An effective commercial jingle wedges itself into your brain. There's the incessant repetition of Meow Mix, the harmony of McDonald's "I'm lovin' it" or the youthful chorus of "Biiiku, biku, biku, Bic Camera."
Thirty years ago, though, Belgian record label Crammed Discs released an album titled "Music for Commercials" whose songs sounded nothing like your standard jingle. Recently rereleased overseas, the album is about to get a Japanese reissue, according to the man behind it, saxophonist and composer Yasuaki Shimizu.
"From the late 1970s until around 1984, I was involved in composing music for many TV commercials," Shimizu, 63, tells The Japan Times. "I was struck with inspired ideas as I was composing during this period, so I kept creating songs at the whim of these inspirations."