It 'Feels Like the First Time' We Patronized Young Voters

CNN's Get Out Vote Campaign Features Daughtry Cover of Foreigner Track

Posted by Charlie Moran on 08.19.08 @ 01:06 PM

In my sojourn out west last week, I was continually reminded of how out of touch I am with what the kids are listening to on their exploding iPod Nanos these days. Exhibit A: CNN has enlisted Daughtry to cover Foreigner's "Feels Like the First Time" as the anthem for a campaign to get out the youth vote.

The initiative is called League of First Time Voters, which I suppose is intended to make kids feel heroic or something. We're all for getting young'uns to the polls, but they'll probably be disappointed to first find out that the "Register to Vote" section of CNN's site doesn't work very well (try registering in New York), and then, if they persist in their efforts, that they'll probably need to mail something in or register in person to get the job done.

Minor Chords: August 18, 2008

What Were Nike's Intentions With Its Marvin Gaye Olympic Spot?

Posted by Charlie Moran on 08.18.08 @ 04:04 PM

The New York Times sheds a little light on McCain's "Running on Empty"-gate, and the presumptive Republican nominee may have his party to blame. Back in my day, we elected candidates before we started letting them pass the buck. [NYTimes]

Vibe blogger Mark Anthony Neal says that Nike's use of Marvin Gaye's national anthem performance in an Olympic TV spot is an "explicit comment on the hegemony of basketball, black music and their products in the world." The H-word always confuses us, but his argument that the ad "silences" and "denies" black struggles really throws us off. Please help us understand. [Vibe]

Read More

0 comments

Save on Del.icio.us Digg this Reddit Bookmarks Bookmarks

The Hammer Comes A-Knockin'

Hip-Hop Icon Debuts New Single in ESPN Ad

Posted by Charlie Moran on 08.18.08 @ 01:54 PM

This is what happens when you leave New York for a couple days: MC Hammer makes news and it feels as though someone switched the contents of your underwear and knife drawers while you were away.

Haha, it doesn't really feel like that. But this ESPN ad does make my kitsch bone hurt a little.

Hammer, who has staged a comeback largely on the back of his online startup DanceJam, has unveiled the first single from his new album through a commercial for "Monday Night Football" on ESPN. In the spot, a guy fights his alarm clock to remain in dreamland and imagines himself in the studio playing keytar for Hammer as he lays down a new track, "I Got Gigs."

I Heard It Through the Grapevine

Don Sebastiani & Sons Releases B Side Wine, Tastes Like Rare 7-Inch

Posted by Charlie Moran on 08.08.08 @ 03:14 PM

Music-branded coffee and snack chips are nice and everything, but come 6 p.m. tonight SFS will be drinking a heart-healthy beverage that makes us friendly and willing to do dishes when we get home. So, until the Little Jonathan Winery is sold here in New York, we want to get our hands on a bottle of Don Sebastiani & Sons' newest wine, B Side.

From the release:

"Back in the days of vinyl, and later cassette tapes, fans discovered some of the most timeless musical treasures on the flip side, or the B Side of their favorite album," [Donny Sebastiani, marketing director for Don & Sons] said. "Likewise, some of the very best wines come from vineyards off the beaten path -- the B Side of the appellations."

Like the tracks that end up on a B-side, the grapes that go into this stuff aren't typically considered the top-shelf varieties, but, in a release, head winemaker Richard Bruno says these grapes aren't inferior, just more obscure. You know, like old Yo La Tengo 7-inches or something.

Remembering the Days When St. Ides Was King

Soul Assassins Assembles Collection of Iconic Radio Ads for Malt Liquor Brand

Posted by Charlie Moran on 08.08.08 @ 01:38 PM

Colt 45 may have had Billy Dee Wiliams, but it was St. Ides that once marshaled some serious firepower in its ads. Nickelodeon was too prissy to show ads for malt liquor and by the time we figured out how to flip on a radio, it was only to sate our directionless teen angst. So we never got a chance to hear or see any of St. Ides' fabulous hip-hop ads, which the guys at Soul Assassins have lovingly collected into a downloadable album.

This Soundtrack May Be Used As a Flotation Device

Air France's 'In the Air' Album Features Tracks From Boards of Canada, Jose Gonzalez

Posted by Charlie Moran on 08.07.08 @ 12:27 PM

The next time you're waiting for group 11 to board and you're watching as passengers file by with boudoirs and coffins for the overhead baggage compartment, think about this: Had you flown Air France, you'd be listening to Boards of Canada right now.

The French airline is claiming to be the first to issue its own album, a killer in-flight soundtrack titled "In the Air" that's designed to emphasize "well-being and serenity." And no, this isn't some ponytailed-new-age-flamenco-Andean-flute nonsense.

An Air Guitar Competition for Our 'Hot Blooded' Parents

AARP Sponsors Foreigner Tour, YouTube Contest

Posted by Charlie Moran on 08.06.08 @ 03:51 PM

Here on this blog, we don't often do disgustingly cute -- we truck mainly in perversion -- but check this out: Starting today, the AARP is sponsoring an air guitar/lip-sync contest in conjunction with Foreigner. Can you handle your dad in front of his webcam tearing air and howling "Hot Blooded"? Neither can we.

I.am Not Pleased With This Blackberry Videomercial

This Is an 'Integration'?

Posted by Charlie Moran on 08.06.08 @ 02:13 PM

This Will.i.am video is an ad for Blackberry mostly because it contains an ad for Blackberry, as in a literal outdoor bus stop ad that the Black Eyed Peas front-man seems invisibly tethered to most of the first minute -- roughly all you need to see before you can switch it off.

Are We on the Same Bandwidth?

SFS Editor to Moderate a Panel at Conference Next Week

Posted by Charlie Moran on 08.06.08 @ 01:52 PM

If any SFS readers will be attending this year's Bandwidth Conference in San Fran and want to meet up, drop me a line. I'll be moderating the Brand panel on Friday, Aug. 15, at 11 a.m., with panelists David Brewster of PlayNetwork, Jeff Daniel of Rock River Music and Meriko "Ko" Kawashima of BPM (brands+music).

Barring some sort of natural or self-inflicted disaster, I'll have an enlightened recap when I get back the following week.

Acting Like a Virgin Is a Good Idea

Mobile Operator Puts an Increasing Focus on Music Events

Posted by Mike Tunnicliffe on 08.06.08 @ 11:23 AM

Virgin Mobile USA announced it's sponsoring a free Bon Jovi concert designed to celebrate the Philadelphia Soul's Arena Bowl XXII win earlier this month. Jon Bon Jovi just happens to be the majority owner of the team, and this is what we like to call "synergy."

Along with the sponsorship, Virgin Mobile USA and the Philadelphia Soul are finalizing a new partnership that will run through 2009.