Nick Drake, "Pink Moon"
Don looks to the stars and illuminates the milky way
Don’s Pitch:
I’ve worked in advertising for 25+ years, fortunately on some of the most beloved brands in the world. But unfortunately, good advertising is hard to come by. Too often we get in our own way. Too clever. Too much information. Trying too hard.
If I’ve learned anything, it’s that the best ideas are the simplest.
Such was the case for the best TV spot I ever worked on. And by “worked on,” I mean I got out of the way and helped make sure the creatives had room to do their thing.
The commercial was titled “Milky Way” and told the story of 4 young people in a Volkswagen Cabrio who realized a simple truth: the best time to drive a convertible is not under sun-splashed skies with music blaring, the way *every other car commercial* still seems to depict the experience. Actually, the best time to drive with the top down is at night, under the stars, peacefully.
The Arnold Worldwide creative team that produced the spot not only uncovered this insight about convertibles; they also revealed the truth about advertising (and life): Sometimes the best ideas and experiences are right in front of us – surprisingly obvious – yet previously overlooked.
But that insight wasn’t the only treasure the Arnold team discovered in 1999. Their true stroke of genius was setting the story to the virtually unknown, wondrous Nick Drake song, “Pink Moon.”
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In 1974, Nick Drake died of a prescription drug overdose. He was 26. His three albums had sold less than 5,000 copies in total. His music was tragically overlooked during his lifetime, which accelerated his depression, and ultimately cost him his life.
The songs endured, however, and in ensuing years, Drake’s records comprised one of the most revered catalogs of his time. In my opinion, Pink Moon is the best of the bunch.
Clocking in at less than 30 minutes, Pink Moon captures Drake at his nadir, literally alone with his guitar. The production is stark yet warm, detached yet intimate. He’s hanging on for dear life, the strings squeaking under his fingertips, slipping away.
Drake’s minimalist lyrics are grounded in celestial themes, and his voice is utterly haunting. But what stands out most is his otherworldly guitar playing. His finger-picking style, sense of timing, and open tunings inspired generations of guitarists, including Peter Buck, Beck Hansen, Paul Weller, Robert Smith, and Rich Robinson.
Pink Moon, like Drake’s impact, is a grower. It reveals something different upon each rotation around the turntable, mostly dark, yet illuminating during its shining moments. My favorite tunes are “Which Will,” “Things Behind The Sun,” “From The Morning,” and, of course, the brilliant title track.
The painfully shy Nick Drake became increasingly reclusive – and virtually invisible – when he realized his music wouldn’t be commercially successful. How ironic that his star finally ascended 25 years after he disappeared, thanks to a car advert.
Sometimes the best things in life are right in front of you. All you have to do is look up.
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The New York Times once described “Milky Way” as the best commercial ever made.
Mitch’s Response:
Folk music can be repetitive by design, with simple chord patterns providing a framework for the real focus: the words. On Pink Moon, Nick Drake flips the script, and his direct lyrics and breathy vocals take a backseat to his innovative approach to folk guitar. Complex chords, finger-picking and droning bass notes create a very innovative and unique sound, well represented by the instrumental “Horn”.
“Pink Moon” is a gorgeous tune (best on the album) and for all of the hate that artists get for “selling out” to commercials, the VW spot is fantastic and it helped expose millions of people to Drake’s art. Other tunes like “Place to Be”, “Which Will”, and “From the Morning” are all really solid, but the rest kind of blend together into a pleasant, but unremarkable drone that only occasionally transcends being background music.
Speaking of droning, a quick advertising story of my own: while Don was busy on “Milky Way,” I was cranking out phone company spots with legendary actor James Earl Jones. He was a joy to work with and the only rule of JEJ club was: “don’t annoy Mr. Jones.” Easy enough. But even filming spots with celebrities can get boring, and we started playing a game on set where you’d try to “clip” people with chains of clothespins and grip clips. As the days wore on the game got pretty intense and our producer Andrew upped the ante with a $100 bounty on clipping JEJ. Terrified, I attempted to shut down the game, to no avail. On the last day of the shoot Mr. Jones loudly announced that was going to get some Twizzlers, and as he sauntered towards craft services, we all spotted a clip on the back of his jacket and saw Andrew jumping up and down in victory! Without warning, James turns around, starts swatting at the clip and bellowing in indignation. The room started spinning. Darth Vader was yelling at me! I was going to get fired. I just had a baby! My whole life was about to end. And then I heard a deep, booming laugh fill the room. It was all set up. I had been punked by an EGOT winner in perhaps the greatest performance of his life.
Pitch Failed
CJ’s Response:
I thought the first line of “Pink Moon” was “I saw it written in the soy sauce.” I’m not being a wiseass or trivializing whatever Nick Drake was trying to say. It’s just that, even after half a dozen listens, I still thought this guy was having some kind of hippie vision about a sushi condiment. And I was willing to go with it. Honestly, I was. But, after learning the actual words to the opening line and the rest of the song, it turns out that soy sauce would’ve been a better option.
Folk music, or at least this version of it, produces songs that sneak in under the door, shimmy up your leg and whisper in your ear. Of course, you know by now that I prefer songs that kick down the door, grab you by the collar and give you five across the eyes. That doesn’t always mean loud. But, it for certain means interesting. And, unlike his folk contemporaries Jim Croce and Gordon Lightfoot, Drake’s music failed to captivate me.
Yes, it’s repetitive. And yes, the lyrics are some odd hybrid of beat poetry and train-of-thought. But, those things don’t bother me as much as Drake himself. There’s no conviction in his delivery. It’s as if he started strumming on his guitar and sang the first thing that came into his head. That is, it feels like he’s trying out these lyrics for the first time and he doesn’t quite believe them himself.
I think it’s nice that Nick Drake’s music got a second chance because of VW. And if it provided some solace for the people who believed in him, all the better. But, it’s not like the song drove the spot. Many other acoustic tracks would’ve done the trick. To borrow a phrase from Don’s pitch, it just didn’t get in the way.
Pitch Failed
Ken’s Response:
There’s a good chance I only know of Nick Drake because of the Volkswagen commercial. As Don put it, “his star finally ascended” when the ad became popular in 1999. I’m certain I hadn’t heard of him prior to 1999, and until the announcement that we’d be doing Pink Moon for EONS, I probably hadn’t heard his name since Don first name-dropped it on the golf course 8-10 years ago when he told me about “this awesome ad I worked on”. And it is a great ad. I don’t know anything about advertising…or cars. I don’t even remember when Volkswagen dropped the “let” from Cabriolet and made it Cabrio. But after rewatching the spot on Youtube a few times this week, it is quite beautiful and poignant. Well done, Don (and the rest of the team).
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Nick Drake or Pink Moon. In the heyday of singer-songwriters, Drake put out 3 albums that cumulatively sold 5,000 copies. I thought I misread that at first because the album isn’t terrible. But after 7 listens, it’s clear that Drake just isn’t up to the task of keeping up with the Taylor’s, Browne’s, Mitchell’s, Young’s, Dylan’s, King’s, and Stevens’. The guitar work is interesting but supremely repetitive, and the lyrics seem to be just a collection of disjointed thoughts. With the exception of the title track, it’s background music for me.
There are a lot of stars in the sky and some shine brighter than others. Some are up there seemingly forever and we can barely see them, but they’ve all made an impact on the universe, however large or small. And for Nick Drake, his brightest moment was a commercial he’ll never see.
Pitch Failed
Don’s pitch was unsuccessful and Nick Drake’s Pink Moon has been exiled from the Newbury St. Collection.
Now that the day is done, the place to be is the comments section, where we want to know what you really think about Nick Drake’s Pink Moon.
Please join us next week as CJ brings the toxic twins back home to Boston with a rummage through Aerosmith’s Toys in the Attic.
Albums on EONS for me generally fall into one of three categories. There are: 1) the ones I like, 2) the ones I don’t like, and 3) the ones that I don’t even bother listening to. For me, Pink Moon is definitely in the “ones I like” category - then again, that’s not surprising given my appreciation for folk music in general. While the songs on the album at times could seem to be repetitive, that is largely due to the fact that they all feature Drake singing over his acoustic guitar. That said, there are differences in both the arrangements and the mood that make them different and interesting. To call it background music is a disservice - while it certainly makes for pleasant background music - this is also music that you can immerse yourself in while laying back, closing your eyes, listening on headphones and getting lost in the music.
Mitch and I often text about what album is being reviewed each week, and this week I kind of disparaged Pink Moon, asking if there was anything else on the album of note besides the title track. Upon listening I recognized a few of the other songs, but that is likely a product of having been a long time Folk Radio listener, for many years WFUV in New York, WXPN in Philly and Coffee House and The Bridge on SiriusXM. I’m also pretty sure I’ve listened to Pink Moon in the past, but it had been some time.
For me, the ultimate rating is whether or not I’m likely to want to listen to the album again. For me this is a resounding yes - and more so than the majority of the albums that have been reviewed on here. I think it’s a great album and my only complaint is that is too short. Clocking in at only 28 minutes and change, once can argue that despite having 11 tracks, this might still be an EP and not a LP. Never-the-less this one gets a thumbs up from me - so it is written in the soy sauce.