Black Iris Music - Fire Hydrant Floods
Duurrrr….cute?
Holy crap…I didn’t even realize that it’s been over two weeks since my last post. Huge props to Albert for carrying this blog on his shoulders while I’ve been lazy and sucky. In my defense, I’ve just recently gotten over being dominated by my hardest semester of college yet…in addition to packing all my shit and moving back home…to packing my shit and moving back to Berkeley again the next week…to starting classes and work…all while climbing an extraordinarily unhealthy amount. (Phew..) So give me some pity points when I tell you that I’ve been busy and that I just needed a break from blogging for a bit. In any case, I’m back! Be prepared for a flurry of posts during the course of the next few weeks (maybe). BOOOOOYA.
The month of June is one that’s surprisingly filled with a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, school is over and the weather is pleasant (although it’s been unreasonably cloudy in Berkeley as of late..). On the other, the whole sporting world prepares to enter the Doldrums à la Phantom Tollbooth style. The only GD thing left is baseball and everyone has to cling on to what little of the NBA and NHA playoffs that remain. So yeah, I’ve been watching a lot of TV as of late (what a long segue…), and I’ve noticed that more and more car companies are digging through the bowels of indie music to make more consumer-appealing commercials. It started with the IPod commercials, which featured artists like Feist, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, and Chairlift. And well…does it work? I don’t know about you, but if I had 100k lying around, I’d be rolling around in a few hybrids…
Without further ado: spacetoaster (well, half of us anyway) spacet approved commercials!
1.) Petra Haden - Let your Love Flow
Despite living in relative obscurity, this chick freakin’ rocks. Petra Haden has had stints playing with all sorts of bands like The Rentals and The Decemberists. She plays the violin and also does a whole bunch of a capella stuff, too. If you haven’t heard her cover of Coldplay’s Yellow, life probably sucks for you. For the 3rd generation Prius (which features solar powered ventilation!!), she does a cover of the 80’s Let Your Love Flow, originally done by the Bellamy Brothers. Quirky and effing cute.
2.) The Mostar Diving Club - The Honey Tree
Fighting Toyota for the title of “ultimate-box shaped-car-that-runs-on-Mother Nature” is Honda with their Insight. In Honda’s corner is The Mostar Diving Club. Don’t know shit about them other than that their name is cool as hell and that the song rocks. Sorry for the poor quality (myspace rip) of the song, but it’s listenable.
3.) Shiny Toy Guns - Major Tom (Coming Home)
Ahhhh. Not really sure how I feel about this one. Lincoln is the same company which released a commercial for their 2009 model with the 2005 Daft Punk hit Technologic… Anyone else see the irony in the song choice? In any case, Shiny Toy Guns dropped their latest album with a new female lead a few months ago, and now Lincoln has a space-themed (Oh GOODIE!) commercial with STG’s Major Tom (Coming Home). To be honest, their new sound feels really close to Freezepop’s, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. The jury’s still out, but at least the visuals are sweet?
4.) Priscilla Ahn - In a Tree (Written)
Can’t find a video for the new Jeep commercial, but talk about a find! This girl is adorable; a South Korean Laura Marling/Rachel Yamagata. Beautiful, angelic voice. She’s GD talented. :|
5.) Black Iris Music - Fire Hydrant Floods (Link removed — purchase the song here: http://www.blackiris.tv/firehydrantfloods/)
The oldest out of all the commercials (originally aired in the summer of 2008), but still my absolute favorite. You have to understand the amount of sheer joy I got when I heard the main chorus of the song pulsate through my shitty TV speakers. I spent probably a week looking for the song. It screams of Justice and Ratatat and it definitely doesn’t hurt that Diane Mizota is pretty cute, too. :) The perfect accessory…? METAL. LOL.
-Lloyd
