As an addendum to yesterday's post about good music being used in commercials I thought it appropriate to add a few to the list.

Female singer Res's track "Let Love" was recently used in a gum commercial. It was one of those "ice" type gums but I can't remember which one. The cool thing about that was that Res was actually in the commercial herself. Currently Thicke's "Alright" is in a Gateway ad and Rjd2's "Ghostwriter" is in a Saturn spot as well.

Granted, these are artists I knew about and enjoyed long before I heard their music in these commercials, but just in case anyone was wondering who the artists and songs were in these ads I figured it'd be nice to let 'em know.

So the monthly WTCC station meeting was earlier today. Or, well, I guess it was technically yesterday. But I digress. The meeting was uneventful as usual, but just as usual I got the chance to grab some new music out of Rock Department big-wig Mike "Spaceman" Jekot's locker o' music.

First up is DJ Me DJ You with 'Can You See The Music' which is more of that fun indie-pop type stuff I seem to enjoy so much. Styles range from funk to rock to pop to electronica with a tendancy towards hip-hop flavor and campy kitsch aplenty. Highlights include "People Together," "Zodiac Ape," "Galactic Africa" and the space-pimp anthem "Fembot." The album also came with a DVD which I haven't had the chance to watch yet.

Next up is a band called The New Deal whose self titled disc was emblazoned with a sticker that featured a SPIN quote touting them as "The Kraftwerk of the new millennium." I don't know how accurate a description that is but I do know that the c.d. also had a sticker on it dated 12-09-02 despite the fact that the back cover says the record was released some time in 2001. What gives? Basically The New Deal is a live instrument based electronica act, making house, experimental downtempo, drum'n'bass and other "dance" styles without the aid of samplers or sequencers. The music is pretty damn funky but didn't really remind me of Kraftwerk at all. The tracks "Talk Show," "Exciting New Direction," "Back To The Middle" and "Self Orbit" all groove pretty hard and reflect the different vibes the band is capable of getting in to. The liner notes say the c.d. was recorded live at various venues around North America, including Northampton Massachusetts, and if this is the kind of sound these guys crank out on stage I'd think it's a safe bet that you might want to catch 'em live if the come to your town.

It was also recommended that I check out the arty but poppy prog-rock sounds of Tony Romanello's 'Counting Stars,' so check I did. The music might remind you of anything from newer stuff like The Flaming Lips or Coldplay to older acts like The Beatles. Melencholy vocals abound over the rock'n'roll standard fuzz & feedback drenched guitars and drums mixed with a string quartet, horn ensemble, bells and Rhodes piano. This record really is a kind of companion to last years 'Out Of Season' from Beth Gibbons & Rustin' Man, the afformentioned Flaming Lips' 'Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots,' Coldplay's 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' and Beck's 'Sea Change.' Tracks to listen for include "An Insomniac's Diary", "The Amazing Disappearing Man", "Cry For Me", "Dances", "Tell Me, Please" and "Orbits." There's good stuff all over this puppy. So, if you're in the mood for some well crafted, but slightly odd "sad bastard music" then this is the record for you.

And finally, I managed to shanghai a copy of Jonathan Toth From Hoth's 'Brainwashing: The Art Of Hip-Hopera' from our Music Director's office. It's an intersting little piece of art-faggy hip-hop with some bugged out beats, experimental emceeing and ludicrously funny skits. The clear standout track for me was the asinine but truthful "Get A Job" which features Jonathan rhyming to a young kid who told him that all the other lil' chillun's in his school classroom want to grow up to be rappers that are so "hard" they don't have to work. The song breaks down how the only thing "hard" about rapping is trying to make any real money doing it. Classic shit.

So, I guess the next couple weeks should see us playing some of this, and other, fly new shit on The Urban Alternative Show. Now all you need to do is listen and everything will be roseland jackson.

I'm on a mission.

And what task of utmost importance might that be jackson?

To find all these dope ass songs they've been using in television commercials lately, that's what.

Wait, you mean that's not all that important after all? Well screw you then!

For real though, there has been quite the crop of dope music tracks popping up in t.v. spots of late and it isn't always that easy to track the actual tunes down. So far I've found Air's "Playground Love" which was used in that Levi's ad where the guy dives into the bay to retrieve his French dictionary from a sinking car, Mr. Scruff's "Get A Move On" from that Lincoln Navigator joint where the guy makes the doors of his SUV "dance" to the sound of a nearby jazz band, Telepopmuzik's "Breath" from the Mistubishi commercial with the brotha driving around Las Vegas seeing his past and future in the car, and finally. the subject of this here blogger entry AM60's "Bus."

"Bus" is the track in the new Michelob Lite spot with the dude and the chick in the airport baggage claim area. It's a sunny piece of indie alterna-pop being raped by a big multinational corporation. But the song still rocks. And so does the rest of the band's debut disc 'Always Music Sixty.' Most of AM60's tracks are similarly breezy and smile inducing, even if they're actually singing about being broken hearted or some other likewise depressing topic. The instrumentation is snappy and groovy featuring lots of bright guitar sounds over a mix of sampled hip-hop drum breaks and live skin slapping. Highlights of the set include but are not limited to the afformentioned "Bus," "Summertime Girlfriend," "Tonites The Nite," "Eat Alone Die Alone" and the goofy but oddly pretty "Phat Girl." The band's sound kind of reminds me of The Incredible Moses Leroy, so fans of that man's work will probably enjoy this disc. To tell you the truth though I feel sorry for anyone who wouldn't enjoy this disc regardless of the other artists they happen to be fans of because the album is straight up outstanding.

Because it's an independent release AM60's 'Always Music Sixty' might be a tad hard to find, but that fact coupled with the generally high quality of the material should make you want to go out and support it all the more. Take some time out to track yourself down a copy, maybe then they won't have to sell out to Michelob to make a couple bucks the next time out.