Wilco Like Volkswagen Cars And Cash

Wilco have defended their decision to allow songs from their new Sky Blue Sky album to be used in a Volkswagen advertising campaign after coming under heavy criticism from several fans who claim their heroes have sold out.

The German car manufacturer, who brought new attention to the late British folk-pop singer Nick Drake through the use of his song "Pink Moon" in a television commercial early this decade, has launched a series of TV ads that will feature five or six songs from Sky Blue Sky. Spots aired so far have used "You Are My Face" and album bonus track "The Thanks I Get."

Wilco posted this statement on their website to try and clarify their position and put fans' minds at ease: "This is a subject we've discussed internally many times over the years regarding movies, TV shows and even the odd advertisement. With the commercial radio airplay route getting more difficult for many bands (including Wilco); we see this as another way to get the music out there. As with most of the above (with the debatable exception of radio) the band gets paid for this. And we feel okay about VWs. Several of us even drive them."

If you're keeping track, this is not the first time Wilco has licensed a song to or even been involved in a commercial — most recently a TV spot for Telefonica Mobile in Spain used a Wilco song and some years prior Jeff Tweedy appeared in a campaign for Apple Computer. Wilco have licensed hundreds of songs to television shows and films worldwide... from festival-only indie films to major motion pictures and weekly TV shows.

Detractors should be wary of coming down too hard on Tweedy. After all, he plays the voice of God in an upcoming episode of the George Bush-bashing cartoon Lil' Bush that will air on Comedy Central in the U.S. Other singers and musicians lending their voice to the show are Frank Black as Satan, Iggy Pop as Lil' Donald Rumsfeld, Dave Grohl and members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Wilco are touring in support of Sky Blue Sky and play Toronto's Massey Hall with Low on June 30.