The Music Slut


3.10.07

Stephin Merritt To Release Second Volvo Jingle

Here's the dirt from The Magnetic Fields' official site: *No, you are not dreaming — that is indeed Stephin's voice in the new commercial for Volvo's XC-series wagon. There are two commercials, "Wheels" and "Showroom." The latter, airing in mid-October, features a new song titled "I'm in a Lonely Way," which will be available for download from iTunes — filed under "Stephin Merritt" — on 10/3.*

In case you missed the much-buzzed 'Wheels' commercial the first time around, check here to view it in its entirety.

MP3: The Magnetic Fields - Jealous

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5 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

personally, having seen a million musician friends suffer penniless this doesn't bother me. i guess the concept of "selling out" bothers me less & less as i grow older & need to pay my bills.

& it IS good to see some decent artists get some airtime, even if it IS shilling a car. & might even make me like volvo a bit more.

but that's me & i know a lot of people will be weeping into their pillow tonight.

11:08 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Selling out isn't necessarily the same exact dynamic as it was in the context of punk culture. But I still get really uncomfortable with musicians hawking doo-dads. We live in a sick consumer culture. Many evils flow from this and it isn't necessary to say much more than that. I think of our generation's (25-45) debt loads and wonder if hearing Merritt's caramel voice is a selling point for some indie person who should be saving...
When the Shins gave New Slang to McDonalds, I had a friend ask them why they did this. They didn't even really understand the question or the implications. You don't have to be punk to have politics. End of rant...

1:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just want to point out that for every Stephin Merritt type, quirky aesthetes who achieved commercial success in their field, there's a hundred more who went on to direct tv commercials and create ad campaigns. They genuinely love his music and they're also making a smart bet that the rest of their demographic does or will.

6:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Weak. If Merritt wants to work for Volvo he should get a job in an auto plant.

9:31 PM  
Blogger Bob K said...

did Merritt record a song that flagrantly panders to the lowest common denom? No.

did he change his style to do the song for the commercial? No.

do the people who rip him for making decent coin have day jobs? Not likely. Which of course makes it an easy call for them.

10:13 PM  

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