Not Sure What To Make Of This

So I was flipping around TV and ran across MTV2 and saw something that intrigued me. First off, the channel was playing a music video, which in and of itself is mind boggling. But what was interesting was the song, a trippy little dance number from a band called FLOSSTRADAMUS, was sponsored by Mountain Dew's Record Label. That's right, the green, sugar filled soda has a record imprint. Now corporate synergy with music has long been in place here in America, with songs popping up in commercials, movies, TV Shows and other cross promotional opportunities. Many record companies are just parts of the larger conduit of commercialism that fuels American consumerism. How many soundtracks have you bought to films you never intended on seeing because of an artist on the record you liked? How many times have you downloaded a song heard on a commercial?

I'm not here to write about the evils of big business exploiting our collective love of music for their own profit. I can't really tell you if I would have been more inclined to purchase an iPod after U2 made a commercial endorsing the product. But the fact that products are now posing as purveyors of music that is cool is of a concern to me. I just don't know what to make of all this. Am I supposed to drink more Mountain Dew because I liked this song? Do I think less of the band who got in bed with an obvious advertising ploy in an effort to get their music heard? Would MTV have played their song if they had been on another label that wasn't attached to a soft drink?

Maybe I should just enjoy this slice of retro 80's pop and get over it. After all, it's the new millennium and apparently, everything is for sale.

(mp3) Flosstradumus featuring Caroline Polachek - Big Bills

Seriously I am not making this title up. It's as if the band knew they were selling out and decided to make it into a joke.