By now, if you watch television at all, you've likely seen the commercials promoting the upcoming Reds' baseball season. And if you've seen the spot, you've probably thought, "What's that song?"—-
I was completely convinced it was an obscure Queen song at first, with the dramatic Freddie Mercury-like vocals and Arena Rock-like bombast. Listening to local sports talk radio, some were guessing Jefferson Starship. Turns out we were all wrong.
The tune, "Paint the Town Red," as many curious fans with Google access have discovered, is actually sung by female vocalist Erin Marsz. The song is by her band, New York City's The Hotcakes, an independent Pop/Rock quartet that shopped the song around to several MLB teams. Logically, the Reds took interest. The Reds signed a deal with the band to use the song in advertising and at the stadium for the next two years. So, sports fans, get used to it.
Like any song played a lot (such as on commercial radio), it will certainly become an annoyance due to overexposure (it's been on for a few weeks now and I'm already cringing; imagine how I'll feel in two years). But kudos to the Reds for supporting an unsigned band (even though, of course, there are plenty of Cincinnati bands that could have come up with something cool).
What do you think of the song? Here's a clip of the band playing it live (I guess the whole "any reproduction, retransmission or rebroadcast without the expressed written consent of Major League Baseball is strictly prohibited" thing goes for TV commercials, too, as the actual ad isn't on YouTube):
