"1,2,3,4 Tell Me That You Love Me More"

Ever notice that 2 out of every 5 t.v. commercials today features a song that sounds like Feist or is Feist? Has she ever put out an album? Actually, I once heard a song I liked by the wispy-voiced Canadian. It was called "Mushaboom", named after a small village in Nova Scotia. I first heard it after a family vacation to Nova Scotia, so I guess the positive associations were strong enough to override the fact that I hate her voice. Then I hear the new MacBook Air ad, with another breathy waif whinily peddling wares.

Ever notice that 1 out of those 5 commercials are horribly executed covers of Beatles songs? Why did anyone ever decide the world needed another version of "Hello, Goodbye"? And how is this supposed to make me want to buy crappy merchandise at Target? Somehow another scintillating version of "All You Need Is Love" is supposed to somehow make the store hipper than WalMart?

Another 1/5 of songs used in commercials are either horribly mismatched classic rock/punk songs (think Iggy and the Stooges' "Lust for Life", a celebration of heroin, being used to hawk trips on Holiday Cruise lines, or sad reworkings of familiar oldies, such as "Viva Viagra". I'd say Elvis would be rolling in his grave, but I'm sure he was probably using some sort of equivalent of Viagra and probably couldn't roll more than half way...if you catch my drift.

The other 1/5 of advertising music is where I get my jollies. Honestly, I have no idea how Cracker's "The World is Mine" is tied to Tiger Woods, David Beckham and shaving, but David Lowery howling "The world is mine! The world is MINE!" over Johnny Hickman's screaming guitar definitely glorifies the daily chore of pulling sharp metal over my stubbly face. I often find myself in the shower, screaming "The world is MINE!" as I watch the blood circle down the drain from my nicked up face and neck. It brightens my day.

Recently I saw a Kohl's ad that featured Ben Lee's "We're All in This Together". It's a sweet anthem about the human state of being: "I'm made of atoms; you're made of atoms, and we're all in this together..." I was ecstatic. I thought about immediately taking a trip to Kohl's to buy the same junk I won't buy at Target. When I make my trip to Auburn, I feel Kohl's should know that the only reason I am shopping there is their choice to use Ben Lee in their ad campaign. I'll march myself up to the customer service desk, grab a comment card, and look for the question that asks me why I chose to shop at Kohl's. Proudly, I will mark the "other" box (because I'm sure my reason won't be listed) and I will write on those little blank lines: "because every 12 seconds/someone remembers that we're all in this together."

Beyond that, the Kinks have been featured prominently in some recent ad campaigns. For my money you can never have enough Kinks.