Las Vegas Too Old To Dream Commercial – The Yodel That Is NOT Dwight Yoakam!

During a recent college football game I heard a yodeling and immediately had to know what song was playing. As it turns out, it was a commercial for Las Vegas tourism (as if anyone didn’t already know why they should want to go to Vegas). Check out the ad then scroll down for some info about this song by a guy who isn’t Dwight Yoakam…

The Song. The soundtrack of this commercial is brought to us by Nick Shoulders. It’s his song called “Too Old to Dream.” He’s got a great folky yodel sound, incorporating the banjo along with a genuine twang in his voice. Although very distinguishable, it reminds me a lot of a favorite male singer: Dwight Yoakam. The twang at the end of a handful of words, plus the actual yodel, it’s a talent not many singers can parlay into a career but Dwight has, and I’m also thinking of Leann Rimes yodeling abilities, and Eddy Arnold’s “Cattle Call.”

Nick might be carrying the torch of yodelers of yore for the modern TikTok generation. Here’s the full track of “Too Old to Dream”…

Nick also uploaded a live, slower version and I might like this tempo better, plus Rupert the dog makes an appearance, so that puts this video over the top!

Who’s your favorite yodeler? Chime in below with your comments…

-Out of the Wilderness

Trump Flip-Flops on Amendment 4 – Florida’s Abortion Ban

Presidential hopeful Donald Trump is working a move well-known among politicians: the flip-flop. It’s a characteristic as old as those veggies molding in your fridge; One day a person running for office believes one thing, the next day their stance has magically changed. It appears that this is the case in Florida where residents are going to have to vote yes or no on Amendment 4, which is about abortion. As is, Florida law prohibits abortions after 6 weeks with few exceptions. The amendment will loosen that up a bit, stating:

No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.

There’s a group in support of the amendment, asking Floridians to “vote yes on 4” (for more info click here). There’s also a movement to “vote no on 4” (click here for info). Trump stated a few days ago that he would like to add more weeks, allowing for abortions further out than 6 weeks.

But he’s come out since then clarifying his stance on the law and the amendment. Some might call it flip-flopping but it DOES appear that he would have always voted no, while still disagreeing with the 6 week marker, though.

Abortion has been a touchy subject for a long time. No one knows for sure when life starts and what even is the indicator that it’s started or not started? I fall on the side in favor of protecting the baby, the right to life… especially after doing a little bit of digging into blood type (what I found, here). That was research that will most likely forever shape my worldview on this topic. Science and biology is black and white on when the fetus is its own being.

How do you feel about Trump being a soft yes and then a hard no on amendment 4? Is it pandering or a representation of his core values? Chime in below!

-Out of the Wilderness

JP Morgan Commercial – “The Green Grass Grows All Around” Singer and More!

I never actually thought a commercial from JPMorgan Chase would catch my attention by the music they used but it’s 2024 and I guess anything is possible. The ad has been out for a couple of months but I just saw it for the first time yesterday and wondered to myself who the singer is. It’s an original song but the bluegrass instrumentation and the woman’s voice drew me right in. Take a look then scroll down for all the info and if you’d like to make a small, custom donation to help keep these posts coming daily at 1pm, click the link below…

Donate to Out of the Wilderness as a way to encourage me and my writing!

The Singer. The voice and music lent to this ad is from folk singer Rhiannon Giddens. So when there’s talent like this out there from a black woman in country/folk music, why are the powers that be promoting so hard this performer, who apparently can’t get over the hurdle of becoming an A-List performer? I don’t get it.

I love this pleasant performance of “The Green Grass Grows All Around.” There’s a high probability it will be stuck in my head for the foreseeable future and to be sure it stays in your head, too, here are a few other performances of the song!

Jewel…

Melissa Etheridge…

Barney…

-Out of the Wilderness

“Came Out A Beast” All the Name Drops – Lil Wayne

I was surprised how palatable this song was in regards to curse words, a pleasant surprise in today’s rap music landscape. It could be that Flau’jae is keeping her image neat and tidy since she’s clearly representing LSU basketball in the video, as well as protecting her image for a future in the WNBA. Lil Wayne doesn’t have either of those things to worry about so there are a handful of muted words in his verse of the song. Even if it’s literally untrue, the pair drop lines about how they’ve been amazing since day 1. The also name-drop a lot of stars. Watch the video and see if you can catch all the famous people they reference, then scroll down for the answers!

How many did you come up with? If you guessed 8, you would be correct! They start with the most famous LSU alumni in the basketball world (and he’s a rapper, too), Shaquille O’Neal. After that, they move on to Kobe Bryant. The rest of the list is as follows:

Deion Sanders

Elon Musk

Angel Reese

Joe Burrow x2

Cristiano Ronaldo

Coach Kim Mulkey

Two interesting things about the people they chose to include in the lyrics. Elon Musk, who’s generally shunned by the more liberal-leaning folks in society. Kind of like Donald Trump being name-dropped (and guest appearing on popular TV shows) up until he was President. Joe Burrow, currently LSU’s most famous football alumni, is mentioned not once, but twice– each of the rappers using him to rhyme in the lyrics.

What do you think about the song? Is there anyone else you would’ve liked to be included in the name-dropping lyrics?

-Out of the Wilderness

The Publix Sunday Dinner Commercial – Rice, Beans, and a Left-Handed Cook

Walking in the front door, it was the scent of roast, potatoes, and carrots that wafted through the house that had become one of my favorite aromas. This was the family tradition for my entire childhood every Sunday. Church. Roast. Miami Dolphins football. I’ll never be able to disassociate that scent with that memory. Publix captures that idea in one of their recent commercials they’re calling “Sunday Dinner,” which if you’re in the south means lunch. Here’s how it breaks down:

Dinner = Lunch.

Supper = Dinner.

Take a look at the sweet ad then scroll down for more info…

The narrator of the story (the guy cooking rice and beans) is left-handed, proven when he is writing the recipe in the ad.

But there’s something peculiar about this south paw. He writes with his left hand AND wears his watch on his left wrist. This is very uncommon (see: How to tell if someone is left-handed)! Take a look at people around you to notice that most righties wear their watch on the left wrist, left-handed people wear it on the right. For the guy in the ad, this anomaly is probably because he has a beaded bracelet on his right wrist and wearing the watch there too will be too cumbersome or bulky. But there is NO WAY wearing a watch on the wrist you’re writing with is comfortable! Unless this guy knows something I don’t (I’m a lefty).

-Out of the Wilderness