A friend and I were talking about The Walkmen appearing on the OC (Thursdays on Fox!) recently, and he brought up a conversation he had with some teens about a band selling out cause some big corporation used one of their songs in a commercial. He pointed out to the kids that, actually, a kid like them had grown up, landed a job at an ad agency, and had the power to place a favorite song in a big commercial. Speaking of The Walkmen, I have Saturn to thank for helping me discover that some members of my beloved Jonathan Fire*eater were back in action as The Walkmen. And how about the odd couple of Fischerspooner and Hummer? So take Jetscreamer and their song “Black Hole” being used in a Nissan commercial. Sellout? Listen to their blend of Sonic Youth and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and make your own decision.
Sharing the sharing.
I love The Walkmen. Being on the OC didn’t change a thing… “Selling Out” means something competely different in 2004 than it did in 1994, and the Walkmen did not sell out. Rock On…
My five year old came sprinting into the room, singing along with the song, when she heard the Walkmen playing on the show. The Walkmen should be proud.
I agree with Sr. Con Queso. In my opinion, ‘selling out’ is much more vague these days. For example, The Black Keys “Have Love Will Travel” on a Nissan commercial doesn’t reek of a sellout, largely because 1) they don’t actually appear or endorse the ad 2) have not yet earned a level of porno-silly-rock-cash that would grant them a status they can in turn ‘sell’. On the other hand, Lenny Kravitz appearing and starring in a Gap Ad with that hack actress Sarah Jessica Parker reeks of “Sell Out”. C’mon Lenny. You used to smell of rock and after-sex. Now you smell of hair straightner and Mall pretzels. “Ladies and Germs, appearing in the Food Court…”
Just to offer a new perspective, Sam and Will of jetscreamer are friends of ours (my wife & myself), and they had no idea that Black Hole was even for sure going to be used until after the commercial was being aired for a while. They're pretty down to earth, I'm pretty sure they don't even know the full scope of how popular they actually are. It's not surprising though, we live in a town full of talented and sometimes very popular bands (Denton, TX). It's an easy place to stay humble.
Hey Matt. That's not the Black Keys on the Nissan commercial. 1) It's a Land Rover ad and 2) that's the Sonics, the original performers of "Have Love Will Travel", circa 1965.
FYI
ben
Check out this http://www.campusprogress.org interview with Hamilton Leithauser. http://www.campusprogress.org/soundvision/193/lis… It's pretty funny and he talks about the Saturn commercial and being on the OC — oh yeah and these guys have two free downloads from Bows and Arrows — two of my faves from the CD – the rat and new year's eve.
Sorry, Ben. The Sonics covered Richard Berry when the did Have Love, Will Travel. The Sonics version rocks! The Black Keys covered the Sonics version of the song (so it’s like a cover of a cover) and it is just as good.
And I agree that these artists aren’t selling out. We’ve simply all grown up, taken over vast portions of the business world and are infusing it with our own tastes. Go us.
Amen….or maybe…The Black Keys are sponsered by my hometown record label,Fat Possum Records. I was amazed as you when I heard this commercial, but my sheer excitement at the fact that Nissan would want the Black Keys to simply loan a track for a commercial was real. I really do hate that bands sell out for commercials, but in this case, it might have paid these guys' rent for a year. They lent a song to a commercial at the right time in their career. You have to understand that timing is everything, and pat and dan knew exactly what they were doing. You just can't tell me that you haven't seen a car commercial and wanted to know immediately who sand the song on it…it happens all the time whether you want to admit it or not. Leithauser proved this in his…it made me a walkmen fan…this was the way they caught a new following.