What's the song in that commercial?

TV commercials need to be more like old-school music videos and tell you the artist and title of the song that's playing.
Two of the catchiest "edited for TV" commercial tunes playing right now are selling super-smart phones by HTC and Blackberry.
The HTC commercial sounds like a jazz piano riff that some DJ put a beat under. A little research shows that that's exactly what it is - the Felix Da Housecat Heavenly House Mix of "Sinnerman" by Nina Simone. Who knew?!
Blackberry does tell you that their song is by Switchfoot, but withholds the title. That would be "The Sound (John M. Perkins' Blues)." Being a Christian rock act, some of the band's ardent followers aren't too keen on their heroes being used to market the Blackberry Storm.
Also, kudos to Cadillac for exposing "1901" by the French indie band Phoenix to a wider audience. Love that song!

Send me your music today

A review of North Wales band Find Vienna's "In Your Favorite Colors" appears in "Go" Thanksgiving Day. Because of tight deadlines this week, I was unable to work in remarks from a conversation I had with their bass player, Paul. Good thing I have a blog, right?
These guys really have it together in that major record labels are taking notice. It is surprising considering that they've all graduated from North Penn High School within the past five years.
They're live at the Lansdale Center for the Performing Arts at 7 p.m. Nov. 25. There's also an acoustic show at 7 p.m. Dec. 20 at Puck in Doylestown.
They've played a Radio 104.5 Up and Coming show in West Chester and they're WSTW-FM Hometown Heroes.
Sample their tunes at www.myspace.com/findvienna or www.facebook/findvienna.
I'd like to keep this local music thing going on Talk about the Passion. So if you have a CD, send it to me at:
Brian Bingaman
The Reporter
307 Derstine Ave.
Lansdale, PA 19446

Ha ha...huh?

I've seen the VH-1 video countdowns of '80s one-hit wonders and the best songs of the '90s in the last few months.
In the midst of all the nostalgia lies a nagging question: What is the deal with all the commentary by comedians during these specials? Sure, the commentary from musicians makes sense, but what the heck makes a comedian qualified to comment on music?
I guess this is kind of like the criticism from conservatives that Jon Stewart is a comedian, but not an actual journalist (or that bloggers aren't really qualified to comment on much of anything - ha ha ha).
It's all about the entertainment value of the wise-cracking, snappy punchline, I guess.
Go to www.vh1classic.com and create some commentary of your own.
Come on, you're every bit as qualified to comment on pop culture as a comedian is!

Discovering a song that becomes close to your heart

A high school classmate of mine turned me on to "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum. She even e-mailed me the guitar chords, so now I guess I have to learn how to play it.
Man, pop country keeps getting slicker by degrees! Love the duet arrangement, and the vibe reminds me of Hinder's hit song "Lips of an Angel." Except "Need You Now" is a better song.

Dumb joke, but it serves a purpose

Nov. 6, country singer-songwriter Hal Ketchum plays the Sellersville Theater. His hits include “Small Town Saturday Night,” “Hearts Are Gonna Roll,” “Mama Knows the Highway,” and my personal favorite, “Sure Love.” Tickets are $27.50 and $39.50. Find a link to Hal's MySpace (and get tickets) at www.st94.com.
And now for the joke:
Sherriff: Oh no, the bank robber's gettin' away!
Deputy: Don't worry, HAL KETCHUM!!!