iPlay: Blue Öyster Cult
I’m a child of the 80’s. Born in the 70’s with little left to remember of the disco age before Reaganomics, I lived whatever time I’d missed vicariously through music, old movies and television shows. (Pop culture is my friend. I heart him.) Tony Manero was introduced the year I was born, and when I looked into the icy blue eyes and cleft chin of John Travolta, I knew those 70’s must have been something else. Momma loves a brunette. I was later justified in my thinking with old reruns of Welcome Back, Kotter. Oh, swoon, Vinnie Barbarino. Suh-woon.
No one in my family listened to Blue Öyster Cult. I don’t remember how or when I was first introduced to them, nor do I ever remember hearing them and thinking, “Yeah! That’s the goodness!”, or “DY-NO-MITE!” because I’m reliving the 70’s and imagine this is what I’m supposed to say. OK? Can you dig it?
Don’t judge me.
Until Saturday Night Live and the infamous “MORE COWBELL”/Behind The Music sketch with Christopher Walken, I don’t think I ever paid attention to the cowbells in this song. Now, it’s all I can do NOT to hear them. Thanks a lot, SNL.
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Artist: Blue Öyster Cult
Song: (Don’t Fear) The Reaper
Album: Agents of Fortune (May 1976)
FEAR Says: MORE COWBELL! (You knew it was coming.)
iPlay: Shiny Toy Guns
March 5, 2010 by NaysWay · Leave a Comment
I’m really beginning to hate car commercials. And car insurance commercials. I don’t know who began the trend, but ad agencies the world over have tapped into the popular-song-as-marketing-gimmick gravy train. Maybe I wouldn’t hate these car and car insurance commercials so much if those ad agencies weren’t so smart and g-darn successful in having me walking away, singing a tune to a song I had no intention of having stuck in my brain.
So thank you State Farm Insurance. Thank you Lincoln MKT. You’ve almost become as bad as Coca-Cola (and those were the early years).
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Artist: Shiny Toy Guns
Song: Major Tom (Coming Home)
Album: Girls Le Disko (2009)
Heard on: Lincoln MKT commercial
FEAR says: Hearing this song only makes me think of this guy who sang nothing but David Bowie songs throughout The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (one of my favorite Wes Anderson movies).
iPlay: Kansas
February 12, 2010 by NaysWay · Leave a Comment
Corporate marketing teams, those tricky devils, are getting even trickier with their tricks. The viewing public no longer watches commercials. With DVRs and internet watching, who has time for ads? Especially after the painfully pitiful attempt to show people what they were missing during this year’s Super Bowl, it added more indicators to the list of reasons why not. (Charles Barkley rapping about Taco Bell. For serious?) Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Artist: Kansas
Hooray for those that get it right, though. I have to say, after I heard this song playing on a State Farm commercial, paired with the cute little bespeckled dude playing air drums to the beat in his car, I’ll have to admit. I acquired a new-found appreciation for the song and the band. So I uploaded their catalogue onto Rock Band. Because that’s how music appreciation is done in the 21st century. Respect.
Song: Song Point of Know Return
Album: Point of Know Return (1977)
Heard on: This State Farm commercial
FEAR Says: Ever want a greater appreciation for a song? Play it on RockBand. Carry On My Wayward Son is still the best listen and hard to play. Oy, my scabula.
iPlay: Miriam Makeba
February 5, 2010 by NaysWay · Leave a Comment
I heard this song on a commercial for a car. It drove me nuts, not because I didn’t like the song, but because I COULDN’T STOP SINGING IT. AND IT’S NOT IN ENGLISH! So what was I singing? Nothing short of saying “bubblegum” over and over again. Or, in this case, “zaka zuka zaka zaa, niceeeeee pata pata”. Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Artist: Miriam Makeba
Thank God I knew the song was called “Pata Pata”. How the hell else would I know where to put it?
Song: Pata Pata
Album: Pata Pata (1967)
FEAR says: Miriam Makeba was on this episode of The Cosby Show. One of my favorite.
iPlay: Juno (The Soundtrack)
January 29, 2010 by NaysWay · Leave a Comment
I can’t remember when I saw the movie Juno. I know it wasn’t at a movie theater, and it must have been after the Oscar buzz when this strange woman with all these tattoos came on stage to accept her Best Original Screenplay Award and I’m all who the heck is this?! I must follow those tattoos! Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Song: Vampire
While Juno was a happy accident, the soundtrack was gold to me. I like weird music and, I think it’s pretty safe to say, this is some weird stuff. I am especially, strangely drawn to the songs that sound like they’re being sung my children. Not like KidzBop. *shudder* But like little pygmies sitting around with ukuleles in a cabin somewhere in the back woods. It is awesome.
Artist: Antsy Pants
Album: Juno Soundtrack (January 2008)
FEAR says: I dare you to listen and not end up singing it the rest of the day.
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