The Grammys Fit 33 Famous Album Titles Into a New 90-Second Spot

An animated short from the folks behind the Grammy Awards weaves 33 famous album titles into its clever copy. The initiative, developed by TBWAChiatDay for The Recording Academy, urges labels and digital platforms to credit songwriters, producers, engineers and other professionals behind the hits.

The number “33” refers to the revolutions per minute that vinyl long-playing records log on turntables (less one-third of a spin). In the fun clip below, composer and performer J. Ivy, who serves as president of the Recording Academy’s Chicago chapter, works LP titles from virtually every genre—pop, rock, R&B, reggae—into the narration:

In that frenetic romp from The Youth directors Youth & Maldita and animators at Colossal, Ivy opens with: “Whether they’re Straight Outta Compton, or from way out in The Suburbs, they’ll go to The Dark Side of the Moon and back to make Music. They are just Born This Way. They are the people behind the Sound & Color of your favorite records.”

That’s N.W.A., Arcade Fire, Pink Floyd, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Alabama Shakes … in just the first 15 seconds! You can check out the complete list below.

“We wanted a diverse group of titles both in genre, artist and era that were also popular enough for people to get,” TBWAChiatDay L.A. group creative director Jason Karley tells Muse. “We searched a lot of ‘best of’ lists and of course some came top of mind and some that just lent themselves better than others.”

“While it would have been fun to get something really challenging or obscure in there and still make sense—like Paul’s Boutique or Sailing the Seas of Cheese—we really stuck to ones that told the best story,” he says.

Dubbed “Records of Credit,” the push expands on last year’s Academy campaign inviting artists to upload and share “Credit Covers” recognizing contributors to albums and singles:

This year, the organization is launching a petition asking digital music services to display full credits.

“After creating their Credit Covers, artists will have the option to add their name to the petition in support of their collaborators,” says Academy marketing chief Lisa Farris. “Music streaming is the only digital experience that gives fans less information than they get in the physical world—so we’re really hoping to help influence change here.”

As for the albums mentioned in the video, some might quibble about omissions. For example, there’s no Thriller (Michael Jackson is a polarizing figure) or Rumors (Fleetwood Mac’s getting plenty of publicity elsewhere these days). But we can all agree: This is the most “Play” Moby’s gotten in years!

In order of appearance, the ad name-checks…

1. Straight Outta Compton – N.W.A.
2. The Suburbs – Arcade Fire
3. The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd
4. Music – Madonna
5. Born This Way – Lady Gaga
6. Sound & Color – Alabama Shakes
7. Purpose – Justin Bieber
8. Dirty Computer – Janelle Monáe
9. Love & Hate – Michael Kiwanuka
10. Desire – Bob Dylan
11. Songs in A Minor – Alicia Keys
12. Songs in the Key of Life – Stevie Wonder
13. For Everyman – Jackson Browne
14. Woman – Justice
15. 22, a Million – Bon Iver [Ed. Note: This generates the cleverest copy line!]
16. Daydream Nation – Sonic Youth
17. Dictionary of Soul – Otis Redding
18. Stardust – Willie Nelson
19. Raising Hell – Run-D.M.C.
20. 24k Magic – Bruno Mars
21. Between the Buttons – The Rolling Stones
22. Everything Is Love – The Carters
23. Nevermind – Nirvana
24. DAMN – Kendrick Lamar
25. Kick Out the Jams – MC5
26. Lemonade – Beyoncé
27. Imagine – John Lennon
28. At Last – Etta James
29. Play – Moby
30. Loud – Rihanna
31. Legend – Bob Marley and the Wailers
32. The Reason Why – Little Big Town + Jeff Balding
33. Thank You – Meghan Trainor

CREDITS

2020 Behind the Record Campaign

Recording Academy: 
Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer Lisa Farris
Managing Director of Marketing Mazen Alawar
Marketing Director Charles (Lee) Mills

TBWAChiatDay LA:
Chief Creative Officer: Renato Fernandez 
Group Creative Director: Jason Karley
Head of Art & Design: Bruno Regalo 
Senior Copywriter: Paula Henzel
Senior Art Director: Stephanie Johnson 
Senior Designer: Chris Lopez 
Director of Production/Producer: Anh-Thu Le
Executive Digital Producer: Ewan Anderson
FVLA Director: Renato Jabuka
Associate Producer: Joshua Levion 
Director of Business Affairs: Robin Rossi
Director of Traffic Operations: Dessiah Davis
Managing Director: Jerico Dig Cabaysa
Management Supervisor: Marcus A. Black-Clark
Account Executive: Mike Hernandez
VP, Strategy: Sarah Rubinstein 
Senior Connections Planner: Kevin Anthony Bautista
Jr. Strategist: Alana Gleason 
Director of PR/Communications Mikaela Liboro 
Director of Project Management: Diana Crews

Production Partners 
Director: YOUTH & Maldita
Production Company: The Youth
Post Production/Animation: COLOSSAL

Music & Sound Production Company: CANJA Audio Culture
Music Director/Arrangements: Eduardo Karas
Sound Executive Director: Filipe Resende
Sound Creative Director: Lucas Sfair
Drum’s Arrangement & Performance: Guilherme Moreno
Sound Engineer: Levi Mynssen
Studio Coordinator: Ana Flor
Sound Design: Pedro Souza/Diego Zorrilla 
Recording Studio: Nico’s Studio
Technical Support: Guima Scartezini

Website Developers: Use All Five
CTO, Co-founder: Jason Farrell
CEO, Co-founder: Levi Brooks
Director of Production & Operations: Michelle Murphy
Developers: Ryan Gordon/Scott Nguyen 
Jr. Art Director: Ben Kasum