Both mediums are very complimentary of each other. Music serves as an aid to amplifying visuals, while visuals function to apply music with more expressive, evocative, and poignant character. The two combined create an entirely sensual experience that leaves the viewer with ardently vivid demonstrations of emotion and thought. In my opinion, the perfect scene comprises of a shot with passionate narrative and equally moving and stirring musical themes and elements.

Music is not only a background component of the scene, but it also operates as the instinctive guide that leads the audience in terms of flow and motion within the storyline. The musical feature is essentially what dictates and determines what following events will unravel. In a way, it allows us to be aware and conscious in advance of what is about to unfold. It’s a foreboding kind of warning or prediction that allows the audience to know the direction that the film is about to take, long before it moves that way.

I’d like to think of it as composers centering and revolving the music around plots, where the music is able to convey the story on its own through the sound’s embodied atmosphere and ambience. Why I think film scores and soundtracks are so especially important is because we fail to recognize its merit for its role in the translating of sentiment and intensity. Music after all is a universal language. 

The first movie soundtrack that I had really enjoyed, so much so that I had even purchased a copy of it on vinyl, was Nicholas Brittel’s orchestration for the Barry Jenkins film If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). There was one track in the album named “Agape”, which plays during a scene in where Tish (played by Kiki Layne) talks about the momentary instance she realized she loved Fonny (Stephan James). She says, “We were a part of each other. Flesh of each other’s flesh which we so took for granted that we never thought of the flesh. Yet, it was no surprise to me when I finally understood that he was the most beautiful person I had seen all my life.”

Tish recites this dialogue over Britell’s score, as a frame of them appears where they are in a moving subway train, staring deeply at each other’s exterior. I would listen to this specific track a lot. It even become my top song on Spotify for a while. The stunning magnificence of this album amazes and fascinates me for its capacity to be brimming with such profuse lust for life.

Soon after, I found out about Emile Mosseri, who had done the scores for Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari (2020) and Miranda July’s Kajillionaire (2020). As I had watched Minari during my senior year of high school for a class, I was immediately compelled to download its score after hearing the album’s outro track play over the scene of the Yi family’s farm burning down. In this dramatically touching scene, we see the Yi family lose everything they worked so hard for, signifying the collapse of their American dream. As the outro track poses itself to be tenderly delicate, the musical personality of the scene is complex and intricate in its spirit and energy.

Minari ending scene. Image via Midstory

As for the Kajillionaire score, I adore the track, “Infinite Love“. It plays in the film after Old Dolio (played by Evan Rachel Woods) and Melanie (played by Gina Rodriguez) emerge from staying in a pitch-dark room. Here, Old Dolio says in a speech, “I think it happened right away. Right after that first big noise. We died. This is just how it’s gonna be forever. Just us, in blackness. You can’t believe it because you were married to life, hooked on it. I wasn’t hooked so it’s not such a big deal to me.” After this segment, Old Dolio enters a convenience store and starts to see everything mundane and earthly as mesmerizing and captivating. A viewed perception toward reality, shifted.

I also consider myself an avid fan of Jon Brion. He is the composer for the soundtracks of Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird (2017) and Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (2004). The Lady Bird soundtrack holds a particularly distinctive place in my heart as this was what I had been listening to before boarding the plane for college. It’s similar to Lady Bird when the track “Leaving” plays over the scene where Lady Bird’s mother drops her off at the airport as she leaves to attend UC Davis.

In Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, the track “Theme” plays over Joel (played by Jim Carrey) waking up and going on with his daily life. He says in a voice-over, “Today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap. I ditched work today, took a train up to Montauk. I don’t know why. I’m not an impulsive person. I guess I just woke up in a funk this morning. I gotta get my car fixed.” In this monologue, he mourns the existence of Valentine’s Day. With the score still playing, Joel has his first encounter with Clementine, as she walks past him by the beach’s coast, symbolizing what would then be a tumultuous journey of trying to forget each other.

Scores and soundtracks like these persist in reminding me of how impactful and influential cinema and music have been in my life. The aforementioned composers make life all the more colorful and vibrant through the wondrous meshing of visuals and sound. Earlier this year, I delved further into the discography of Hans Zimmer, who I would argue is one of the best when it comes to the mastership of film soundtracks and scores. From this exploration, I came to the conclusion that he was right when he had claimed that “anything can be musical sound.”

The post Film Scores and Soundtracks, an Overlooked Aspect of Cinema appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Show

Now, if you haven’t watched “Big Little Lies” yet, I have a few things to say:

1. Do you live under a rock?
2. Kidding about #1 but like, not really
3. It is a must-see with an all-star cast
4. Literally everyone and anyone who even watches a few minutes of the show will be captivated and obsessed
5. It’s dramatic, funny, serious, sad, happy, and everything in between
6. You will end up yelling at your TV at the end of the episode waiting for the next week
7. If nothing else, just watch it for the awesome soundtrack

The show stars Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, Zoë Kravitz, Adam Scott, and yes — Meryl Streep!!!! With two seasons out and another on the way, it centers around a group of wealthy women and their families in Monterey, California who all have children the same age. Secrets, drama, crime, and friendship are at the heart of the show and the soundtrack does a great job accentuating that.

The Soundtrack

The theme song which plays over the opening credits is the beginning of the amazing songs that fill each episode. The song, “Cold Little Heart” by Michael Kiwanuka is catchy, soothing, and fitting to the credits which show the families driving over the famous Bixby Bridge in Big Sur, with shots of the ocean rolling in. Having never heard the song before, I became immediately smitten with it from the first episode.

Aside from the theme song, every song in each episode is unique and fits the scenes very well. From Leon Bridges’ “River “to “Pocketful of Rainbows” by Elvis Presley, the variety of different genres flows perfectly with the story lines.

Because I don’t want to give away too much, I won’t mention every featured song and artist. But, here’s a list of some of my favorites that I believe deserve a shoutout and the episode they’re in …

• “Dance This Mess Around” by The B-52’s x Season 1 Episode 2
• “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac x Season 1 Episode 3
• “September Song” by Agnes Obel x Season 1 Episode 7
• “Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett x Season 2 Episode 1
• “It’s My House” by Diana Ross x Season 2 Episode 1
• “How Deep Is Your Love” by the Bee Gees x Season 2 Episode 4
• “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Patti Smith x Season 2 Episode 6
• “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” by Willie Nelson (featuring Paula Nelson) x Season 2 Episode 7

Remember, these are just a few of my faves so it’s up to you to watch and listen to Big Little Lies!

The post Big Soundtrack for “Big Little Lies” appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The movie is slightly more graphic than its film predecessors which featured the Joker: The Dark Night, Suicide Squad, and the 1989 Batman. Yet among the violence and darkness, a jaunty soundtrack arises. Music drives much of Phoenix’s portrayal of Arthur, to haunting ends. He is consistently shown dancing and singing in the film as expressions of his tortured mental state.

In a YouTube video with The New York Times, director Todd Phillips breaks down one of the most fantastical dance scenes in the film. Phillips said that dancing developed through working with Phoenix on the character, explaining that “Arthur is one of those people that have music in [them].”

The soundtrack spans several decades of music, featuring multiple classics from the 1960’s and 70’s to more modern tracks. Fittingly, many of the songs in the soundtrack connect rather clearly to the tropes of the DC villain with “clown”, “fool”, and “joker” in the lyrics and song titles.

The main theme of “That’s Life” by Frank Sinatra follows Arthur from the beginning of the film to the end as his life continues to spiral out of control. The lyrics of the song perfectly mirror the Joker’s ever-changing perceptions of the world around him. Sinatra croons: “I said, that’s life (that’s life) / and as funny as it may seem / Some people get their kicks / Stompin’ on a dream.” The song begins as a reflection of Arthur’s depression as a down-on-his-luck entertainer, and transforms itself to become a mantra for madness and chaos as a logical course of action.

Another Sinatra track makes an appearance in the film as”Send In the Clowns” plays . Other classics are found within the soundtrack, including “Smile” by Jimmy Durante, which reflects Arthur’s ceaseless efforts to entertain those around Gotham by painting a smile onto his face. Diving deeper into Joker‘s connection with music and dance, Fred Astaire’s 1937 rendition of “Slap That Bass” brings musical theatre into the mix of the already elaborate soundtrack.

In addition to the oldies and original songs, some rock and modern tracks fill out the rest of the soundtrack. The 1960s and 70s maintain a big presence throughout the movie, with hits like “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix, “Rock and Roll Part II” by Gary Glitter, “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, and more featured. Recent artists like Riff Raff, Naeleck, and Oceans Ahead connect the film with present day audiences, even though it’s set in the 1980s.

Joker finds its darkest moments in the original pieces created by Hildur Guðnadóttir, the film’s composer. The Icelandic musician is a classically trained cellist and the deep tones of the stringed instrument are found throughout the score. These instrumental moments reflect the inner machinations of Arthur’s mind, with all the variations that his mental instability brings.

Arthur goes through a wide range of emotional changes in his journey to becoming the Joker and so too does the soundtrack, which covers a range of musical styles to reflect these shifts. Joker works to capture the madness of an unstable character in a temperamental world, and music punctuates the film’s manic nature, giving it even more of a punch.

The post A Soundtrack to Madness: The Music of Joker appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Typically full of extensive musical numbers with choreography, a lot movie musicals tend fall into a rut of predictability with spectacle being valued over complexity. Our current era of hyperactive media output, however, has raised the standard for film. With hundreds of new movies and TV shows released each year, viewers crave something new and captivating to watch.

The upcoming and anticipated musical release, “A Star is Born”, takes that challenge head on, bringing an classic story into the present with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper as leads.

To the non-musical theatre nerd, this film may look like a novel release with a fresh take for the genre. In fact, this is the third remake of the original 1937 film of the same name. With Judy Garland at the head, the 1954 remake was immensely successful in weaving music into the story with melodic Gershwin creations. A permed Barbra Streisand and shaggy-headed Kris Kristofferson carry the 1976 version drenched in retro camp and fashion.

The overarching plot line of the film follows the path set out by its predecessors of a musician fostering a young performer’s rise to fame, but the atmosphere of substance abuse and a fraught relationship gives the story a certain edge that the earlier films lacked.

“A Star is Born” is Cooper’s directorial debut and one of the first major big-screen roles Gaga has taken on. The challenge brought out the best in these celebrities, pushing their most innovative work. Although not released in theaters yet, the movie has received widespread critical acclaim for acting and artistic vision.

Cooper adopts a Johnny Cash like gravelly voice as Jackson Maine, an aging musician in the throws of alcohol addiction. After meeting Gaga’s character, Ally, he sees her potential and their relationship blossoms alongside her on-stage presence. The initial apprehensive nature between the two characters grows to intense connection throughout the film, showcasing something truly beautiful.

“Talent comes everywhere, but having something to say and a way to say it so people listen to it, that’s a whole other bag. And unless you get out there and you try to do it, you’ll never know.”

Almost the entire soundtrack is original music written by Gaga herself or associated writers, and is recorded live. There are a few nods to the past versions, with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” making an appearance. A vivid 34 songs round out the film, each stripping down the flashy movie musical trope to reveal something unique and vulnerable.

There have been few songs released for the movie yet, holding out until it hits theaters on October 5th. The sole track that has been released and clear favorite of the film is “Shallow”.

“Shallow” takes the listener on a journey from its solemn opening guitar chords to Gaga’s soulful build at the conclusion. The song starts with Cooper crooning the effortless melody and then passes the helm to Gaga, who belts out the chorus of the song, wielding power and emotion. With rock n’ roll and country roots in its orchestrations, the boundaries of genre in movie musicals are successfully pushed by “Shallow.”

If “Shallow” is any indication, the soundtrack is sure to be a tour de force of passion and lyrical boldness. Classic movie musicals will always have a special place in my heart for their theatricality and fun, but the exploration of narrative and musical style has me thrilled for the upcoming release of “A Star is Born”.

The post Old Soul: Stage and Screen appeared first on KRUI Radio.

A great movie soundtrack includes songs that compliment the mood of the scene, seamlessly cultivating an immersive world within the movie that the viewer becomes a part of. Here are some movie soundtracks that accomplish this, and are critical to the identity of the film.

Boyhood 

Richard Linklater’s 2014 classic “Boyhood” features the 12-year progression of a boy named Mason. As Mason and his family mature and develop throughout the 2000’s, the film’s soundtrack plays a hugely important part in creating a sense of nostalgia, along with being a huge bonding point between Mason and his father.

The film opens with the sunny and innocent strum of Coldplay’s “Yellow” as a young Mason gazes up into the clouds. Various popular indie staples are mixed in throughout the movie with immediately recognizable pop songs that indicate what was popular at the particular time period Mason is being portrayed. Mason and his father (Ethan Hawke) share a bond in the car as the father gives Mason a lesson on how phenomenal the production is on Wilco’s “Hate it Here”.

Most of the film takes place in Houston, Texas, where director Richard Linklater grew up as a kid. As a result, many songs from Arcade Fire’s 2010 album “The Suburbs”, a concept album about growing up in the suburbs of Houston, are utilized. Later in the film, when Mason is driving down the highway with his girlfriend Sheena, Arcade Fire’s “Suburban War” plays and helps the scene to convey the sprawling, late-evening haze of the Texas countryside. As Mason delivers one final monologue with a friend he met at college and looks into the camera for a split-second, the credits roll and Arcade Fire’s “Deep Blue” plays, putting an end to the 3-hour epic.

No mention of Boyhood’s soundtrack would be complete without mention of the song central to the film’s DNA: “Hero” by Family of the Year. Every trailer for the film featured the slow acoustic song that gradually builds into a rollicking anthem. The song plays in the most pivotal scene in the movie, when Mason finally leaves for college and drives himself alone across Texas to his new home.

Boyhood uses its soundtrack to support its narrative structure, and the songs featured are a huge part of the film.

500 Days of Summer

500 Days of Summer chooses songs to enhance the particular mood of each scene, whether it be funny or heartbreaking.

From the very start of the movie, it is clear that music choice is very important to the film. Summer (Zooey Deschanel) and Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt) bond over their love of the Smiths, as Tom gets in an elevator with Summer early in the film and she comments on her love of the Smiths’ song coming from Tom’s headphones, “There is a Light that Never Goes Out”.

The first time that Tom and Summer hang out outside of work, Tom sings passionate karaoke to The Pixies’ “Here Comes Your Man”; later, after Tom and Summer break up, Tom sings a drunk and painfully funny rendition of The Clash’s “Train in Vain”. In one of the most recognizable scenes from the film, after Tom and Summer hook-up for the first time, Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character has a hilarious and charismatic stroll down the street full of dancing, set to Hall and Oates’ “You Make My Dreams”.

As Tom and Summer’s relationship flourishes, upbeat indie songs like The Temper Trap’s “Sweet Disposition” are used to convey the newfound spark found between the two. As their relationship disintegrates, however, the soundtrack reflects this and pairs heart-wrenching scenes with emotional songs. While Tom reflects on all of the signs that him and Summer’s relationship was doomed, Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bookends” plays in the background as Tom realizes that he romanticized his relationship.

Perhaps the most emotionally impactful use of a song in any movie comes from the incredibly shot scene towards the end of the movie, otherwise known as the “Expectation vs. Reality” scene. Tom thinks he has rekindled a relationship with Summer, and has an expectation in his head of how the night will go, contrasted with the reality of the night which is much more upsetting. Regina Spektor’s soft piano ballad “Hero” serves as a backdrop for this heartbreaking scene as Tom discovers that Summer is engaged.

Garden State

Garden State is a movie that defines the cluelessness and youthful angst of being in your mid-20’s with no direction. In Zach Braff’s directorial debut, he uses the same tender combination of humor and sentimentality that made Scrubs such a success. Also like Scrubs, the film has a fantastic soundtrack, a soundtrack widely responsible for popularizing The Shins.

The soundtrack of the film is comprised of soft folk and slow indie anthems. The first song in the film is “Don’t Panic,” a short and poignant song by Coldplay that starts playing after the main character Andrew (Zach Braff) learns of his mother’s death. The slow and sweet romantic songs compliment the emotional weight of the film very well as Andrew and his relationship with Sam (Natalie Portman) progresses.

The Shins make their first appearance in the film as Andrew rides his vintage motorcycle down the street, with “Caring is Creepy,” the first song off of their debut album “Oh Inverted World” playing in the background.

When Andrew first meets Sam in the waiting room of his doctor’s office, she is listening to music through her vintage headphones and hands them to Andrew, claiming that this song will change his life. The song turns out to be “New Slang” by The Shins, a song that effectively became cemented as one of the best and most recognizable indie songs of the 2000’s.

As the film ends, Andrew and Sam’s relationship is up in the air, as Andrew debates moving back to Los Angeles, leaving Sam behind. “Let Go” by the band Frou Frou plays and the ending is left on an ambiguous note. “Let Go” captures the uncertainty and spontaneity of being young and in love and is a perfect song to close the film on.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Whereas Garden State’s soundtrack succeeds in its ability to create the angsty nostalgia of the early 2000’s, The Perks of Being a Wallflower encapsulates the early 90’s era of cassette mixtapes, finding new songs through the radio, and bonding with friends over good music.

The film shows high school freshman Charlie (Logan Lerman) navigate his way through high school as a shy kid that eventually finds himself through finding others. Charlie and his friend group pride themselves on their music taste, and there are countless iconic scenes from the movie that are made even better by the song choice.

Before Charlie meets his new friends Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller), he sits in his room listening to his sister’s boyfriends mixtape that she pawns off on him. The Smiths song “Asleep” plays as Charlie struggles at the beginning of the school year, but it is a pivotal moment for his character as he begins to form an identity. Charlie bonds with Sam over their love of the Smiths, exactly like Tom and Summer in 500 Days of Summer.

At the school dance, Charlie stands off to the side as Sam and Patrick begrudgingly dance to crap popular music, until “Come on Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners comes on and the three new friends share a moment of friendship together. The high energy song combined with the new and exciting friendship is perfect and heartwarming.

Of course, the Perks of Being a Wallflower is most widely known for its use of David Bowie’s “Heroes”. The three friends refer to it as the ‘tunnel song’ as they first hear it when driving through a tunnel at night and don’t know what the song is until the end of the movie. The three main characters hop in a truck as Charlie gives an emotional final monologue while “Heroes” blares in the background. The unkempt emotion and freedom in Bowie’s voice mirrors Charlie progressing as a character and finally breaking through his exterior shell.

Why song choice matters

For many, music in a film is nothing more than background noise. When movies utilize music correctly in a movie, however, it has the ability to enhance a scene to another level. The song says what the screen can’t, adding emotional depth and energy to the scene.

From the career-changing use of “New Slang” in Garden State, to the final emotional apex of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, featuring David Bowie’s “Heroes”, these four films are just some examples of movies that used the medium of song to give incredible weight to their scenes, immersing viewers entirely. This is why a great movie soundtrack is so important.

The post Music MATTers: Iconic Movies with Even More Iconic Soundtracks appeared first on KRUI Radio.

There is so much diversity on the list of albums that I will be listening to. Some of which are AC/DC, Kelly Clarkson, The Sound of Music Original Broadway Soundtrack, Jimi Hendrix, and The Beatles (a lot of The Beatles). There’s so much that I haven’t listened to that has been influential enough to sell hundreds of millions of times, and that is sad to me. And so here comes the change that I have been longing for. I am excited for Variety Show, and I hope you enjoy. I’ll be starting with the Music Man Original Broadway Soundtrack.

The Music Man has a pretty impressive background. The original cast performed the musical 1,375 times and won five Tony awards, including Best Musical. The soundtrack won the first Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album and was on the Billboard charts for 245 weeks. For twelve of those weeks, it was #1. There have been two film adaptions (1962 and 2003) since the show stopped running on Broadway.

Overall, The Music Man is something I’ve only ever heard about in passing. I think it was referenced in Friends once, and my ten-year-old cousin has been obsessed with it for quite some time now. The numbers on the original Broadway soundtrack are stunning, but I’ve still never watched it or heard any of the music. It’s probably due to one of my long held secrets/unpopular opinions.

I honestly don’t really like musicals. If they’re just the right degree of cheesy/overrated I may love them, but only the film adaptions. I could recite every line of Grease, and the Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies, and Hairspray is the only way I can really stand Amanda Bynes anymore (“Without Love” is a banger), but I love these in spite of their classification as a musical. I probably wouldn’t even mention it if I didn’t have to write about a few more in the future (including Grease and Oklahoma!), so pretty please don’t come at me with pitchforks.

I do appreciate the musical as a work of art, however, even if I can barely sit through an entire performance. I cannot imagine the amount of work that comes with having to create the composition for the songs that melt perfectly with the plot that has to be written for the cast, along with performing it all live with an audience that will still come up with something that went wrong. The collaboration between different departments in a musical is crazy. That being said, I know that I can’t just look up “The Music Man” on Spotify and just listen to the music. I have to watch it in order to get the full effect.

Unfortunately, it isn’t 1957 anymore and even if it was I probably still couldn’t afford a Broadway ticket. There also isn’t a recording of the original Broadway performance anywhere on the internet, naturally, so I watched the 1962 film rendition of The Music Man. I did my best to pretend that I was watching it on Broadway in the 50’s.

The premise of the musical is simple enough: a traveling salesman lands himself in River City, Iowa to scam an entire town into buying musical instruments to save their soon-to-be-corrupted youth. This corruption is supposedly going to ensue because of a pool table? Anyways this salesman, “Professor” Harold Hill, lays his eyes on Marian, the town librarian and piano teacher. He tries to woo her and (spoiler alert) eventually succeeds. She convinces the town not to tar-and-feather Harold after they inevitably find out that he isn’t a musician, but a salesman. The story finally (after two and a half extremely slow hours) ends with Harold’s change of heart, leading the town’s newfound marching band into the distance.

I am so sure that The Music Man would’ve been much more spectacular on a stage in every way. The recordings from the Broadway cast were light-years better than the film soundtrack. I loved how rhythm-based the songs are from the very beginning of the musical with “Rock Island” and throughout the musical with “Pick-A-Little, Talk-A-Little” There were also a ton of brilliant harmonies in barbershop quartet style in “Sincere” and “Goodnight”. The songs (mostly) all included brass instrumental backgrounds. The main title of the movie was spectacular, and was reprised at the end of the musical with “Seventy-Six Trombones”.

The musical overall is very predictable. The handsome man and beautiful woman end up together and the people end up content in their corn-surrounded town. The musical is also (naturally) very outdated. There are several songs that have sexist themes, and at least one very racist scene. A woman must have a man to make her complete, the librarian must go out with the salesman just because he’s asking, and of course Native Americans wore those headdresses all the time. You can’t really expect anything different from a musical that was written over fifty years ago, but it still makes me cringe watching it.

The verdict: The Music Man didn’t convince me to love musicals, but I wasn’t really expecting it to. I did find an album that was extremely calming to listen to, however. The voices on the Broadway soundtrack were extremely soothing, and I would listen to them again if I also wasn’t watching the play/movie. My favorite songs were by far “Main Title/Rock Island,” “Seventy-Six Trombones,” and “Pick-A-Little, Talk-A-Little/Goodnight.”

Listen to The Music Man Original Broadway Soundtrack on YouTube here or on Spotify below.

https://open.spotify.com/user/elaineleigh/playlist/0g73lzOx9BlfiP8p5NhqHm

Variety Show is a weekly column that is in the midst of analyzing the best-selling albums from the 1950’s to the 1990’s. One of the top 10-20 albums from each decade will be reviewed, discussed and/or analyzed each week in chronological order. The column aims to draw cultural, musical, and other contextual connections between artists and albums over time, as well as go on a broad but refined journey. Next week we’ll be talking about “Hymns” by Tennessee Ernie Ford, the ninth best-selling album from the 1950’s.

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