I heard this Julian Lennon song in a drug store while searching for a birthday card for my dad. I had to go through the whole rack to find one in that rarefied greeting card middle ground between treacle and bodily humor.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-psU2-wgZS8&rel=1]

Hearing it over those distorted speakers under the florescent light gave me a twinge of nostalgia. 1984: I was 9 years old, and this song hit #9 on the US charts. I probably listened to it on my Panasonic AM/FM/Cassette boombox, which is now listed as "vintage" on ebay.

Hark, how the bells!
So many bells!
Bells and bells and bells!
So many fucking bells!

Ding.
Dong.
Ding.
Ding.
Dong.

It begins....

Sometimes I listen to Air while running. Yesterday, in the middle of a self-imposed treadmill 5k, it occurred to me that their music is compelling. It compels me forward. It has inertia, driving energy, consistent forward movement.

Other songs on my 'gym mix' are entertaining (I want to sing along with Lily Allen's escapades). Or they're distracting (I am locked in Justin Timberlake's danceable rhythm). But Air compels me to run, run, run.

Does that same quality compel consumers to run, run, run to purchase Nissan, Levi's and L'Oreal products?

Air's Wikipedia entry lists many of their licensed tracks.