Monsoon.

As the Flagpole staff takes a much-needed break over the holidays, we're reposting 11 of our most popular, most important, funniest and/or otherwise noteworthy stories of this most dismal of years. Look for a new post each day through Jan. 2.

Ten years ago, any band with even a drop of indie cred would've been called a sellout for selling a song to a car company. In today's fractured media landscape—where everything is supposed to be "free" and the radio only plays that one song over and over—a TV commercial is about the only way musicians can put their music in front of consumers and make a nice check in the process.

Surely Pylon's members never envisioned themselves as embodying "modern luxury" when they formed almost 30 years ago, but in January the band licensed its song "Cool" to Lexus.

A month later, young upstarts Monsoon's "Ride A Rolla" was featured in a regional Toyota Corolla commercial.

Both brought welcome attention to an Athens music scene that's as vibrant as ever. Hopefully more local artists can convince corporations to help them quit their day jobs.