because they are NOT REAL PEOPLE!

-Carla Rea

Rocks Most Hated Songs -- Is Yours On The Short List?

What are rock’s most hated songs and albums? Ultimate Classic Rock has ranked them. Their opinion, of course, but you might agree.

First off, there is definitely a difference between rock’s worst records and rock’s most hated records. There could certainly be crossover, that’s for sure, as you’ll see in on this list of Rock’s Most Hated Records, but there’s a whole different place for records that aren’t just bad, but also totally despised!

Terrible records can be ignored, and often they just disappear after their short life span. But hated records? Ohhhh – they can live forever. my friend. FOR-EVER! Younger music fans may not know a single thing about Terry Jacks god-awful 70’s song “Seasons in the Sun,“ or that she ran calling “Wildfire” – wait, it’s a horse?? But they can probably tell you that The Beach Boys “Kokomo” from the following decade is all sorts of awful. And that they really, really hate it.

Neil Young shifted gears, as he had several times in his career, with his  Trans album. He did all-in, speaker-shredding rock ‘n’ roll, and acoustic country ballads – sometimes on the same album. He’s made LPs dedicated to rockabilly, big-band, R&B and grunge music. Many of his albums are adored; and many just ignored. Trans, was exploration into synth sounds, and it’s downright hated – by many Neil Young fans – because of its whiplash-inducing shift.

That’s what you’ll find on this list of Rock’s Most Hated Records. Some of these albums and songs were really just dives into ego-inflating excess.  Remember the album Gregg Allman and Cher made together?  (I actually thought it was fun – especially for the time it was released  – late 70’s, disco, etc. And then there’s “Mr. Roboto”! Why STYX, why?

As I looked at this list of Albums and records it looks more like music that you have a love-hate relationship with, as opposed to just hating. But you decide.

Before we look at the records, here are the “most hated” albums:

1.  “Two the Hard Way”, Gregg Allman and Cher

2.  “Self Portrait”,  Bob Dylan

3.  “Love Beach”,  Emerson Lake & Palmer

4.  “Music from ‘The Elder'”,  Kiss

5.  “Unfinished Music Number 1:  Two Virgins”,  John Lennon and Yoko Ono

6.  “Lulu”,  Lou Reed and Metallica

7.  “Dirty Work”,  The Rolling Stones

8.  “Van Halen 3”,  Van Halen

9.  “Trans”,  Neil Young

10.  “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” 1978 movie soundtrack:  It includes Peter Frampton, The Bee Gees, and Alice Cooper.

And now – in no particular order – the most hated songs. Do you agree?

  • Silly Love Songs - Paul McCartney and Wings

    The story goes, “Silly Love Songs” was written as a rebuttal to music critics who had criticized McCartney for writing lightweight love songs. McCartney is inviting his audience to have a laugh on him.

  •  "Mr. Roboto" - Styx

    What was the story behind Mr. Roboto?  In jail, workers have been replaced by robots called “Robotos,” and Kilroy escapes inside a robot costume (thus, Mr. Roboto). This song is about his escape from jail. It makes a statement about the dehumanizing of the working class.

  • "We Built This City" - Starship

  • "Shiny Happy People",  R.E.M. featuring Kate Pierson of The B-52's

    Michael Stipe hated Shiny Happy People. He called it “A really fruity, kind of bubblegum song.” In one interview, he said that he was a bit embarrassed when it became a big hit, but it’s an important song because it shows a different side of him. Stipe said: “Many people’s idea of R.E.M, and me in particular, is very serious, with me being a very serious kind of poet. But I’m also actually quite funny – hey, my bandmates think so, my family thinks so, my boyfriend thinks so, so I must be – but that doesn’t always come through in the music!”

  • We Didn't Start the Fire" - Billy Joel

  • Sussudio - Phil Collins

    Sussudio doesn’t actually have a particular meaning. It was something Phil Collins made up. The song itself is about a crush he had on a girl at school. Is the song annoying? Maybe -but it’s a catchy song to hate!

  • Kokomo - The Beach Boys

    Kokomo is a city in the middle of Indiana and is also a small resort owned by Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay. The title was made up. It was supposed to represent all the tropical places and images that people think of when wishing to get away to some paradise island to escape the dreary work life. John Phillips thought the name sounded good and wanted to use it for the title.

     

  • "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith

    “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” was originally supposed to be a radio-only single from Armageddon: The Album, but due to popular demand, Columbia Records issued the song commercially in August 1998. It subsequently debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Aerosmith their first and only number-one single in their home country.

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