The Who’s ‘I’m Free’ Remixed for New Cablevision Commercial

Cablevision’s new Freewheel Wi-Fi service knows what it takes to reach the highest high. At least that's what the company's new commercial, which uses the Who’s ‘I’m Free,’ tells us. You can watch it above.

But this isn’t the version of the song you know from ‘Tommy’; it's a remix commissioned by a production agency called Mophonics. Pete Townshend allowed the company to remix 15 songs by the Who and from his solo career. For now, they'll be pitched for use in commercials, movies and television shows, but it’s also possible that an entire album of remixes could see release. You can watch 30-second snippets of five of the newly remixed tracks below.

"We didn't want to just take songs to use as great lyric hooks for ads, but to also re-create great music that people would want to listen to,” Peter Shane of Spirit Music Group, Townshend’s publisher, told Ad Age.

Three years ago, Townshend sold the publishing rights to his entire catalog to Spirit, which specializes in placing songs in commercials, movies and television. He has given his endorsement to this new project. "A lot of work [went] into these, especially because the respect shown by the remixes to the original songs and song shapes,” he said. “I know that makes remixing harder, and less fun for them, but a lot of fun for me.”

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