Musicians you love, hawking products

Q: What do Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, The Clash, Iggy Pop, Elvis Costello, The Ramones, and Wilco all have in common?

A: They all share a place in my iTunes library, and they all have helped corporate behemoths sell stuff.

It turns out not everyone sings the same tune as Neil Young:

Ain't singin' for Pepsi
Ain't singin' for Coke
I don't sing for nobody
Makes me look like a joke
This note's for you.

Ain't singin' for Miller
Don't sing for Bud
I won't sing for politicians
Ain't singin' for Spuds
This note's for you.

If you ask me, Neil got it right (and, in the process, created perhaps the greatest music video ever).

GREAT MOMENTS IN SELLOUT HISTORY

The Clash selling Jaguars
(Joe Strummer would have undoubtedly pronounced them "JAG-YOU-AREs", a distant cousin to "JAG-OFF" in Pittsburghese)

Wilco selling Volkwagens
- The story
- The video

Elvis Costello selling Lexuses (or is it Lexii???)

- Elvis in '77
- Elvis in '07

Prince - The Artist Formerly Known as an Artist
- Performing live at Macy's (yes, Macy's)
- Selling little red corvettes

Dylan selling...
- Panties
- Lobster (classic)
- iPods

The estate of Nick Drake selling VWs

The Stones selling Budweiser

The Beatles (post-Lennon assassination) selling Nikes

Lou Reed selling the NFL

Iggy Pop selling Royal Caribbean
With lyrics like these, I can see how the execs at Royal Caribbean thought "Lust for Life" would be a good fit with their brand:

Here comes johnny yen again
With the liquor and drugs
And the flesh machine
He's gonna do another strip tease
Hey man, where'd ya get that lotion?
I've been hurting since I've bought the gimmick
About something called love
Yeah, something called love
Well, that's like hypnotizing chickens

The Ramones selling Diet Pepsi

The Buzzcocks selling Toyotas and Nissans

Comments

[Alex Fisken]

Neil's video is great - but I will vouch that Ike Reilly's video for the 2004 "Whatever Happened to the Girl in Me" is the greatest:

0 part budget
1 part rental car
1 part open field
1 part camera
5 parts beer
2 parts firearms & ammunition
1 part great song

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PvsZY6b9_5c