Indie Sleaze, Cool Culture, & Me: Converse’s ‘Three Artists, One Song’ Campaign

Graphic by Sofia Giarrusso

By Sofia Giarrusso

I’ve always liked things. Owning things, worshipping them, observing, and such. Very original of me, I know. And within my infinite world of things upon things, I like it when they intertwine. And before this all gets too existential, I’ll get to the point–I like it when cool things join forces with other cool things. More specifically, I like when cool things permeate into one, giant corporate indie-sleazy dance party. 

Sorry. Let me backup a bit. 

It was probably the summer before kindergarten when my mother bought me my first pair of Converse One-Stars from Target. Bright pink low tops. Each pair would tear up the back of my heel until I inevitably grew out of them and she replaced them with another set of ankle chompers, half a size larger. I enjoyed their simplicity and the way it didn’t hurt when somebody stepped on my toe. I always asked for the cooler alternative, though–All-Stars. True Chucks, if you will. I guess my mother employed the theory of delayed gratification in me from a young age. 

A little more than a decade and an estimated eight pairs of Converse later, I’m roughly seventeen years old. I now proudly sport both One-Stars and All-Stars in a more muted color scheme. I’m a fairly introverted teenager who keeps herself busy. Between school, work, and sports, my one true passion lies in the constant idolization of my favorite rock stars and pop culture gods. It’s a full-time job. Or, more simply, I’m a music geek…to the max. Rock, pop, alternative–the whole nine yards. 

During one of my neverending YouTube deep dives, I stumbled upon a grainy 1:1 video titled “My Drive Thru” which at first appeared to be a fan-made video featuring three of my favorite musicians: Julian Casablancas, Santigold, and N.E.R.D (Pharrell Williams). Quickly though, I realized this wasn’t another measly creation by a know-it-all like myself, but rather what a fan’s dreams are made of–an undiscovered fixation. An authentic one at that, not a song by some impersonator or robot. 

“My Drive Thru” is a collaboration track and music video created for Converse’s centennial celebration, later known as the ‘Three Artists, One Song’ campaign. Released in 2008, the video sees Casablancas, Santigold, and Williams in edgy wardrobes topped off by–of course–black Chucks. The three are connected by their shoes in a paper doll fashion–a design used throughout the campaign. Visually and sonically engaging, “My Drive Thru” manages to preserve each artist’s style while simultaneously feeling very Pharrell/The Neptunes-ish, so, yes, it’s very enthused. Physical advertisements featuring the musicians of ‘Three Artists, One Song’ were plastered around cities across the globe with there being records of a shortened version of “My Drive Thru” being played on television and in theaters. Each of the nine songs throughout the campaign were available to download for free via Converse’s website.

Other than slapping myself across the face and asking “How could I not have known about this already?,” my secondary reaction to “My Drive Thru” was “What have I been missing?” So, I learned. I engaged myself with the prophecies of the indie subculture that was prominent in the mid-‘00s to mid-‘10s. The media, fashion, and general “IDGAF” attitude–it all ended up not being so foreign because even though those partiers featured in Cobrasnake photo albums were never me, I felt connected through what’s been coined “indie sleaze” hits that I grew up with. The likes of those featured in the ‘Three Artists, One Song’ campaign along with legends like MGMT, Arctic Monkeys, and M.I.A. were the soundtrack to my youth, and still saturate my playlists to this day. 

Indie sleaze permeated culture quickly and left even faster. To that remember there was a time when mainstream music was weird, the internet was still innovative, and ads like ‘Three Artists, One Song’ were expansive and fun. A recession lasts only so long before it brings the parties and grunge crashing down with it, but you can never kill the music. 

Truthfully, I never felt cooler rocking my Converse after learning about ‘Three Artists, One Song.’ Call it brand loyalty or what have you, but knowing the people who made my shoes could get down with what I’m into–that was everything. After all, ‘Three Songs, One Artist’ is a masterclass in knowing your audience. And it doesn’t hurt that I am of the niche Converse is curating towards here. Or at least I wanted (okay, still want) to be of that breed. 

Another standout from the campaign is “DoYaThing.” More of my personal favorite artists (I like a lot of things, okay?) are on this funky one: Gorillaz, Andre 3000, and James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem). The music video depicts Gorillaz in a hyper-realistic manner that makes me itchy just looking at it. Damon Albarn's and Andre 3000’s vocals blend shockingly well together as both are just poppy and whiney enough. Murphy’s classic electronica sound shines as well–a highlight of the musical era. For an extra treat, check out the thirteen-minute version of the song where Andre 3000 proclaims that he’s “the shit” close to seventy times. 

It’s been officially ten years since the last release of this collection of collaboration gold. Though I could only hope and pray for more ‘Three Artists, One Song,’ Converse truly went out with a bang by managing to get Frank Ocean, Diplo, and The Clash (yes, technically it’s only Mick Jones and Paul Simonon) on a singular track together. 

Other notable musicians featured in the six years of Converse’s centennial campaign were Kimbra, Kid Cudi, Hot Chip, Mark Foster (Foster the People), and Soulja Boy. You probably haven’t heard about these people’s newer endeavors in music, and I honestly haven’t either. Nevertheless, these names are still as relevant to me as many stars of today. That’s how big of an influence indie had on not only me but many other sleazers and wannabees out there. 

Oddly enough, little exists about this campaign online. There’s a Reddit thread here and there imploring about it, yet there are no preserved records from Converse itself. In fact, a lot of my in-depth knowledge about it comes from “Mirandomology”–a WordPress blog. Her website hasn’t been updated since 2014, so I congratulate thee Miranda of Mirandomlogy on your commitment to the bit. A real indie hero. 

Maybe I will just have to wait until the bicentennial celebration for more. In that case, you have my full permission to wake me up from cryosleep for ‘Six Artists, Two Songs.’ But, for now, I’m working with the scraps of what’s left of this period. And I’m not alone in my fascination. Indie sleaze is gaining exponential traction due to the Instagram account @indiesleaze along with recent economic and social attitudes that line up a little too well with those of the late-Bush era. Even Converse is starting to get the memo that sleaze is back in style–check out the re-release of their infamous knee-high Chucks. 

At this moment, I’m twenty and, not surprisingly, a lot has changed, but my love for gnarly music and shoes hasn’t. So, I’d like to tip my hyperbolic hat off to Converse. Thank you for having both the budget and the balls to go all out in reminding me to always wear my Chucks with a hint of indie spirit…and also putting Julian Casablancas in an N.E.R.D production. That was pretty cool too.