Of a fine May Day, while celebrating all the radicals in my life I couldn’t help but notice another facet of our dearly held youth was whored out to crass commercialism for enjoyment by the masses. What sets the Pixies/Iphone ad apart from say, the Presidents of the United States pushing yogurt, or the Lumineers teaming up with Zillow in a noble effort to revive the flagging housing market, is the substance of the commercial itself. Apple’s always been on the cutting edge of innovation, and as opposed to merely playing a catchy tune everyone recognizes while displaying some shiny new object of consumerism Apple toyed with the idea by creating a mashup of different ways Apple products can aid the musician in covering their favorite 80’s underground rockers.
“Sellout!” You scream? Well yes, but the Pixies still kind of win in this situation. What do you think Kim Deal’s singing about in “Gigantic”? I doubt “A big big love…” is reference to a cellphone. And since everyone who’s ever even heard of the Pixies in passing started a band, perhaps this commercial will usher in a new era of ultra hip, weird garage rock. Black Francis is laughing all the way to the bank on this one.
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