WWND
Most of the time when my TV is on, it is just as audio wallpaper. Several times in recent days, however, I have been startled by what seemed to be the distinctive and poignant music of Nick Drake. The venue notwithstanding, my first hope was that these might be fragments of newly discovered lost tracks Nick recorded before his tragic death at 26. Recalling the controversy several years ago when a car manufacturer used “Pink Moon” in a commercial, I found myself pondering “What Would Nick Do” if he knew most folks were first introduced to his incredible music this way?
Digging around the net, I quickly discovered that in fact I was hearing the music of not one, but two very much alive and very talented artists, mainly known heretofore in independent music circles. Devendra Banhart had just a few albums out before a craft brewer set the creative series of bicycle-themed spots to “At The Hop” , “Noah” , and “Little Yellow Spider” from his outstanding Nino Rojo album. Here’s hoping that his new eponymous release with Jana Hunter continues his success.
Turns out that the equally talented Sam Beam aka Iron & Wine the other artist I have been hearing in candy maker’s commercials. His song “Such Great Heights” was used previously on the Garden State soundtrack, but was eclipsed to some extent by the Shin’s track “Caring is Creepy”. This lastest exposure to an even wider audience will bring well-deserved attention to his new Woman King release.
We’ll never now what Nick would do, of course. Sadly, we lost him far too soon. But I’d like to think he would have been heartened to know how many people have come to love his music, as evidenced by sales of his re-released catalog including Pink Moon and last year’s A Treasury and Made to Love Magic compilations, even though they first discovered him through just those few seconds in the commercial.
