'Sun Is Out,' by the Apples in Stereo

For advertisers these days, twee indie music is the sound of eternal youth, which is exactly what most of them want to sell you: Their car (or body wash or granola bar) was put on this earth to exempt the buyer from the stresses of daily life. The relentlessly carefree Denver band the Apples in Stereo is the latest in an ever-longer line of Econoline bands cutting deals with big business to pay for gas in the van (or maybe they got a new Dodge Journey crossover wagon in exchange for forking over rights to their song 'Sun Is Out'; we don't have a copy of the contract handy).

'Shut Up and Let Me Go' by the Ting Tings

Apple iPod ads have changed almost as much as the iPods themselves, and catapulted a star or two along the way. Right, Feist? Now, Apple is titillating our senses with a psychedelic, 30-second spot of hip-hop dance moves set to the incredibly catchy 'Shut Up and Let Me Go' by the Ting Tings.

'We're All in This Together,' by Ben Lee

Pretty girls in flowing dresses, along with beaches, butterflies and kites: No, it's not puppy heaven. It's Kohl's latest commercial boasting its line of spring clothing. Wind-blown images of printed dresses and men's suiting dance along the screen as Ben Lee's breezy tune swoops in to assure us that these well-dressed folks, whether chillin' in the field or makin' it in the big city, are 'All in This Together' -- a funny message when one considers the stunningly stylish condition in which these people find themselves. But we'll move on.

One unfamiliar with the musical stylings of Lee before the Kohl's commercial might mistake him for a perpetually sunny pop artist. But it hasn't always been this way. His previous releases have been known to experiment with electro beats and drum machines, and he has lamented on love in more than a few songs. 'Together' was a late single off his fifth album, 2005's 'Awake Is the New Sleep' -- an album that marked a mood shift for the 27-year-old Australian. Perhaps it had something to do with the end of his five-year relationship with actress Claire Danes (she was pretty gloomy in 'My So Called Life'). Or perhaps it had something to do with wooing Ione Skye -- yep, the brainy chick from 'Say Anything' (and daughter of '60s folk rocker Donovan) -- who he is now engaged to marry. "Find your place," the advertisement suggests, "in the rhythm of life." For whatever reason, it seems like Lee has. Firmly planted in the light and lovely.

'Pocketful of Sunshine' by Natasha Bedingfield

After enduring the long, cold months of the writers strike, we're anxiously awaiting the return of our favorite prime-time television shows. ABC has started to give us a glimpse as to what we can expect from our favorite programs, including 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Lost' and 'Ugly Betty.' And what better way to do this than by introducing a little bit of "sunshine" to get us in the mood for spring (TV, that is). ABC chose 'Pocketful of Sunshine,' from British singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield, to complement this season's advertising campaign.

'O Fortuna' (from 'Carmina Burana'), by Carl Orff

No piece of music howls "epic" quite as spectacularly as 'Carmina Burana,' the medievally-inspired choral work by the late German composer Carl Orff. In the hands of Gatorade, the apocalypse comes in the form of a hockey shootout: "The fate of the game lies in the hands of a kid," read the title cards as Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins' 20-year-old phenom, lines up for a game-winning goal. The camera voluptuously pans the still black-and-white images of the action; a bright orange drop of Sid the Kid's sweat lands on the puck with a colossal crash of cymbals.

'Tell Me What You Want,' by the Black Hollies

Jersey City, N.J.'s Black Hollies may be a digital-age band, but they make music that reaches back to a bygone era when computers were room-size monstrosities operated by punch cards. The band's mid-'60s retro-freakbeat sound is almost as big (and just as archaic) as an IBM mainframe, which makes this commercial pairing with Dell's super-sleek small-business Vostro laptop more than a little incongruous.

Some ad critics have already posted complaints about the band's overdriven, amp-frying recording style, but that's practically the fifth instrument of this type of music. Whether or not it's your bag, it's undeniably in your face, and Dell, like any advertiser, surely wants to get up in your face.

'It's Getting Better,' by Mama Cass

Last night's episode of 'Lost' was a mind-bender -- even by its own quirky standards. As with many episodes, we get another round of crossing loyalty lines and a blurry perspective of good vs. evil. But we were also treated to some seriously game-changing plot development. We find out that Michael and Walt's departure from the island didn't bode well for their already rocky father-and-son relationship. And in a not-nearly-as-shocking-as-finding-out-that-Tom-is-gay flash-forward, we witness a series of Michael's suicide attempts -- the first of which involves a car, a rainy night and "Mama" Cass Elliot's 'It's Getting Better.'

It's a curiously hopeful song to accompany a suicide attempt. But this isn't the first time the show's creators enlisted the croon of Cass for irony. During the first minutes of Season Two's premiere, just before the hatch is blown, the late ex-Mama's & Papa's singer's 'Make Your Own Kind of Music' flows grandly from the record player as Desmond -- the island's babysitter, who hasn't so much as spoken to another human in ages -- does his morning routine. From whom would he have even needed to set himself apart? Oh, paradoxical pairings!

'Kaboom,' by Ursula 1000

As if its monopoly on the iPhone weren't enough, AT&T is pimping yet another sexy exclusive on its service, called the Walkman Slider. As the name suggests, the phone stores MP3s and, well ... loves to move. Beyond its intended slide-to-talk function, the Slider is also an adequately agile device for creating artful displays reminiscent of fireworks and rocket ships, as evidenced in the mobile company's new TV commercial. In the advertisement, we see phones arranged in decorative bursts, jumping and propelling in stop motion-style to 'Kaboom' -- a jumpy, dancey track from Brooklyn DJ Ursula 1000.

It's an almost absurdly appropriate title for the tune backing the animated electronics, which the ad calls "bursting with light and color" -- kinda like Mr. 1000 himself, whose work has always been firmly planted in the dramasphere. And it's no wonder: The New York native -- real name Alex Gimeno -- was exposed to bossa nova, world beat and most of Miami's musical offerings at an early age when his father, who was in a flamenco band, moved his family south. Even Gimeno's performing name -- inspired by sexy '60s actress (and onetime Bond girl) Ursula Andress -- leaves a trail of glam in its wake. And we can't forget to mention the titles of his various releases, which include 'Kinda Kinky,' the 'Very Leggy' and 'Mucho Tequila' EPs, 'Elektrik Boogie' -- you get the idea.

'List of Demands,' by Saul Williams

Like most of Nike's ads, the new 'My Better' spot features the shoe company's trademark heroic images of uncompromising athletes in action. Slam poet and uncategorizable recording artist Saul Williams takes the idea of being uncompromising as seriously as LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers does. He's got a "List of Demands," and his industrial-strength rant, like the star running back, is a natural.

On the cover of his self-titled 2004 album, Williams appears behind the wheel of some kind of apocalyptic armored ice cream truck, looking like he's ready to confront Armageddon by spitting rhymes out the loudspeaker. That's the Saul sound in a nutshell, and it led to his expectations-shattering tour appearances with Nine Inch Nails, which in turn led to Trent Reznor's production of Williams' latest album, 'The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!'

'Hi,' by Psapp

She has the severe jet-black bob of Edna Marie Mode, the munchkin superhero seamstress in 'The Incredibles.' Yet the bar patron in the swanky Disaronno liqueur ad is pure sizzle. Two bartenders vie for her attention – one whips up a Disaronno sour, the other a Cosmopolitan. When she slinks off to the dance floor with both drinks, they're amazed to see she has an identical twin.

The futuristic nightclub is on the roof of a skyscraper in a nameless international city. The tag line urges us to "Expect the Unexpected," and the song fits the bill. Over a high-tech junkyard of percussive sounds, the female voice coos, "I want to take your voice and drink it." Is it us, or is it getting hot up in here?

'Dog on Fire,' by They Might Be Giants

A dippy little fanfare, followed by 20 seconds or so of spasmodic electric guitar. Four times a week on Comedy Central, year in and year out, it's been a Pavlov's bell for jaded news junkies: Come and get your absurdity biscuits!

Though 'The Daily Show With Jon Stewart' has been on the air for more than a decade, its anonymous intro music still attracts inquiries. The slap-happy riff that kicks off Stewart's nightly news spew is called 'Dog on Fire,' and it was originally written by Bob Mould, the ex-Hüsker Dü/ex-Sugar frontman and ex-World Championship Wrestling scriptwriter.

'Do You Feel Me,' by Anthony Hamilton

Out on the perimeter of Oscar chatter, the 80th annual Academy Awards are marked by some galling snubs in the music categories. Start with Jonny Greenwood's anxiety-inducing score for 'There Will Be Blood,' which was ruled ineligible on a technicality, as portions of the material were pre-existing. In the category for Best Original Song, Eddie Vedder's work for his bud Sean Penn's 'Into the Wild' were also ignored, despite one of them, 'Guaranteed,' having won a Golden Globe. And when young soul singer Anthony Hamilton asked 'Do You Feel Me,' the Oscar nominating committee evidently had a one-word answer: Nope.

'Every Day,' by Carly Comando

The category is Words That Describe the NBA. Elegant? Thoughtful? Angelic? In past seasons, such descriptions would have been about as ludicrous as Ice-T hosting a Tupperware party. But thugs can change. The scandal-plagued NBA is on a mission to repair its image, and they've gone a long way toward achieving that goal with the simplest of marketing campaigns. The unlikely but very effective ads, "Where Amazing Happens," feature a handful of gauzy photos, some garbled syntax and the achingly beautiful piano stylings of a classically trained punk chick Carly Comando from Brooklyn.

Start with "Where grown men crying happens," the caption that accompanies a picture of an overwhelmed Michael Jordan after a championship win. If the NBA is hip-hop to its core, there's also room among giants for a little vulnerability, a softer touch. Which is not to say they've taken away the thrill of the game: The league is still the place "where are you kidding me happens," "where 1.3 seconds left happens."

In addition to the mind-blowing upset Eli Manning and the New York Giants pulled off last night, 97.5 million viewers were treated to glimpses of celebrity attendees (Gisele Bundchen, Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson, to name a few) as well as their yearly dose of those highly anticipated Super Bowl commercials.

For those of you not flipping to Animal Planet's crushingly cute 'Puppy Bowl' during game breaks, there was a diverse offering of advertisements -- some that made us laugh (read: the FedEx pigeon ad) and others that made us want to cry out for mercy (read: those brutal CareerBuilder spots).

Putting the "success" of this year's adverts aside for a moment, we'd like to draw the attention back to the music because ... that is what we do. So relive the magic and feast on our highlight reel of last night's musical moments.

• What song was playing when the Giants came on to the field?
  
Answer: Kanye West, 'Stronger'


• What song was playing when the Patriots came on to the field?
  
Answer: Ozzy Osbourne, 'Crazy Train'


• What song was playing during the Fox Sports interlude?
  
Answer: Arcade Fire, 'No Cars Go'


• What was the song from the Sobe 'Lizards' commercial?
  
Answer: Michael Jackson, 'Thriller'


• What was the song from the Dell XPS Product Red commercial?
Answer: Mick Jagger, 'Charmed Life'


• What was the song from the PepsiMax commercial?
  Answer: Haddaway, 'What Is Love'


• What was the song from the Planters nuts commercial?
  Answer: Frankie Valli, 'You're Just Too Good to Be True'


• What was the song from the Amp Energy commercial?
  Answer: Salt-N-Pepa, 'Push It'


• What was the song from the Pepsi commercial with James Carville and Bill Frist?
  Answer: Latch Key Kid, 'Good Times'


• What was the song right after the game ended, when Fox ran through their TV show lineup?
  Answer: James Morrison, 'You Give Me Something'

Watch all of the Super Bowl ads right here.

'Scentless Apprentice,' by Nirvana

It's been roughly eight months since last season's finale of ABC's Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning drama 'Lost.' A mind-bending two-hour ride, that final episode was punctuated with flashes into the future -- a welcome deviation from the show's flashback format -- in which we see the show's hero (or is he the antihero?), Jack, in full-on self-destructive mode back in the real world. He feels guilty about leaving the island, is relentlessly lonely and is ... well, in a word, lost.

In one of the episode's few glimpses into the future, we are introduced to a new Jack -- one who has traded hope wrangling and morale maintenance for activities more along the lines of pill-popping, growing a beard and driving recklessly.

Cue beloved '90s grunge icon Kurt Cobain. No, really. While lumberjack Jack barrels down the street toward (of all things) a funeral parlor, none other than Nirvana's 'Scentless Apprentice' rages from his car stereo. Off 'In Utero,' the band's final studio album, the song seems like a no-brainer for this scene, considering Jack looks and acts like Cobain's long-lost cousin. And the lyrics only perpetuate the loner mystique: "Go away - get away, get a-way."