One really great thing about the internet is the ability to track down information quickly and easily. As a writer, being able to get an answer to a research point for a book almost instantly and being able to get right back to the story is a blessing. It’s proven to be handy, though, in other ways.
There has been some really great use of music in television commercials lately. It started with Geico using Let Me Be Myself by 3 Doors Down. Geico nicely put the name of the group and the song title at the bottom of the screen so I was able to jump over to iTunes and buy a copy for myself. Most advertisers haven’t been so helpful and this is where the internet comes into play.
There are two other songs I’ve been grooving on. One of them, Build Me Up Buttercup by the Foundations wasn’t too hard to figure out. One Google search gave me the name of the group (I only had the song title from the lyrics of the ad) and it was painless.
The other ad music I’ve been loving wasn’t easy to track down. Oh, I could guess at the song title from the lyrics. That was easy. The hard part was figuring out which version was the right one. I wanted the same one used in the commercial.
What ad was it? The one for the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The ad is awesome by itself. A bunch of ballplayers suddenly inundated with sand, another player jumps at the outfield wall to catch a ball and falls through it onto the beach, and a giant sandcastle in the form of Angels Stadium. It’s just a fun commercial. The music made it even more fun.
But the song, California Sun was covered by about a million different bands/singers. I looked at the list and was like, wow, which version?
Google didn’t exactly help me here, but it led me to YouTube and some kind soul posted the name of the band. Thank you, sir, whoever you are! The version I wanted was by The Dictators. I bought it and have been grooving ever since.
Once, before the internet, getting the name of the band for California Sun would have been a futile effort. Now, it’s as easy as heading to YouTube. Awesome!
Watch the fabulous and fun commercial (complete with awesome song) below.
