If you’re anything like me, you’re an original. And you demonstrate your originality by wearing the same shoes as everyone else, right?

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Wednesday November 26th, 2008 at 10:44 am

DJ Schmoli has gone and mashed up Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” (you know, the one that goes #”Oh IIIIeeeeeeee don’t wanna fall in lurve…”#) with Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” to rather impressive effect. Billy in particular sounds even more menacing than in the original, which is how I prefer to see him - rather than like this.
It’s almost worth getting married just to play this at the reception. Who’s up for it?

Posted by Stuart Waterman on Thursday November 13th, 2008 at 12:10 pm

There’s something fascinating about albums that never came to fruition, songs that were shelved, collaborations that were too shite to be released, no? The Guardian today has a veritable dooziefest of such matters - it’s a list of songs and acts who almost, but didn’t quite, make the final cut for previous Bond themes.
And even better than that is the fact that there are links to many of them, so you can close your eyes and imagine Alice Cooper doing the theme for The Man With The Golden Gun, Blondie doing the honours for For Your Eyes Only, and - ohbloodyyes - Ace Of Base smeared all over Goldeneye.
Sadly no link to the mooted collaboration between Winehouse and Ronson, of course. Maybe one day, eh?
Check out who else missed out on the Bond theme honour at The Guardian

Posted by Stuart Waterman on Friday October 31st, 2008 at 12:51 pm

Well, look. Gary Glitter has done many extremely bad things, of that there is little doubt. You wouldn’t ask him to babysit. You wouldn’t hire him as an after-school tutor. You wouldn’t ask him to dress up as Santa at your local shopping centre and have kiddies on his lap. On that we are all, I imagine, agreed.
However, if he earns royalties from a song that silly advertising creatives didn’t realise is a leeeetle bit insensitive to use in a TV commercial, that’s not his fault - it’s theirs.
Some of those lyrics go:
Do you wanna touch? - Yeah! Do you wanna touch? - Yeah! Do you wanna touch me there? Yeah!
Hands up who can’t help thinking of Brass Eye at this point?

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Wednesday October 29th, 2008 at 10:55 am

I heard “Bruises” for the first time while going through one of my customary Hype Machine trawls the other day. And lo, watching some televisual entertainment later the same day it came on again during the ad break.
Following the likes of Yael Naim’s unthreatening “New Soul” and The Ting-Tings’ “Shut Up And Let Me Go” it’s another calculatedly canny choice by the Apple folk - catchy, upbeat, whimsicute. And now almost impossible to judge on its merits alone :(

[video: davidfuckinggray]

Posted by Stuart Waterman on Wednesday October 8th, 2008 at 10:00 am

If you’ve seen those EDF Energy ads over the course of the year and think you’ve heard the song it uses before, it’ll be because Kermit The Frog sang it. Yep, “Bein’ Green”, when it first hit the TV screen back in the 60s, was Kermie’s lament at being coloured an unglamourous shade.
The colour green has developed its own associations over the years, of course. As well as being the colour that signifies when you’re about to spew out the previous night’s boozy pops, it’s come to be associated most clearly with efforts to preserve the environment so that the children of the future can grow up and spew out the previous night’s boozy pops.
Check out the Kermit original and the EDF Energy-approved cover after the jump…

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Friday September 19th, 2008 at 9:00 am

You thought M.I.A’s “Paper Planes” was the theme tune for Seth Rogan’s forthcoming movie Pineapple Express, didn’t you? Can’t blame you really, since it’s been used to great effect on the film’s trailer and has since become a bona fide international hit.
However, although the song was used for the trailer, looking at the disgruntled comments on YouTube it seems it doesn’t appear in the film itself at all.
But fear not, for the official theme is just as noteworthy, having been written and performed by 80s soundtrack faves Huey Lewis and the News. And it’s not a million miles away from the upbeat, horn-festooned sound you’ll associate with Huey (above, click to enlarge) and the chaps, either.
It does have a stoner vibe to it though, which is appropriate for the film but feels a leetle odd coming from a guy who is *checks Wikipedia* 58 years of age.
Kudos to Lewis & co., however, for shoehorning the rather awkward title of the movie into the song’s chorus. See them performing it on Jimmy Kimmel Live over the page…

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Thursday August 14th, 2008 at 9:00 am

Have you got that Feeling-soundtracked Toyota Auris ad out of your head yet? You know, the one with “Join With Us” playing over the top as the band “rock out” in a glove compartment? Me neither, which is a shame really, because the insanely popular drivetime residents are about to embark on a whole new brand-related publicity thingy.
In association with Intel® Centrino®, The Feeling are going to create a music video for their new single “from the drawing board to the small screen in just 24 hours”.
They’re going to be using Intel® technology to do it, of course, hence the brand alignment. I just hope all the people involvedare 100% focused, because get me within 1 metre of a laptop and my first instinct isn’t work but rather Facebook, Twitter, Hype Machine, YouTube, Cat Prin…

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Thursday July 17th, 2008 at 9:54 am

If you watch this video of Feist on Sesame Street adapting “1-2-3-4″ to become about “counting to 4″, and fail to emit a single “awww”, you need to have your hearstrings tested.
Check it out over the page…

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Wednesday July 16th, 2008 at 11:43 am

I had a little rave about Walter Meego’s album Voyager recently. I’ve gone off it a bit now, to be honest - but am still a fan of several of the more sugary confections contained therein.
I’d heard that their tracks have popped up here and there on ads and TV shows, but was quite surprised to hear it’s being used to flog a big old manly beer like Heineken. Then I saw the advert and lo, it all made sense. Heineken’s DraughtKeg thingy allows it to be positioned as a more cosy, IKEA-esque booze.
Check out the lifestyle porn after the jump.

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Thursday July 3rd, 2008 at 11:15 am