Hearing NBC’s tried-and-true jingle – that G-E-C trill when the peacock struts its stuff – has become about as familiar a sound as any Christmas carol. But after 75 years of sticking to their roots, the network is looking to a handful of modern-day musicians to push their tune into the 21st century.
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Hearing NBC’s tried-and-true jingle – that G-E-C trill when the peacock struts its stuff – has become about as familiar a sound as any Christmas carol. But after 75 years of sticking to their roots, the network is looking to a handful of modern-day musicians to push their tune into the 21st century. In addition to rallying together NBC stars such as The Office‘s Jenna Fischer and Chuck‘s Zackary Levi for some hokey impromptu sing-alongs, across-the-board musical talents have been recruited to offer up original renditions of the tri-chime standard.
“There’s always an element of being asked to do things that are just sort of absurd,” Flaming Lips’ front man Wayne Coyne told Entertainment Weekly in a behind-the-scenes look at the downtown Los Angeles rooftop where the two-hour gig was being filmed. “We kind of embrace that. That’s how we ended up Beverly Hills 90210.”
Though only an eight-second performance, blues legend B.B. King licked out a short-but-sweet interpretation, and the B-52’s bebopped their way through a colorful version of their own, but it was the Flaming Lips who offered up the most unique delivery. In keeping with Lips fashion, Coyne went so far as to create a one-of-a-kind double-neck guitar, including a modified Guitar Hero neck attached to a K Oscillater noise modulator to help capture their left-field sound.
Set to air during peak network hours around Thanksgiving, NBC’s latest musical digs will likely be heard in every commercial break through the end of the year. A shameless publicity stunt it may be, but thanks to a little imagination, this is one plug worth looking out for.
