jimi hendrix

Playlist #98: Commercial Break

/ xeyeti / Leave a comment

Seems like everyone is cashing in these days, selling their soul to the highest bidder, trading their art for cash. I’m not against that, I just want my cut of the action. Here’s ten songs I’ve heard in commercials.

  1. Bob Seger, “Like A Rock”: Chevy trucks used this as their slogan for many years, as I recall. Here’s a compilation of their commercials featuring the song.
  2. Jimi Hendrix, “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”: Hey, counterculture hero and guitar god Jimi Hendrix, how does it feel to be shilling for Acura these days? Seems legit, right?
  3. Blur, “Song 2”: Known more colloquially as the “Woo-HOO!” song, it featured quite prominently in an Intel commercial back in the day. I wonder if they had to change any of the lyrics?
  4. Bob Dylan, “Love Sick”: Man, if latter-day Dylan doesn’t make you wanna go out and buy skimpy lingerie, I don’t know what will. Maybe that’s Victoria’s secret?
  5. The Black Keys, “Howlin’ For You”: Why are so many of these for car commercials? Does no one else sell anything anymore?
  6. Yael Naim, “New Soul”: Featured in an Apple campaign for their then-new MacBook Air. It’s a good song. Apple picks good songs for their commercials, which should probably surprise no one.
  7. Tom Cochrane, “Life Is A Highway”: Okay, this one actually makes sense in a car commercial. Maybe not a Hyundai commercial from 95, but still…
  8. Hem, “The Part Where You Let Go”: I guess this one also kinda makes sense? It’s for an insurance commercial, so who even knows anymore.
  9. Sarah McLachlan, “Angel”: ASPCA, baby! You know I had to include this one and make everyone cry and go adopt a thousand puppies.
  10. Violent Femmes, “Blister In The Sun”: This one is actually kinda…painful? Violent Femmes, helping shill for an HP laptop, of all things? I’m all for selling out, but at least sell out to a decent company with a solid product, man.
  11. Neil Young, “Rockin’ In The Free World”: Bonus! This song hasn’t been used in a commercial (at least, not to my knowledge), but the original music video for it was so obviously a send-up of commercial culture and the way we are all always shilling for someone somewhere that I had to include it.

Playlist #68

/ xeyeti / Leave a comment

Happy Monday! I’m back in the school building, or at least adjacent to it in one of the “learning cottages” (what they’re calling the portable buildings) where our classes will be held this year. In the meantime, I am still doing the Patreon thing.

  1. Jimi Hendrix, “Fire”: Brother Clyde was telling me a story from Woodstock ’99 yesterday, about how they handed out candles to everyone and everyone immediately started setting things on fire. They asked the Red Hot Chili Peppers, of all people, to calm the crowd, but instead the band ripped into this song.
  2. Buddy Guy (Featuring Jason Isbell), “Gunsmoke Blues”: Too topical. Far too timely. It’s always too timely when you’re talking about gun violence in America, but Buddy Guy does it beautifully.
  3. The Clash, “Spanish Bombs”: Poor Andalucía.
  4. Colin Hay, “Beautiful World”: Yes, I originally heard this acoustic version on Scrubs, like so many other people. Doesn’t matter, it’s still amazing and beautiful.
  5. Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers, “The Ballad of Speedy Atkins”: Psychobilly at its finest.
  6. Tom Waits, “No One Knows I’m Gone”: I’m still waiting to hear the version of this song my brother recorded, but I think it probably still needs vocals from his vocalist on it.
  7. Andrew Bird, “Not A Robot, But A Ghost”: Either way, Mystery Inc is on the case!
  8. Paul McCartney, “Try Not To Cry”: A McCartney rave up, because why not?
  9. Frank Turner, “Silent Key”: We’re fairly certain at least a couple of the astronauts from the doomed Challenger space shuttle survived the explosion that destroyed the shuttle, because their personal egress air packs (PEAPs) were used. There is no indication they radioed to let anyone know they were still alive in freefall, but it’s still a touching song.
  10. Loose Fur, “Laminated Cat”: Please do not laminate your cats. They do not like it.