Having officially broken up six years ago, quirky Montreal popsters the Unicorns are long gone, but not as forgotten as some people may have hoped. Joining the ranks of Arcade Fire, Sigur Rós and countless others, the extinct outfit's music has been pilfered by the promotion biz, as one of their songs has seemingly been plagiarized in a new commercial.
A promo clip for MSGVarsity (a television channel that specializes in screening high school varsity sports games) features a song that sounds suspiciously like the Unicorns' "I Was Born a Unicorn," off the band's 2003 album, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? The tune is not a straight-up rip, as a few choice notes were rearranged to make this slightly less obvious, but the bustling garage beat and skittered, jangly guitars that characterize the track are more than apparent in this version. Check out both tunes below and decide for yourself.
You might remember that the cut was also used in a Crayola commercial a few years back, but the crayon company was decent enough to use the song proper.
The members, currently involved in Islands, among other acts, have yet to comment.
Thanks to Stereogum for the tip.
A promo clip for MSGVarsity (a television channel that specializes in screening high school varsity sports games) features a song that sounds suspiciously like the Unicorns' "I Was Born a Unicorn," off the band's 2003 album, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? The tune is not a straight-up rip, as a few choice notes were rearranged to make this slightly less obvious, but the bustling garage beat and skittered, jangly guitars that characterize the track are more than apparent in this version. Check out both tunes below and decide for yourself.
You might remember that the cut was also used in a Crayola commercial a few years back, but the crayon company was decent enough to use the song proper.
The members, currently involved in Islands, among other acts, have yet to comment.
Thanks to Stereogum for the tip.