Spotted In The Wild

Was rockin to PsychFurs “Pretty In Pink” over my local Kroger store’s PA. Who also recently played Bowie’s “China Girl.” Are they going to keep in the line about “visions of swasticas in my head”? Yep, they kept it in. Will see if the offended class pay close attention to grocery store muzak.

ABC drama series “Will Trent” prominently featured Can’s “Vitamin C” in one scene. Nice to hear Jaki Liebezeit‘s boss drumming on network tv. How times have changed - imagine hearing Can on like “Hart To Hart” or whatnot.

HBO’s “The Chair Company” series featured Pere Ubu’s “Life Stinks” during one montage. I appreciate that the show is set in Ohio.

It’s so weird hearing songs like these out in the wild. I just don’t expect it. Like the time my ad man father asked me if I’d heard of Herschel Gordon Lewis. The exploitation filmmaker?! Sure, I’ve heard of him. Lewis moved in to advertising and spoke at a conference that pops attended. So there I was, talking about “Blood Feast” with my dad.

"Vitamin C" has been turning up in quite a few movies, tv shows and commercials over the last 10 or so years. The first place I saw it used was in Inherent Vice, but apparently it popped up in an Almodovar movie before that. I know I've seen it in at least a couple of commercials in the last few years. Media music supervisors are a bunch of copycats, so they see a cool needle drop somewhere and decide they have to use it, too. "Vitamin C" started showing around the same time "She's a Rainbow" started replacing "Gimme Shelter" as the cool Stones needle drop of choice in tv shows and commercials.

My favorite one recently was when Ross Dress For Less soundtracked an ad campaign with "Why Can't I Touch It?" by the Buzzcocks. Because yes, it makes perfect sense for a retail company to advertise their wares with an ode to the ephemerality of existence and the impossibility of ever being satisfied. It ranks right up there with Sherwin Williams advertising their paint with "The Weakest Shade of Blue" by the Pernice Brothers. Yes, I want the color of my paint to be weak!

A friend of mine shared his story about a recent "in the wild" encounter. He was in a local grocery store, and turned the corner with his cart to see a guy in the store having some kind of freak-out episode. His only description was that the guy wore a jacket with KURTIS on the back.

Suddenly Kurtis shouted at the top of his voice, "Play some Billy Joel, man!!" And within a second or two, "We Didn't Start the Fire" began playing over the PA system! That did the trick. Kurtis started grooving (in his own way) and singing (or muttering) along to the song. It calmed Kurtis down enough for the security guard to escort him out of the store without incident.

So —you suppose Billy Joel was the catalyst or antidote for Kurtis’ erratic behavior?

(I suspect a bit of both….)

Hard to say. Myself, I've found Billy's music to be most definitely non-habit-forming.

Just heard "More Bounce to the Ounce" in an Acura commercial.