“I love mayonnaise, and, for 200,000 pounds, I really love mayonnaise.” – Patrick Carney of The Black Keys
Back in the early 2010’s, The Black Keys were under fire for licensing their songs to beer companies, car companies and clothing companies. They were one of many independent bands, born in the previous decade, that faced criticism for letting companies with deep pockets use their songs to sell products. In other words, they sold out. Which, if you’re in a rock and roll band, is among the least cool things that you could do in the eyes of your fans.
Explosions in the Sky, who are playing The Michigan Theater on April 2, are another one of those bands that “sold out” at the turn of the century. Explosions in the Sky’s brand of post-rock tell epic tales of love and death, while The Black Keys’ blues-based riff rock follows a more traditional rock format. Their ethos, however, remain strikingly similar. Both bands emerged on the scene with the support of an independent record label, relying mostly on word of mouth and a beat up van to make their dreams a reality. In the face of the dwindling record sales that plagued the record industry at the turn of the century, both bands made decisions to sell their music to companies with the promise of financial security.
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But, Explosions in the Sky’s version of selling out couldn’t have come from a more unlikely source: the 2004 high school football movie Friday Night Lights. Apart from anthems like “Thunderstruck” or “Seven Nation Army,” football and rock ‘n’ roll crowds, the jocks and the punks, never quite mixed. But Explosions in the Sky’s soaring instrumental tracks paired perfectly with the drama of a football game.
The movie’s, which predominantly featured a song called “Your Hand In Mine,” from their genre-defining sophomore LP “Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place,” was unquestionably lucrative for the band. The band was making music on their own terms, for a wider audience, and were (likely) paid accordingly. These are the things that any band would want.
With the financial freedom that the placement granted the band, they were free to continue to make music on their own terms. The band’s career now spans over two decades, and each record features experimentation that can only be the result of four musicians’ continued inspiration found in themselves and their bandmates. Their latest album, “End,” is a concise 7-song album that could only be described as glorious. That adjective could likely describe several of the band’s most impactful songs, of course, but it’s nice to know that the band is still inspired to make the same kind of music that put them on the proverbial map.
As far as selling out goes, Explosions in the Sky still hasn’t sold out this show at The Michigan Theater on April 2. Tickets are still available at The Ark’s box office, The Michigan Union box office, and of course online, here.
