Wilco licensed a B-side and a track from its latest album, "Sky Blue Sky," for Volkswagen, and in five days (Friday to Tuesday) there was a little Wilcogate going on. Wilco has a lot of indie cred as an artistically pure (or just artistically good) band, so the idea of their music in a car commercial made some people flinch.
The band released a statement on their Web site, explaining the ads by saying, in part: "This is a subject we've discussed internally many times over the years regarding movies, TV shows and even the odd advertisement. With the commercial radio airplay route getting more difficult for many bands (including Wilco); we see this as another way to get the music out there. As with most of the above (with the debatable exception of radio) the band gets paid for this. And we feel okay about VWs. Several of us even drive them."
By the way, have you ever noticed that the "V-Dub in da house" guy in those other Volkswagen commercials is the same guy who played Steve Buscemi's quiet partner in "Fargo?"
From a tan Sierra to a sweet V-Dub
1 comment:
Kudos to Jeff & Co. for getting paid.
I still remember my reaction to seeing Robert Plant in a commercial (Diet Pepsi?) during his Manic Nirvana period (god, that was awful) and thinking, "You whore!"
Things have changed a lot since then. Now that I have TiVo, I rarely watch commercials anymore. But when I do, and it features music by a band I love, I lean forward and pay attention and think to myself, "Good on you for getting paid and getting heard."
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