MUSIC: I'm crazy for this little lady

It's funny how my feelings about a song can change according to the song's context. For example, I've written before about songs I had previously enjoyed that came to be irrevocably associated with a certain movie or TV show in which they appeared, like, say, "Stuck in the Middle With You" in Reservoir Dogs.

But there's a current song that I feel differently about depending on which of two recent commercials I hear it in: "Lady" by Lenny Kravitz. You probably are familiar with it -- "Cause she makes me feel good/She's so fine!"

The first time I heard it was in a Gap commercial. As Kravitz plays, that awful Sarah Jessica Parker struts and preens in her Gap ensemble. And I immediately took a disliking to the song. Same old same old from Lenny, I thought. Fuzzy guitars, banal lyrics, with hooks seemingly crafted specifically for marketing purposes.

Then ABC began using the song in their promos for the upcoming season of Alias. And I loved it. Strobing pictures of Jennifer Garner in various disguises, alternately kicking one dude's ass or falling into bed with another, set to that hammering guitar lick... Suddenly the music was catchy, rather than off-puttingly contrived; the lyrics weren't vapid or silly, they were elegantly simple.

Parker vs. Garner. Annoying, hacky jingle for one, riveting theme song for the other. It's all in the context.