10 Mostly Modern Songs with Ostinato

For my entire life I didn’t know what I was hearing, something I loved, is called “ostinato.” It’s a repeating phrase or rhythm and I’m always obsessed with it. The first song I remember catching my attention as a young kid was “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield.

So I’ve compiled a list of 9 other songs, mostly recent that have this awesome feature in the melody. Some use ostinato from beginning to end (my absolute favorite, like Alanis Morissette “Uninvited”) while others use it less so. What do you think about this list of great songs?

“100,000 People” – Kings of Leon

“So Cruel” – U2

“(Always Be My) Sunshine” – Jay Z

“I Guess I Just Feel Like” – John Mayer

“Baba O’Riley” – The Who

“drivers license” – Olivia Rodrigo

“Ice Ice Baby” – Vanilla Ice

“Dark Horse” – Katy Perry

“Uninvited” – Alanis Morissette

There are many others so if you have one that didn’t make this list, comment below!

-Out of the Wilderness

Amazon Dog Snowboarding Commercial – The Music, the Narrator, and Rufus the Dog

Hello all you early Christmas shoppers! Amazon loves needs you and to show it, they have a commercial featuring a cute little pup named Rufus. Rufus shreds the downhill. They also call on the familiar voice from previous commercials going way back to this Greek mythology Medusa ad. Find out the actress behind the voice here. Now, let’s take a look at the holiday ad before revealing more about it…

Rufus the Dog. At first glance, I’d say Rufus is some kind of spaniel. Whatever he is, he’s adventurous, athletic, and warm thanks to the vest Amy bought him. Check out similar winter vests found on Amazon. Amazon has a history with dogs and I haven’t confirmed this but based on the company’s history, I think using the name Rufus was very much on purpose. Early on at Amazon, a couple brought their dog with them to work. Here’s more…

The Music. Playing in the background of the commercial is the first few seconds of the Ludacris song, “Saturday (Oooh! Ooooh!)”. Not his best song (we all know his best is “Yeah!” with Usher) but it works well in the Amazon ad.

Does the commercial get you in the Christmas spirit? Either way, they definitely got one thing right: Dogs rule!

-Out of the Wilderness

I watched Barbie so you don’t have to

I can’t think of a movie more suited for the United States in 2023 than Barbie. You know how in real life, there are clashes going on between liberals and conservatives over things like “the patriarchy,” women’s rights, abortion, social justice, etc. Well, this movie paints a vivid and obvious picture as to who’s to blame.

White men.

The writers are clearly living in their Hollywood bubble (think: all men are bad… no scratch that, all conservative white men are bad) and have no clue that there are men out there that appreciate women in all their wonderful intricacies and that there are women out there that appreciate the same about men. The movie was not entertaining, except for a handful of scenes (Will Ferrell taking his character to extremes, for instance). From the very beginning, the movie was determined to be hateful towards men up to the final, very last frame. In fact, the only male that wasn’t written to become hated was a soft, beta male as some call them. Michael Cera’s character.

Technically speaking, the cinematography was fine. The cast was fine. Why Barbie wants to become human is clumsy and not explained. It’s just a bad story. The obvious message of the movie:

Men suck.

This Rotten Tomatoes review says it perfectly…

One thing I appreciate in movies is the way they can evoke different emotions. A romantic comedy has more than just romance and humor, there might be an element of danger or adventure. A horror movie has moments of humor. A fantasy movie includes a love story. This Barbie movie, I can’t even figure out what it was other than a boring, predictable bashing of men… and white men specifically. I think I laughed twice but most of the time just wondered how much more I had to endure.

It’s that bad.

I didn’t come away hating America, hating my white male self, or thinking that women are God’s answer to mankind’s problems– excuse me, womankind’s problem– so I think their mission failed with me. Maybe they’ll try to get me to hate myself in Barbie 2.

-Out of the Wilderness

The iPhone 15 Commercial with Common’s Uncommon Mistake

Hello! I’ve written quite a bit about iPhone commercials. If you’d like, check out my Popular TV Ads page to read up on those ads and lots more. The latest iPhone commercial I’ve seen features rapper/entertainer Common and his alter ego Reflection Common. Mirror jokes never get old, I guess!

Common sits down for a beard trim but the barber has to step away. The barber sets his phone down and Common takes notice of the titanium phone. Take a look at the ad. Does anything peculiar happen?

That’s Gonna Be A ‘No’ From Me, Dawg. The barber in the commercial leaves his phone in a way many people do these days, face down. It’s a polite, and common, way to tell people you don’t want them seeing what’s on your phone. In other words, no touchy touchy. So what does Common do? Touchy touchy, of course. He Ignores social etiquette and grabs the dang phone! As someone commented on YouTube, “Who the hell just picks up someone else’s phone like that?”

Yes. Exactly.

I think it’s rude even for family members to brazenly pick up each other’s phones without asking, and it definitely comes across as borderline cavalier to do that with someone you’re only acquaintances with (ie. your barber, neighbor, Uber driver). The only script revision needed was for Common to ask the barber if he can check it out. The barber can say, “Sure, man,” “Yes,” or something lighthearted like, “Yeah, just don’t call China.” OK, that’s a dad joke from a bygone era but you get the point. It’s an easy fix for a glaring problem.

How do you feel about the commercial? Should T-Mobile have thought twice about having Common pick up the barber’s phone or is that something we should let slide?

-Out of the Wilderness

Jordan Commercial in Paris, France – The Music, the Stars, and More

Is there anyone or anything more iconic than Michael Jordan? Well, Dolly Parton but that’s beside the point. The next most iconic thing might be the Eiffel Tower so to have the well-known structure appear in an ad with the well-known basketball legend, well that’s a recipe for an iconic commercial. Check out the stars, the music, and the GOAT (not LeBron!) in the ad then scroll down for more info…

The Music. How do the sayings go? If you’re gonna play in Texas, you gotta have a fiddle in the band. And if you’re gonna play ball in Paris, you gotta use a French song… something like that, I’m sure. Although the lyrics are in French, the familiar melody in the song called “Mes joies quotidiennes” is from the The Sound of Music soundtrack, where it’s called “My Favorite Things.”

Here’s the version from The Sound of Music, plus a contemporary song from Ariana Grande that uses the same melody (and also kind of did something illegal with the song… allegedly).

Of course, you can’t mention this song without including a version we hear at Christmastime each season. For a more in-depth dive into how the song became a holiday classic, check out Billboard’s article about it.

The Stars. Appearing in the commercial are Teyana Taylor, Zion Williamson, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Rema, Gabby Williams, and of course, Michael Jordan.

Mixing the song with a hip-hop beat was a clever move and gives the melody an enjoyable makeover fitting for an audience of basketball fans in 2023. Overall, it’s a good ad that will do well for the brand or at the very least, it won’t hurt it. How you do feel about the commercial? Is there a particular reason it was shot in Paris instead of, say, anywhere in the United States?

-Out of the Wilderness