Jukebox TV: More commercial tuneage

If there's a downside to DVR's -- and this is the only one I can think of -- it's that flying past commercials isn't always the best move. Some spots are actually worth watching. No, I'm not talking about that annoyingly nonsensical Wendy's ad with the burger singing an Air Supply song. And seriously, if I see the rappin' FreeCreditReport.com guy or those "Magical Amount" tobacco "Truth" ads one more time, I may soon be looking for a new TV.

Anyway, with a little blog feature I like to call Jukebox TV, I plan on posting some recently spotted commercials that use songs I've already grown to love. Maybe you're curious who the actual artists are. Maybe it's simply a song you haven't heard in awhile. Maybe you just want to complain that a commercial is on way too much. Either way, if there's an ad you want me to check out or try and identify by song, I'm game. Leave a comment or e-mail me. I'll do my best to track it down and post about it down the road.

Bob Mould: "See A Little Light"

Little known fact: I share a birthday with Mr. Mould, and for that, I couldn't be more proud. Rumor has it he doesn't care either way ... but here we have a little archive digging from TIAA-CREF, a financial services company. There's absolutely no connection between song and commercial, except maybe that the title is supposed to serve as a metaphor for old people to get their retirement planning in order. Overall, I was floored when I heard this song on TV, as "Workbook" (1989) is an older, overlooked album, and Mould deserves some extra cash after killing it since his Husker Du days.


The Icicles: "La-Ti-Da"

Catchy as heck, the Icicles are stylistically similar to '60s girl group fans like the Concretes, Camera Obscura and the Pipettes. This Target commercial (oddly enough, the Concretes' "Can't Hurry Love" was used in a Target ad a few years back) probably made you smile and really, it only takes one listen for this song to get stuck in your head for days. Plus, Jack LaLanne -- who may in fact be immortal -- is in the ad, and I hear he's totally down with bubbly indie pop. "La-Ti-Da" is off "Arrivals and Departures," a 2007 release from the little-known Grand Rapids band.


Robert Plant and Alison Krauss: "Killing the Blues"

This commercial has been playing non-stop (in two variations, I believe) since the Oscars, but I don't care because the song is so heavenly. I have to admit, not being a huge Zeppelin fan, I didn't want to give the Plant-Krauss collaboration a chance. But the more I heard on Internet radio, the more I wanted to check it out. Glad I did. It should have made my 2007 "Best of" list, and it all starts with this folksy lullaby from "Raising Sand," now in a JC Penney "American Living" ad. Ah, good ol' consumer patriotism! It's still about a million times better than "Thisssssss is ourrrrrrr counnnnnntry."


Joe Jackson: "One More Time"

Ugh. Probably the most egregious offender in the bunch, Jackson, a New Wave dynamo, is featured prominently in Taco Bell's Cheesy Gordita campaign. It's pretty obvious why longtime Jackson fans are complaining on Internet message boards. There's nothing creative about this. It's just the chorus of Jackson's jittery "Look Sharp!" (1979) opener playing over images of food that'll make you sit on the toilet for days.

I've come to appreciate cool songs being used in commercials if it pays the little man. But this is an example of an ad that does nothing for the artist. People aren't going to check out the Jackson back catalog because of a Taco Bell commercial. In fact, they probably hate the song because of how poorly it was used. Here's hoping he at least got a stuffed 'Yo Quiero Taco Bell' dog out of the deal.


-- Thomas Rozwadowski, trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com