I was browsing the iTunes Music Store tonight and one of the links on the main page caught my eye. The List: ’80s Pop Covers is a list of 80 songs, all covers of popular songs from the 80′s. Some of the songs include Alanis Morisette’s cover of The Police’s King Of Pain, No Doubt’s cover of Talk Talk’s It’s My Life, and Crowded House’s Don’t Dream It’s Over covered by Sixpence None The Richer.
Maxwell House is using ‘Our House’ by Madness. Cingular/Motorola are using ‘Pretty In Pink’ by the Psychedelic Furs and ‘Back In Black’ by AC/DC for the pink and black Razr phones. Rockstar Games used ‘I Ran (So Far Away)’ by A Flock of Seagulls for their Grand Theft Auto: Vice City video game (ok, I know the game takes place in the 80′s, but still…). Baltimora’s ‘Tarzan Boy’ was used in a Listerine commercial years ago. Even Falco’s original version of ‘Der Kommissar’ (made more popular by After the Fire) is in a commercial. This seems to be a new trend. Use 80′s music in commercials to get the attention of people that grew up in the 80′s.