Music!

Before we start yelling slurs at T.G.I. Fridays for being evil, can we first congratulate them on a stellar deal? An entree plus an appetizer or dessert for just $10? That’s recession pricing at its best.

Anyhow, as Pitchfork points out, the background song on the 2-for-$10 spot is a dead-ringer for a bad version of LCD Soundsystem’s 2005 breakout hit, “Daft Punk is Playing at My House,” right down to the tinny vocals and cowbell solo. Observe:

Well, even if you disagree, you now have an excuse to have a little private dance party at your desk on a Friday afternoon. Fun fact: During Lollapalooza 2007, I saw LCD Soundsystem play a frenetic set on a stage about 150 yards a way from where the day’s headliners, Daft Punk, were playing. As frontman James Murphy was performing this song, singing “you’ve got to set them up,” you could actually look across the field and watch the stage techs set up for Daft Punk’s light spectacle of a show. It was totally surreal.

So, how do you guys think we should punish T.G.I. Friday’s for what appears to be a lame ripoff or a modern dance classic? If you suggest we go there and take part in the 2 for $10 deal, I agree. That’ll show them.

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We suppose since there are sunnier skies approaching here in the Big Apple (who’s ready for Memorial Day Weekend?), we’d give you this little ditty from Brad Go, who seems to love IKEA so much that he decided to sing, dance and create a music video around it. We’ve been told this is part of a “mini-integrated” campaign for the famed Swedish brand, which we agree makes the hell out of a Kivik and Borna. And no, that is now Kristin Stewart, Twi-hards.

As we speak, there are a bunch of guys dressed in their best Three Amigos garb who are ready to “mariachi-ize” your song requests in a Facebook effort that’s dubbed the “Cuatro de Mayo Concierto.” Since we’ve already touched upon our pre-gaming festivities, let’s now turn our attention to this live streaming effort from Grey, which picked up the advertising business for the brew brand last November and is now promoting Mike’s Classic Margarita in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Enough of our spiel already, go watch the band jam here.

Mark Svartz, the former BBH NY ACD responsible for such projects as the Google “Street Boo” Halloween costume and the author of last year’s interactive novel/diary I Hate You, Kelly Donahue, is back with his latest initiative, Audio Tour Hack, which is essentially a collective of ad industry folks who “use creative storytelling to redefine the way people perceive their surroundings.” This guy doesn’t take a break, does he?

Alongside project mastermind Hal Kirkland, a former CD at NY’s Johannes Leonardo and current CD of HK, Svartz and Audio Tour Hack are looking to first transform a sculpture exhibition at the Guggenheim done by world-renown artist John Chamberlain. The first of these audio tour hacks is called “Artobots,” a play on the Transformers canon that runs through May 13 at the renowned New York museum. You can learn more here and listen to the 26-minute “Artobots” piece, which honors the 10th anniversary of the Decepticons defeating the Autobots on Feb. 24, 2028. Wait, what?

Over the past few months, Pizza Hut has been rolling out a new, attitude-driven campaign. It turns out that CP+B’s work for Domino’s has been paying off, and Pizza Hut is responding accordingly, lowering their price point on some products to help stave off Domino’s from encroaching further on its fast-food pizza delivery market share.

As some have noted, the tune playing in the background of the above spot sounds eerily similar to “Gold on the Ceiling,” a recent single from Akron, Ohio-based blues-rock duo the Black Keys’ 2011 album, El Camino. Listen for yourself:

There may have been a time (hell, two years ago) when a brand of Pizza Hut’s size would have no problem laying down the cash for use of a Black Keys’ track. But, this is 2012, and the Black Keys are at the peak of their popularity, being hailed by some as the “new Kings of Leon,” (except, you know, actually talented).

Using audio facsimiles of popular indie rock tunes isn’t anything new. In fact, it was only a year ago when Microsoft used a dead-ringer for Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” on a TV spot for MSN. Now, we don’t think the Black Keys are the kind of guys who would get their label, Warner Music Group subsidiary Nonesuch, to sue Pizza Hut over this. But, that carbon-copy of singer Dan Auerbach‘s signature croon might be enough to push anyone over the edge. What say you, dear readers? Is Pizza Hut guilty of an ad rip-off? And yes, we’re checking to see if this is a Martin Agency joint. Stay tuned.

With the rise of Spotify and iTunes’ domination over the paid music industry, we were surprised to learn that online subscription service eMusic is still in operation. But, a clever new digital campaign from Mother NY titled “eMusic Investigates” brought it back to our attention, especially considering the three artists the campaign showcases are some of the best up-and-coming musicians around today.

The three videos in the campaign are positioned as scientific experiments that seek the meaning and impact behind each artist’s latest work. For example, the above short investigates indie folk singer/songwriter Porcelain Raft’s latest album, Strange Weekend, and whether or not the Italian-born artist’s musical interpretation of a bizarre weekend in New York causes bizarre reactions from passerby when played on right around the corner from the iconic Bowery Ballroom. As it turns out, dance parties and heavy makeout sessions occur.

Meanwhile, Grammy award-winning neo-soul crooner Esperanza Spalding is aiming for a decidedly “bigger” sound on her latest album, Radio Music Society. Accordingly, eMusic wanted to see if her new style would still please her fans that are used to listening to Spalding in more intimate settings. The above video plays Spalding’s new single, “Radio Music,” for fans in increasingly smaller places, starting in an empty room and ending in a wacky party that takes place in a full-size bed. See if Frankie Rose‘s new space-themed album, Interstellar, holds up when played to a rocket scientist, twin alien abductees, and a chimp after the jump.

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From North Carolina-based agency Baldwin& and Los Angeles-based composer Diego Stocco comes “Music from Nature,” a two-minute online video celebrating Earth Day that makes a musical composition out of ingredients Burt’s Bees products.

According to a Burt’s Bees, the company “views Earth Day as its Hanukkah, Christmas, New Years Eve and Fourth of July.” For the third year in a row, Burt’s is giving tribute to Mother Nature in a big way, creating a performance art piece to follow 2010′s bike-blended smoothies and last year’s animated artwork drawn with lip balm. Stocca, the genius behind this musical composition, is best known creating mini-symphonies out of decidedly unmusical everyday objects. In other words, Burt’s Bees let Stocco loose in a forest, and he did his thing.

We’re told that no bees were injured in the making of this campaign, but you never know what horrible secrets Burt is deceptively hiding under his hat and/or beard. Find more of Diego Stocco’s innovative artwork here and peep credits after the jump.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Gino Click, a West Coast copywriter who last year gave us everything from a Muppet/Waka Flocka mashup to dancing pandas to Heavy D tributes. Now, the seemingly quirky Click, who has freelanced at the likes of Pereira & O’Dell and Duncan/Channon and is currently doing the same at Goodness Mfg., offers what sounds like his Sleigh Bells homage. We’re not sure how his skills compare to the likes of Buckwheat Groats, but the young lad shows some swagger and even gives a little shout-out to you know who. Take a listen and follow along if you’d like.

Our pal who busted rhymes about the adventures at Whole Foods and eventually got a gig spitting it for Hyundai might have to step his game up. We don’t really know what else to say, but these rappers who go by the name of Buckwheat Groats provide us a sordid music video that’s the result of them crashing various McDonald’s locations in NYC. All we can say is turn your headphones up and maybe watch this after work. Gothamist, for whatever reason, took the time to pinpoint all the locations in which the video was shot, which you can read here.

Spieltrieb “Real Music Comes From Real People” Teaser from Max Gebhardt on Vimeo.

Spieltrieb, a London house music band, is turning to social media and mobile recording for their next single, due for a digital release in a couple of weeks.

According to the band’s Vimeo page, the concept for the next single goes thusly: “With no budget and only our imagination and creativity as tools, we came up with an idea that costs nothing, requires no programming or website making and only uses a popular existing music platform in a completely new way.” For the next few weeks, the band is asking fans on Facebook to record various blips, dings and clangs via their mobile phones. The collective noise, er, ambiance will be uploaded to the band’s Soundcloud dropbox, where it will be infused into Spieltireb’s single. Those contributing get “official credits as a featured artist upon the song’s release with Baalsaal records.”

It’s easy to draw a parallel between this campaign and another UK band, The Vaccines, and their crowdsourced Instagram music video. Along with R/GA’s new “One Copy Song” project, it’s a invaluable time for artists looking for exposure over digital media channels. Sure, Spieltrieb’s new song probably won’t be the pinnacle of musical genius. But, as a PR move, this is a great one for a relatively unknown (at least to me) act to get the attention of a wide audience. Find Spieltrieb on Facebook here.