Posted by Emily Exton on 09/12/2011 at 3:23 PM Videos

The Popdust Files: 9/11, jay-z

In case you missed it over the weekend, here’s a look at the State Farm commercial feature a chorus of kids singing “Empire State of Mind,” as directed by Brooklyn’s own Spike Lee. With a multitude of 9/11 related content on basically every channel, the insurance company’s ad either had you reaching for the tissues, or anxiously diverting your attention to updated football scores. Predictably, we fell towards the former. We already recommended giving the Jay-Z and Alicia Keys original a few plays over the weekend for those looking to get sentimental about our fair city, but even if you’re still suffering concrete jungle fatigue, or simply associate the song with the New York Yankees’ 2009 World Series win (haters!), Lee’s clip hits on just about everything contained within the patented How To Cry checklist—cute kids, sweeping, gorgeous shots of New York, choked up men in uniform hugging little children, etc.—proving that two years might just be enough time for overplayed songs to be cool again, barring the right circumstances. If you haven’t reached your 9/11 music-related quota, give the ad another shot, below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnlPX2_b4GA&feature=player_embedded