sarah mclachlan

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 #92: Lilith Fair

/ xeyeti / Leave a comment

Happy Monday morning, folks. This week’s playlist is dedicated to bands and musicians who played the old Lilith Fair tour back in the late 90s. Get ready for some strummy acoustics and some incisive social commentary!

  1. Patty Griffin, “Stolen Car”: A Bruce Springsteen cover, because why not? I love her take on this song. It’s beautiful.
  2. Sarah McLauchlan, “Adia”: Be grateful. I could’ve chosen that song that plays during the ASPCA commercials, and then you’d have all felt obligated to adopt puppies or something. But I am a benevolent god.
  3. Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories, “Stay (I Missed You)”: “So I/Turned the radio on, I turned the radio up/And a singer was singing my song.” You must listen to different stations than I do, Lisa Loeb. No radio station around here is ever playing my song. Hell, most of them aren’t playing songs I even know.
  4. Indigo Girls, “Closer To Fine”: Try not to sing along with this song. I dare you.
  5. Luscious Jackson, “Why Do I Lie?”: I don’t know, singer for the band Luscious Jackson. Why do you lie?
  6. Sinead O’Connor, “Nothing Compares 2 U”: Man, we should all be so lucky as to have our biggest single written by Prince.
  7. Melissa Ethridge, “Come To My Window”: Strummy acoustic for the win!
  8. Ani DiFranco, “Napoleon”: Angrily-played electric and the phrase “Everyone is a fucking Napoleon.” This song spoke to 19 year old Chuck in some way that bypassed the ears and hotwired my brain.
  9. Tori Amos, “Crucify”: Still the only Tori Amos song I know.
  10. PJ Harvey, “Good Fortune”: Is there a better PJ Harvey album than Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea? Seriously, I ask because I want to hear it if there is, because this album is amazing and I want more of it.