My Ears Through The Years with Noel Bunting

Welcome back to My Ears Through The Years! The series where we ask some brilliant people in the industry to hit play on the soundtrack of their lives. 

This week with the aux chord... “her name is Noel” (and we’ve had a dream about this METTY episode…) it’s the wonderful Noel Bunting! Currently chief creative officer at Publicis London, over her career Noel has created campaigns for some of the biggest brands in the world, and her trophy cabinet includes a Grand Prix Lion for the Oreo Daily Twist campaign. But what’s Noel been listening to over the years? Let’s get into it!

Hi Noel! What’s your first memory of music?

I grew up in a somewhat rural part of the US which means we were in the car a lot, so my first memory of music is listening to Rick Dees’ Weekly Top 40. More than any one track, that jingle will remain in my brain forever. But a memory that deserves a shout-out is my best friend and I, age 10, creating a synchronised roller-skating routine in my family’s kitchen (so we could use the kitchen island for some very special moves) to Bryan Adams’ ‘Everything I Do) I Do It For You’ which we heard in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and couldn’t get enough of. 

What was the first music you bought yourself? 

I had to text my childhood best friend to confirm, but we are pretty sure it was Paula Abdul’s ‘Cold Hearted’ single on cassette tape. We listened to it over and over that summer, most frequently on our boombox at the neighbourhood pool. I also distinctly remember running out to buy Green Day’s Dookie after my sixth grade ‘boyfriend’ played the entire album to me over the phone one night.

Your first gig? 

How I wish the answer to this question was Nirvana or Alice in Chains, but in reality, my first gig was Hootie and the Blowfish, sometime in the 90s, with my mom. Not that Hootie is anything to be ashamed of. 

Your first slow dance? 

I’m pretty sure it was Boyz II Men ‘End of the Road’, and I wouldn’t call it dancing.  

The first song you felt you couldn’t escape from?

My dad used to blast Meatloaf’s ‘I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) at full volume on our stereo system, to the point where my screams of “turn it off!” were completely drowned out. There is no escaping from Meatloaf. 

A song that pops into your head at any given moment?

There’s one song that I’ve listened to more than any in the last few years which pops into my head at any given time: ‘Long Gone Day’ by Mad Season. Post-Alice-in-Chains Lane Staley and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready. It answers the question: can Seattle grunge be jazzy? Yes. Yes it can. 

Your walkout music? 

‘Would?’ by Alice in Chains. 

Your go to karaoke song?

It has to be ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ by Wheatus as it starts with “Her name is Noel…” 

Your musical guilty pleasure? 

'80s power ballads and early 2000’s Screamo. If you want specifics, ‘Wind of Change’ by Scorpions and ‘Bury Your Head’ by Saosin. Come at me. I used to interview bands for a tattoo magazine in the early 2000’s and got to meet many of my favourite pop punk bands, so they will forever have a place in my (tortured) heart. 

A song that reminds you of home, family or friends? 

Growing up in the American South, we vacationed on Florida beaches, and when you vacation on Florida beaches, you listen to Jimmy Buffett. Shockingly, no one outside the US has ever heard of him, which makes songs like ‘Margaritaville’ remind me of home even more. And any song by Outkast, being from Atlanta. 

How has your musical taste evolved?

My younger self would hate me for this, as I’ve avoided it my whole life, but in the past few years I have grown to like country music. Perhaps solely because of Zach Bryan. I cannot get enough of him. Also, Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car is *chef’s kiss*

A song you wish you wrote?

Pearl Jam – ‘Black’. Mostly because it’s my husband’s favourite song.

Your desert island disc? 

This is impossible, so I’m going to cheat and list five, not in order: Silverchair ‘Frogstomp’, Nirvana ‘MTV Unplugged In New York’, Fleetwood Mac ‘Rumours’, R.E.M. ‘Out of Time’, and an album that I’ll create, Best of Creedence Clearwater Revival. 

Best sync moment?

When ‘Colorblind’ by Counting Crows starts playing in Cruel Intentions as Ryan Phillippe finally declares his love for Reese Witherspoon at the top of an airport escalator. I still listen to it, one of those melancholic songs I love to wallow in. 

Music that made an ad campaign?

‘Send in the Clowns’ for Audi was absolute genius. I love the juxtaposition of chaotic drivers and the beautiful ease of the song.

Best theme song? 

I recently discovered that the same guy wrote the theme songs for Full House, Family Matters, and Step by Step. Here’s to you, Jesse Frederick James Conaway. You have forever burned the sitcom openings of the ‘80s and ‘90s into my brain. A more recent choice would be ‘Goodbye’ by Apparat, the opening of Dark, possibly my favourite show of the last decade. 

Favourite soundtrack or score?

Intersellar. Hands down. There is no one better than Max Richter at scoring a film. I do owe my younger self a shoutout to the 1996 Romeo + Juliet soundtrack though.