Well, now I've heard everything. When Nike used Iggy And The Stooges' "Raw Power" for commercial purposes last year I was both amused and titillated. The song rocked, of course, and the accompanying rapid-fire visuals of athletic people in the course of their athletic pursuits were tasteful and artistically edgy. Long gone are the days when rap is used to market products to today's youth market. 1999 on the other hand, seemed to be the year of car commercials using modern electronica as their backdrop. Whether it was Spiritualized's rockspeak-meets-technology or The Orb's ambient-dub phenomenology, the sounds used to communicate with the baby boomers and their younger, money-spending counterparts was straight out of lab-science chillout rooms and first enjoyed by Ecstasy-addled teenagers.
So it was much to my surprise when Volkswagen's latest TV commercial utilized none other than the long-dead voice of British folk-rock acoustic troubadour Nick Drake singing his greatest non-hit from 1972, "Pink Moon." Now I've got to hand it to these Madison Avenue people because somebody over there has some damn good taste and the song is used to great effect. Still, I'm feeling a little funny enjoying ghostly Nick's voice coming out of my television. The guy died in moderate obscurity and his records sure didn't sell while he was alive. In some ways my reaction is similar to the folks who are offended when they hear a Beatles song or a tune by The Who being used in some grand, multi-million dollar marketing scheme. Is it sacrilegious or am I just upset because Drake's music is no longer an acquired taste for those in the know?
Last week I was speaking to jazz pianist Brad Mehldau who just happens to use Nick Drake's "River Man" as a vehicle for improvisation when performing with his trio. When asked about Drake's music Mehldau said, "Poignancy is the word. I think often times people perceive what they call mournful or sad. What I get from Nick Drake is not mournful so much as poignant. [It] involves something really heavy that is about mortality. A vulnerability. The way he phrases, what he's holding back and what he's putting out. What he's exposing of himself, you get the feeling of his human limitations and it's so fucking beautiful that he's showing you that. Because that's exactly what great music or any art should do, it should make more of a communion." Hmmm.
So there it is. Nick Drake has finally made the big time. Exactly who ends up with the fat royalty check is beyond me. I'm not sure if this makes much sense but another song from one of Drake's fallen comrades, Sandy Denny, comes to mind. It's called "Who Knows Where The Time Goes." Do you?
by Mitch Myers
copyright 1999 New City Communications, Inc.