"MAN ON THE MOON" R.E.M. (1992)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

There was plenty of buzz going around about the new R.E.M. record. Up until that point, the band had already recorded several landmark albums. But the most recent one “Out of Time” was considered sub-par by their own lofty standards. Automatic For The People was a significant return to form, widely considered to be one of their best – resolutely R.E.M. even with its wide commercial appeal. Pulling that off was quite a feat in itself. And “Man On The Moon” is one of its many standouts.

R.E.M. is in their sweet spot here. Mid-tempo, jangly pop with non-pop lyrics. Substitute Stipe for another lead vocalist, and it’s just not the same song anymore. His unique sound gives the track its character, from the verse’s doldrums to the yearning chorus refrain. Midway, Peter Buck’s guitar solo teases the listener with a potentially monstrous guitar riff that becomes suddenly subdued and snuffed out by Stipe’s vocals. And I just love how the song ends. So perfectly R.E.M. down to the last, somewhat abrupt note.

“Let's play Twister, let's play Risk, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.”

"THE QUEEN IS DEAD" THE SMITHS (1986)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

Any time is a good time for The Queen Is Dead. But with Andy Rourke’s passing, I think it’s important to remember and celebrate how integral both he and Mike Joyce were to the sound of The Smiths. They were the engine room. Johnny Marr has commented on how significant a music moment it was when he first heard Rourke play the bass line for this title track from my favorite Smiths album. I felt the same way the first time I heard it.

It is an album opener that makes other album openers seem so inadequate. “The Queen Is Dead” kicks off with the sample from “Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty”. It was magnificent. Before long, Mike Joyce launches a barrage on the drum set and Andy Rourke creates a slinging, cutting bass line, both of which make you hate yourself for ever thinking The Smiths were all about Morrissey and Marr. They’re all firing on all cylinders here. And this title track sounds like nothing else that we’ve heard before. It’s luring us in. And our lives are never the same again because this is The Queen Is Dead.

"I say, Charles, don't you ever crave To appear on the front of the Daily Mail
Dressed in your Mother's bridal veil?"

"MY OWN WAY" DURAN DURAN (1982)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

When I was 9 or 10 years old, a teenaged family friend played an album for my younger brother and I in his basement. That album was Rio. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was a pivotal moment in my discovery of music. Most fans don’t think of Rio as album rock mainly because it contained monster hits and music videos in the title track, “Hungry Like The Wolf” and “Save A Prayer”. But this friend of ours didn’t draw our attention to these obvious tracks. He pointed to the depth of the album, and specifically called out the sublime beauty of “The Chauffeur” and the fan-favorite banger “My Own Way”.

Is there a better way to describe this track than disco-tinged new wave banger? I don’t believe so. It’s a collision of worlds. That old late seventies sound of Japan and Roxy Music fueling our beloved Track 2 with one of John Taylor’s finest bass lines (and there are a lot of them). The lesser celebrated Taylors – Andy and Roger – do their thing with some unconventional, seemingly off-key guitar chords and a Brit rock barrage on the drum set. Nick’s synth hooks as always aren’t overdone. Shimmery and perfectly occupying the treble range. And Simon sings with a swagger that makes him the dynamic frontman he is. “Cause I’ve got my own way, ay-yee ay-yee ay-yee ay-yee ay-yee ay-yee ay-yee.”

“I'm on 45tH between 6th and Broadway. 7-UP between Sixth and Broadway.”

"BONES" RADIOHEAD (1995)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

Music fans have mostly heralded the originality and ambition of OK Computer and Kid A over all the other incredible Radiohead albums. OK Computer is one of my favorite albums of all time, no doubt. But it’s not even my favorite Radiohead record. That distinction belongs to The Bends. I love innovation just like any semi-serious music fan, but at the end of the day, I just want a great collection of bangers. Like the first six studio albums from Zeppelin, The Bends is an album built on monster guitar riffs, not monster ambitions. There’s not a weak link in the bunch. “Street Spirit (Fade Out)”, “Fake Plastic Trees” and “(Nice Dream)” are perhaps the most well known songs on the tracklist, but “Bones” is one of those that makes me wish Radiohead would keep rocking out a little more.
How about Jonny’s guitar chops on this one? On “Bones”, this makes me think of all the kids out there who want to play guitar. I think most of them want to play like Jonny. Thrashing, screeching and motoring his way across a three-minute piece de resistance. Everything else rides on this monster wave, that grooving bass line and Thom’s vocals that fluctuate from straight-ahead underground to falsetto in the heavens. “Bones” is the kid in Thom, Jonny, Ed, Colin and Philip jamming in the garage because there’s nothing remotely better to do with their time.

“Now I can't climb the stairs. Pieces missing everywhere. Prozac painkillers. When you've got to feel it in your bones.”

"KODACHROME" PAUL SIMON (1972)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

Thanks to countless yearbook write-ups, one of the most quoted songs of all time belongs to Paul Simon. “Kodachrome” took a friendly, lighthearted approach to rebellion. And musically, Simon was also his same rebellious self on this track. Daring to cross genres. Daring to even defy them. With every percussive beat. With every uplifting note. Sounds a lot like the Simon & Garfunkel canon – like a continuation of those musical and lyrical themes, standing in stark contrast to his world music-influenced solo work that would manifest in the eighties with Graceland.

“When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, It's a wonder I can think at all. And though my lack of education hasn't hurt me none, I can read the writing on the wall.”

“MONEY" PINK FLOYD (1973)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

Dark Side of The Moon has triggered very polarizing reactions to it. On one end of the spectrum, fans consider it to be the holy grail of prog rock converging with jazz. On the other end, a sizable population of music fans think it’s grossly overrated. I lean toward the first end simply because I don’t think there’s anything else like it. What’s great about it? Plenty. There’s the creative ingenuity first and foremost, which is prominent in the unconventional song structures, the improvisational nature of the instrumental solos, and the new dimension of sound design and effects.To the naysayers, I say this.You might not like the sound of it, but you have to recognize the magntiude of creativity of Dark Side. Like a Pet Sounds, Aja, Psychocandy or OK Computer, it sounds like nothing that came before it. Just take a listen to “Money” if you don’t believe me.

While “Money” belongs in the annals of classic rock history, the song seems to be more at home inside a tiny jazz club than a stadium. The track begins with the iconic sound of the cash register. This is genius, not gimmick. There was no established template telling rock bands this was the way to kick off a song. This is the ingenuity of Pink Floyd from the very first second of the track. Next, the bass line kicks in, one of the most memorable ones ever crafted. You don’t have to be a rock fan to instantly recognize it. But I think what brings “Money” over the edge is the combination of sax and guitar work. Trippy psychedelic guitar licks during the verses surround the sax solo that improvises in the gaps. Like I said, rock seamlessly blended with jazz. And like any good jazz outfit, one solo leads to another. The song’s climax is Gilmour’s guitar solo exploding greedily for nearly half the song.

“I'm in the high-fidelity first-class traveling set, And I think I need a Lear jet.”

"REBEL YELL" BILLY IDOL (1983)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

Time keeps ticking. Years go by. Yet, an eighties hard rock / new wave blend icon like Billy Idol has managed to stay relevant and evolve. Last year, he and longtime collaborator Steve Stevens did a live performance of “Eyes Without A Face” for SiriusXM. The rendition was priceless and has garnered millions of views. Stripped down and reworked with a little flamenco flair, somehow the song was still 100% Billy Idol. Few artists have been able to pull off that level of staying power. Still, Billy’s reign of the eighties is what matters most. And “Rebel Yell” might be the epitome of that era.

The Billy Idol snarl and howl is ever present on this title track. The Billy Idol blend of hard rock and new wave is also ever present – from the monster guitar riffs that turbo-charge the verses and chorus to the synth accents that occupy the treble range. “Rebel Yell” is a clinic on doing it the Billy Idol way. It’s a powerful reminder that he wasn’t just a fixture on the eighties music scene. In many ways, he also helped shape it.

“I live in my own heaven. I collect it to go at the 7-11.”

"JESUS OF SUBURBIA" GREEN DAY (2004)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

Super simple song structures. Basic three-piece layering. What Green Day may lack in terms of instrumental complexity they more than make up with Billy Joe Armstrong’s lyrical prowess. Truly an underrated songwriter, the Green Day frontman is the writer of two critically acclaimed rock operas. I’ve covered other songs from American Idiot on Mental Jukebox, and now’s the time to pick one more.

If “Jesus of Suburbia” feels somewhat constrained musically, maybe it’s because it’s solely based on four chords. Fortunately, the sonics help, particularly with Armstrong’s guitar riffs throughout the track. But, like most Green Day songs, the best part is the words. The character known as the Jesus of Suburbia seems not too far fetched. The lyrics paint a picture of a suburban antagonist through three movements – from angsty to idyllic to angsty once again over the course of nine glorious minutes.

“I'm the son of rage and love. The Jesus of Suburbia. The bible of none of the above On a steady diet of Soda pop and Ritalin.”

"LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN" THE DREAM ACADEMY (1985)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

The Dream Academy is rarely mentioned among the great British synth-pop bands of the eighties. But they made more than just a splash via the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off soundtrack (“The Edge Of Forever” and their Smiths cover “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want”) and this top ten hit, “Life In A Northern Town”. Their sound was bright, ethereal and dream-like. And there’s really no other band quite like them.

“Life In A Northern Town” was their U.S. breakthrough. This is most likely due to the catchy and unforgettable “hey ma ma ma ma” chant. It’s that radio-friendly hook that made the song a staple. It was just the sort of thing that was easily loved, but then reached a saturation point pretty quickly. It wasn’t until more than two decades after the single was released that I learned the song was an elegy for Nick Drake. This only increased my admiration for the song as 1985 was well before most of the world uncovered the great folk annals of Nick Drake’s music.

“A Salvation Army band played. And the children drank lemonade. And the morning lasted all day.”

"HASH PIPE" WEEZER (2001)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

The broad range of sound from Weezer never really occurred to me until the day I finally saw them live in 2018, a double billing with the Pixies. That was the night I saw how they turned to more pop sensibilities in recent years with songs like “Feels Like Summer”, which I never realized was a Weezer song. It was also the night I got to revel in the older, rock stuff, like “Say It Ain’t So”, “Undone – The Sweater Song”, “My Name Is Jonas” and “Hash Pipe”.

This song feels so old to me that I thought it came out in the nineties. The harsh, guitar-driven sound certainly feels like it was a product of that decade. Released as a single just five months before 9/11, “Hash Pipe” is a reminder that Weezer rocks it hard. It comes at us full force like Godzilla – standing in stark contrast to the other big track from the same album, “Island In The Sun”. River Phoenix’s falsetto reach on lead vocals is unforgettable. But it’s that crunchy, monster guitar riff makes it the phenomenal rock song that it is.

“I can't love my business If I can't get a trick
Down on Santa Monica where tricks are for kids.”

"THE BOYS OF SUMMER" DON HENLEY (1984)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

Like the Dude in The Big Lebowski, I never was a fan of The Eagles. But as an 80’s kid, the solo work of Don Henley and Glenn Frey are permanently etched into my childhood. Frey’s “The Heat Is On” and “You Belong To The City” ruled movie and television show soundtracks. Henley made some noise of his own – with “All She Wants To Do Is Dance” and, more notably, “The Boys Of Summer”.

It’s been many years since the last time I heard this song. Coming back to it, I have a renewed appreciation for the songwriting craft. Henley wrote the lyrics, but the music was composed by Mike Campbell from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Every important music institution from the Grammys to Pitchfork agree that “The Boys Of Summer” is a fantastic song. Together, the song’s opening snare rim clicks and synth riff created one of the best song intros of the 80’s. But what makes the song so good – even after all these years – are Henley’s lyrics and the guitar work.

“Out on the road today I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac. A little voice inside my head said, ‘Don't look back, you can never look back’.”

"RED BARCHETTA" RUSH (1981)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

Growing up, every Rush album cover I gazed at was epic and teased the promise of something equally epic happening inside. One of the albums that I’ve played from beginning to end incessantly was Moving Pictures. In the streaming age, this ritual has lost its luster a bit, as I’ve ended up playing its individual tracks probably more often than the entire LP. But in recent years, this has only helped reinforce how much each of these songs mean to me — and none more so than “Red Barchetta”. A song that both the cool and uncool kids in my elementary school could all agree on.

“Tom Sawyer” had swagger. “YYZ” had prowess. “Limelight” had melody. But “Red Barchetta” had heart. About a joy ride turned car chase, it had all the musical trappings to further the narrative — from Peart’s cymbal crashes to Lee’s adrenaline-fueled vocals. One of my favorite Alex Lifeson guitar solos happens at the 3:20 mark. Often overshadowed by Lee’s bass playing skills and Peart’s prowess on drums, Lifeson more than held his own on “Red Barchetta”, a song that carries with it so much nostalgia.

“I strip away the old debris That hides a shining car. A brilliant red Barchetta From a better vanished time.”

"ALL I WANNA DO" SHERYL CROW (1993)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

This week, Sheryl Crow was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I couldn’t fathom how she made it, but Joy Division / New Order and Soundgarden didn’t. Then I heard this song for the first time in decades, and I got it. I realized it. Before the Shania Twains and Faith Hills, Sheryl Crow was the female singer-songwriter who was blending genres seamlessly where you can’t even see the lines. “All I Wanna Do” was her induction to alternative and mainstream fan audiences alike.

I think it’s worth pausing there for a second to let that soak in. Alternative radio stations were playing this song. So were mainstream pop stations. But the song is resolutely country to the bone with its melody and iconic rhythmic guitar musings. It also borrows a page out of Lou Reed and Bob Dylan with its speak-singing approach. As a college kid, my musical tastes at the time leaned grungy, but I still couldn’t help myself, picking up my Tuesday Night Music Club CD. Hearing it for the first time, I had no regrets. Sheryl Crow just might be more influential than many of us think. At least the Rock & Roll HOF committee seem to think so.

“They drive their shiny Datsuns and Buicks Back to the phone company, the record store too.

"PRESSURE" BILLY JOEL (1982)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

“Pressure” is one of the first Billy Joel songs I heard. I was an MTV kid, and the visual storytelling of the song’s video added a whole new dimension to the song for me. It made me like the music that much more. Fast forward a few years and now I’m at Giants Stadium hearing Billy Joel perform the song live. It’s my first concert, so already the moment was euphoric. But hearing the song in a concert setting just brought me back to my childhood days.

The song is like a time machine. It’s not my favorite Billy Joel song (that distinction probably goes to “Miami 2017”). But it’s probably the most nostalgic track for me. Lyrically, the song is pure pop perfection. “Now here you are with your faith – and Peter Pan advice.” But musically is where the song takes some risks, showing Billy’s underrated prog tendencies. The bridge alone proves it, as well as the iconic synthesizer hook that seems more comfortable in a Broadway show than on radio. It’s these small experimental risks that define the song.

“All your life is Channel 13. Sesame Street, What does it mean?”

"MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS" THE NATIONAL (2007)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

One of my all-time favorite bands is The National, a band that has seemed to always sync up mysteriously well with my own life. Boxer came out the year my wife and I got married – and High Violet was released weeks before our first child was born. The music always seemed to usher me into new seasons – with Matt Berninger’s gifted approach to lyrics that sound more like conversations with eccentric friends. I’ve seen the band perform live a few times. While “Mr. November” and “Abel” have been some of the more anticipated bangers on tour, for me it was always about the quiet stoic power of “Mistaken for Strangers”.

Berninger delivers the lyrics nearly in monotone, as if in a trance. “Showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters,” he announces in his trademark bass delivery. “Mistaken for Strangers” is the quintessential National song in many ways. Frenetic, yet calculated. Seemingly on the verge of losing control, but hanging on still. Bryan Devendorf’s drum rolls seem to be having seizures in between verses, while the Dessner brothers contribute these guitar parts that an industrial feel to them like fellow Boxer tracks “Brainy” and “Guest Room”. “Mistaken for Strangers” is a song that celebrates the everyday man poeticism of Matt Berninger.

“You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends When you pass them at night Under the silvery, silvery Citibank lights.”

"BICYCLE RACE" QUEEN (1978)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

Some of the most impressive songs I know are ones characterized by dimension. These songs are like pieces of clay, stretched in different directions, taking on various tempos, chord progressions, instrumentation and genres. They give our ears a lot to listen to and plenty to think about. There are few bands that do this as well as Queen. Many of their more well known songs are epic pieces consisting of varying movements. One of the best examples of this appears on the first side of Jazz: the sing-songy “Bicycle Race”.

“I want to ride my bicycle”. Sounds simple, but then Freddie Mercury gets to the call-and-response verses and the song becomes a social commentary of the times. Like “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” and “We Didn’t Start The Fire” did for the 80’s, “Bicycle Race” made certain we never forgot about the 70’s long after they passed us by. But unlike the R.E.M. and Billy Joel songs, it employed more musical dimension in the process. You might love “Bicycle Race” or you may hate it. But one thing we can all agree on about the song is this: It’s never ever boring.

“You say Rolls, I say Royce. You say God give me a choice."

"SYNCHRONICITY II" THE POLICE (1983)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

As a member of The Police, Sting was many things. A captivating frontman. An underrated bassist. And a sharp, witty lyricist. His lyrics were like poetry one moment, prose in another. And the words he used in “Synchronicity II” are some of the most memorable lyrics in rock history. They have the power to make you laugh just as they’re able to keep you settled in awe. It was always all about the words.

“Synchronicity II” is a rock song. And it’s not a rock song. It’s written and performed as if it came from an opera composer. Sting, Summers and Copeland were always intelligent rockers, but they made something here that elevated new wave, post punk and all the other labels that we wanted to attach to them. “Synchronicity II” cannot be categorized. It can just be appreciated for what it is. A brilliant commentary on a bleak, mundane suburbia with a sound we’d never heard before.

“Another suburban family morning. Grandmother screaming at the wall. We have to shout above the din of our Rice Krispies.”

"YOUNG AMERICANS" DAVID BOWIE (1975)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

Some consider this to be Bowie’s best song. It’s certainly up there, along with “Heroes”, “Space Oddity” and “Rebel Rebel”. “Young Amercians” showcases Bowie’s ability to traverse various genres like no one’s business. On this song, he’s all soul. The melody. The lead vocals. The piano slide. And the supporting cast are no slouches. The backing vocal harmonies feature a young Luther Vandross. Yes, it’s him. And the saxophone flourishes come from David Sanborn.

On the album of the same name, “Young Americans” is the throwback opener that eventually leads to the album closer, “Fame”, which stands in stark contrast with its post-modern, new wave aesthetic. “Young Americans” feels like a song from another era. Hearing it back now, I can’t help but think that they just don’t write songs like this anymore. And it’s a shame.

“A pimp's got a Cadi and a lady got a Chrysler.”

"CORNFLAKE GIRL" TORI AMOS (1994)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

Music charts are very revealing – not just about certain bands, songs or genres. They’re also very telling about different countries. One of the biggest differences in chart positions for several decades now exists between the UK and the US. When I see a song chart really high in the UK, but barely make moves on the US charts, I have often have just one conclusion: there are just more true music fans in the UK by far. “Cornflake Girl”, an incredible song, was a big hit there, but it was relegated to a bit of a cult status in the U.S.

Now, “Cornflake Girl” is one of Tori Amos’ most well-known songs and one of the tracks she plays most in a live setting. So it’s not obscure by any means. But here in the States, it should’ve been much bigger. The song has all the makings of an epic composition. It’s a reminder that Tori, on her best days, could go toe to toe with Kate Bush. The vocals are sublime. And the composition is as ambitious as pop gets. You bet your life it is.

“Never was a cornflake girl. Thought it was a good solution Hanging with the raisin girls. She's gone to the other side.”

"HEY YA!" OUTKAST (2003)

This month on Twitter, @sotachetan hosts #BrandedInSongs – which is a head-on collision of my personal world of music and my professional world of branding and advertising. The challenge is to simply pick a song with a brand name in its lyrics or title. I added one more criteria to my picks, which is this: the songs themselves must be as iconic as the brands they mention. No filler here.

When “Hey Ya!” was released as a single, it achieved a kind of monumental status. The kind achieved only by a small few. A song so universally liked by fans of all genres, how could it be? Played everywhere. Proms. Weddings. Reunions. And every party under the sun. I remember in my own wedding, it was a must-have. We made the DJ play it, the only hip hop song that whole night.

It’s interesting to think about what makes a song achieve the kind of universal appeal that “Hey Ya!” achieved. It’s full of catchy moments. And in the case of “Hey Ya!”, there’s plenty to catch. The 1-2-3 count in the intro. The harmonizing in the chorus. The “alright, alright, alright” refrain. And then there’s the famous line that became a household phrase. Who can ever forget it?

“Shake it, shake it, shake it, sugar. Shake it like a Polaroid picture.”