As much as we’re partial to “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” the one power ballad that’s currently towering over all the rest is Journey’s 1981 classic “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which anchored the ending scene of The Sopranos finale last night. The song’s been clawing its way back from semi-obscurity for a couple of years now, showing up on TV shows like Laguna Beach and Family Guy and providing the rallying cry for the overachieving 2005 Chicago White Sox. It’s never had a chance to really shine in a commercial, despite being an obviously perfect fit for categories like gambling (“Payin’ anything to roll the dice/Just one more time”) and transportation (“She took the midnight train goin’ anywhere”), as well as liquor and fragrances (“the smell of wine and cheap perfume”). It did make it into a Super Bowl spot, but was treated as a punch line by FedEx Kinko’s in the ad with Burt Reynolds and the dancing bear. After the jump, an absolutely brilliant video of Steve Perry and friends playing the song live. UPDATE: The Associated Press has now followed up with their own story.
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IMO, better usage was in Scrubs a few years ago--episode "My Journey".
Posted by: FrankM | Jun 11, 2007 11:21:18 PM
I like "Wheel in the Sky."
On another note, the most annoying thing about "The Sopranos" is that the wonderful array of songs used during the closing credits of each episode are not the ones compiled for "The Sopranos" soundtrack CDs.
I wish someone could do that. It would be a musical licensing coup.
Posted by: MusicLover | Jun 13, 2007 6:44:40 PM
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