I must be losing my mind. First, I heard the Buzzcocks’ “What Do I Get?” pimping Subaru when I was in high school. Then the band’s song “Ever Fallen In Love” (as covered by Pete Yorn) made it into Shrek 2. And now another one of their songs, “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays,” is in an AARP ad. Which doesn’t seem right to me. Pete Shelley & Co. might be getting up there in years, but AARP seems more like a Rolling Stones gig to me. In any case, it’s damn odd that an once-popular, first-wave punk band sneaks into current popular culture this many times without people really noticing. Am I the only person who hears these songs? Christ, Trio’s “Da Da Da” charted again when it was used in a Volkswagen ad, but so far that hasn’t happened with the Buzzcocks. Maybe I’m just imagining it all. But even if I’m not, I hope this trend doesn’t continue. Of course, now that I’ve said that, Huggies will start airing spots with “Can’t Stand My Baby” in them.

—Posted by David Kiefaber