If the best comedy contains a grain of truth, then a satirical sketch on last night’s (Jan. 11) “Colbert Report” on the abundance of indie rock bands licensing their music to TV commercials was like a documentary.
The skit (video below) featured the Black Keys‘ Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney and Vampire Weekend‘s Ezra Koenig engaging in a “sellout-off,” in which both of the heavily-licensed rock bands played clips of commercials featuring their songs to determine which act was more deserving of the best alternative album Grammy this year.
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Before the competition, Colbert instructed both acts to “leave your souls at the door.”
Behind the Black Keys’ Breakthrough Year, Grammy Nominations
The Black Keys opened with a Zales commercial backed by “Girl Is On My Mind,” while Vampire Weekend’s Koenig responded with his band’s ubiquitous Honda ad featuring the jaunty track “Holiday,” which is also featured in a Tommy Hilfiger ad that is running concurrently with the Honda ad. The Ohio rock duo answered with a Victoria’s Secret commercial (also featuring “Girl Is On My Mind”), to which Colbert responded by saying he never thought “breasts needed accompaniment.” Koenig responded with a Hewlett-Packard ad with the song “A-Punk,” while the Black Keys offered up a Sony Ericsson ad.
A fight erupted, but in the end, Colbert concluded that both artists had “equally whored out [their] music.”