Product Music: music to shop by (MP3)
Twenty pre-packaged corporate MP3s after the jump.
Regular WFMU listeners will be no doubt familiar with the concept of "industrial musicals", where a company promotes themselves or their products with a single, a full album, or in extreme cases a full-blown musical production. The album Product Music: Vol 1 is a collection of memorable examples of the industrial song. Because if you're not buying a company's product, perhaps a few listens to their new dance tune will change your mind!
The songs range from mellow dance tunes ("The Frito Twist") to manic dance tunes ("Dance The Slurp", with its frenzied cries of "SLURP SLURP!!!") to haunting ballads (the somewhat disturbing "My Bathroom Is A Private Kind of Place", one of three tunes in the compilation from American Standard's classic industrial musical The Bathrooms Are Coming!).
If you still have some spending money after perusing this collection, head on over to the Wikipedia entry on industrial musicals, which has some other music links for you to check out. And for a rare video record of an actual industrial musical, check out this Chevrolet sales convention musical from the mid-1950s, courtesy of the good folks at the Prelinger Archives.
All links below are to 128Kbps MP3s.
Hooray For Human Engineering (Clark Equipment)
Tractor Drivin' Man (Ford Motor Company)
My Bathroom Is A Private Kind of Place (American Standards)
Look At This Tub (American Standards)
My Ultra Bath (American Standards)
Dance The Slurp (7-11)
Gentle on My Mind (Mary Kay Cosmetics)
He's A Penney Man (JC Penney's)
Power Flower (Westinghouse)
Standing on the Corner (Ford Motor Company)
Shake It! (Borden's)
The New Generation (Squibb Pharmaceuticals)
The Frito Twist (Frito's)
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World (Bold Detergent)
Madison Avenue Tango (Westclox)
Saints Go Marchin' In (Mary Kay Cosmetics)
Up Came Oil (Exxon)
We Got 'Em (Exxon)
My VIP - Tribute to Salesmen (Clark Equipment)
The Eight Seasons of Chromalox (Emerson/Chromalox)
"Hooray For Human Engineering" slays me every time I hear it. Once again, eternal thanks for the excellent posts.
Posted by: bopst | August 21, 2006 at 04:50 PM
This is great! Thanks.
I recently posted an entire album of 1972 Chevy showroom music here...
http://tinyurl.com/fvsre
Posted by: Kirk D. | August 24, 2006 at 12:03 AM
There's actually a copy of the original CD, "Product Music", up on eBay right now. It's a rarity.
Often, I find myself singing "Tractor Driving Man" at the oddest times. It's an insidious song!
Posted by: Darwin | October 03, 2006 at 05:54 PM
It would be nice if you uploaded this as a torrent.
Posted by: patricio lópez | October 03, 2006 at 06:33 PM
"Dance the Slurp" was also used in Cut Chemist & DJ Shadow's "Brainfreeze" and "Product Placement" projects. Both are hour-long sets with 2 brilliant DJs spinning nothing but 45s across 4 turntables - P.P. is out on dvd, highly recommended. They also use a bizarre track released by some natural gas foundation - absurd track with kids rapping about the benefits cooking with gas.
but y'all probably knew that already.
Posted by: Jason | October 03, 2006 at 08:24 PM
I've had this CD for about six years and it's one of my most valued. It's all great and I also randomly break out in 'Tractor Drivin' Man'
Hey... maybe since it's making it's way around the internet people won't look at me quite so oddly when I do that.
:/
Posted by: David S. | October 03, 2006 at 10:46 PM
I'm surprised there aren't any Waffle House songs on there. Who, who has gone into a Waffle House, hasn't glanced at the jukebox and noticed a number of songs by well-known country artists extolling the virtues of Waffle House cuisine?
Posted by: Robotech_Master | October 04, 2006 at 02:48 AM
I like this album
Posted by: Industrial music | October 19, 2006 at 12:14 AM
Superb Stuff! I wanna be a tractor drivin' man and wallow in an Ultra bath full of 7-11 whatever that is. . . Hooray for marketing madness. But it's pretty scary when you think how most companies are led by marketing people. . .
good on yer,
Jon
Posted by: Jon | October 22, 2006 at 06:03 AM
Ahh, more American Standard songs. I'll be playing My Bathroom Is a Private Kind of Place on Thanksgiving. Each year I do a show that's entirely product and promotional songs to celebrate the start of the Christmas shopping season.
Sometime this weekend, I'll be broadcasting/podcasting an idustrial musical that Life magazine produced in 1963. It's all about the wonders of advertising in Life.
If you click one of those links up there, you'll find my site, which will have the details (still waiting for the weekend schedule to sort out), and some links to MP3s I've posted.
Posted by: Derek Gerry | November 21, 2006 at 05:44 PM
Hey was there ever a "Product Music" vol. 2? I have 1 and it slays me. Peace. Robert Lett, Richmond, Va
Posted by: Robert Lett | December 23, 2007 at 09:12 PM
Was there a Product Music Vol 2?
Posted by: Robert Lett | December 23, 2007 at 09:13 PM
Downloaded all files, still have no opinion about this production.
Posted by: loren | January 11, 2008 at 04:17 AM
Very interesting. For more information check out the download guide.
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