Where the buck stops, or, rather, loses its effectiveness

In an age where what's held up as "punk" is about as punk as a nice pair of khaki slacks, and theaters and ballparks are owned by car companies and airlines, I'm happy to announce that there are still limits to the Sellout. Thanks be to God, Inc., Int'l (a division of Coca-ColaColgate-PalmoliveExxonMobilWal-Mart).

I do believe that's the punkest thing I've ever written.

To be honest, I'm of the mind that, if you believe in the product, or you just don't not believe in the product, and you stand to make some money, why not take in a little cash and get your song slathered all over UPNWB. You can always donate half the dough to the liberation of something or other.

But there are limits, and some products are just un-believable-in. And this story brings us the news that Hummer have had a somewhat problematic time finding an indie song, current-ish or otherwise, to hawk its 10mpg machines. Although I do recall, I think, hearing a really excellent Dabrye track in a previous Hummer commercial.

Anyway, it seems that both Trans Am and The Thermals have passed on the substantial wads that Hummer has thrown at them, not to mention 80s Swiss punkwave pioneers Liliput. And Hoboken/Matador Recs rock luminary Lyle Hysen, formerly of Das Damen and a host of other good bands I wish I could remember (The Skunks?), and now works as a middle man in the field, gets quoted in the story too.

I suppose you never know, but my first instinct would be to guess that bands like Trans Am and the Thermals, who make a lot of explicitly political music, would be a hard sell on the hard sell, a hundred grand or a thousand grand (which is, like, a million) notwithstanding.

Here are the songs that you won't hear hawking Hummers. To limits!

Trans Am - Total Information Awareness
Buy it!
The Thermals - It's Trivia
Buy it!
Liliput - Hedi's Head
Buy it!