“Oh, no, again”: music in movies and TV shows that we hear too often
Some songs are forever connected in our mind with certain films or even key scenes. My Heart Will Go On's Celine Dion song is a love story of Jack and Rose on the Titanic. Her All By Myself song will surely remind you of Bridget Jones's pre-Christmas longing. But there are songs that sound so often that they are not just not fixed in the audience's mind to a certain movie, series or plot, but they can also cause a backlash: “Oh, no, again.”
We have already written about how music supervisors work. Now we recall the cases when they did not work very well - and used the obvious version, music that constantly sounds in all the films and TV shows. Such songs after viewing are unlikely to settle in the playlist - because they have been there for a long time, or because they sound hackneyed. Nevertheless, even such “obvious” tracks have their own important functions (and we will also tell about this today).
Photo by Sean Hagen CC
Interesting, but the most frequently used songs in movies and TV shows may not be hits by themselves. Moreover, sometimes they can not even be identified by name or artist.
For example, it is believed that the “ Fade Into You ” of the Mazzy Star group is the most used song on television. It did not become popular as an independent song, but in two decades it sounded in almost all TV shows from Gilmore Girls and CSI to Starship Troopers (as well as in Darya, Desperate Housewives, True Blood and many other films and TV shows - a total of more than 20 ).
One of the reasons is the lack of a deep character in the song, which allows you to accompany the scene with it in almost any series. The opposite situation is songs that have such a pronounced character that they become a universal code by themselves. They immediately create a mood, atmosphere and "read" the audience - they have their own value.
Some tracks "exploit" also because the song draws a certain, quite obvious subtext.
For example, the track Wooly Bully of the band Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs most likely means that a playful or playful scene is waiting for us, and Sweet Home Alabama of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd - something heroes move to Alabama, travel through the southeast United States or meet (or depict) illiterate farmers.
George Tooruda's Bad To The Bone is a soundtrack for the “bad guys” and those who become them, or the heroes who go on a dangerous mission, when “it's better not to get involved”. (The canonical use of Bad To The Bone in the second Terminator.)
Another example is the song “ Born To Be Wild ” by Steppenwolf. It was first used as a soundtrack in 1969 in the film “Easy Rider” (“Easy Rider”). Since then, this song sounds always when you need to show the inner freedom and freedom of the hero. It was used in more than 100 films and TV shows - to put a song, the mood of which is instantly read, is often easier than looking for something new and not so obvious.
The beauty of such “universal” songs is not only that most of the audience knows and understands them, and they automatically set the mood of the scene. They can also be used for comic purposes - to impose a song that means one thing on an absolutely opposite in meaning and plot. (The ironic use of the uniquely positive and very popular movie in the movie "Walking on Sunshine" in "American Psycho".)
There are quite a few tracks for which some specific values were fixed on the screen.
The “White Rabbit” of the Jefferson Airplane group is associated with drug use or nostalgia for the 60s culture (or both at the same time). The song sounded in dozens of films and TV shows - it all started from the scene in the movie “Platoon” of 1986. Jimi Hendrix’s All Along The Watchtower track has a similar meaning.
Many modern viewers of “Stayin 'Alive” of the BeeGees group were remembered on the TV series “Sherlock” by the complete discrepancy between the song and the character of the character who put it on his bell. But she has been a popular musical accompaniment to films and TV shows since 1977, after the release of the film “Saturday Night Fever”. (John Travolta’s walk on Saturday Night Fever under “Stayin 'Alive”.)
And the Gimme Shelter song of the Rolling Stones is one of Martin Scorsese’s favorite tracks, which the director often inserts in his films. This is the “unofficial anthem” of mafia representation at the cinema - when Gimme Shelter starts playing, you can be sure that a serious action will start happening on the screen soon. ( Gimme Shelter in Martin Scorsese films.)
Have you ever noticed how the same songs “wander” from one film to another? We will discuss your observations in the comments.
These days Audiomania is holding a grand New Year sale . It will last until January 9, 2018. Products with discounts up to 50% participate in the sale: acoustics, electronics, vinyl records and much more. And we also have a special selection of products from our range, which will help to find New Year's gifts for your loved ones and friends.
We have already written about how music supervisors work. Now we recall the cases when they did not work very well - and used the obvious version, music that constantly sounds in all the films and TV shows. Such songs after viewing are unlikely to settle in the playlist - because they have been there for a long time, or because they sound hackneyed. Nevertheless, even such “obvious” tracks have their own important functions (and we will also tell about this today).
Photo by Sean Hagen CC
Songs of a million repetitions
Interesting, but the most frequently used songs in movies and TV shows may not be hits by themselves. Moreover, sometimes they can not even be identified by name or artist.
For example, it is believed that the “ Fade Into You ” of the Mazzy Star group is the most used song on television. It did not become popular as an independent song, but in two decades it sounded in almost all TV shows from Gilmore Girls and CSI to Starship Troopers (as well as in Darya, Desperate Housewives, True Blood and many other films and TV shows - a total of more than 20 ).
One of the reasons is the lack of a deep character in the song, which allows you to accompany the scene with it in almost any series. The opposite situation is songs that have such a pronounced character that they become a universal code by themselves. They immediately create a mood, atmosphere and "read" the audience - they have their own value.
Universal language soundtrack
Some tracks "exploit" also because the song draws a certain, quite obvious subtext.
For example, the track Wooly Bully of the band Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs most likely means that a playful or playful scene is waiting for us, and Sweet Home Alabama of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd - something heroes move to Alabama, travel through the southeast United States or meet (or depict) illiterate farmers.
George Tooruda's Bad To The Bone is a soundtrack for the “bad guys” and those who become them, or the heroes who go on a dangerous mission, when “it's better not to get involved”. (The canonical use of Bad To The Bone in the second Terminator.)
Another example is the song “ Born To Be Wild ” by Steppenwolf. It was first used as a soundtrack in 1969 in the film “Easy Rider” (“Easy Rider”). Since then, this song sounds always when you need to show the inner freedom and freedom of the hero. It was used in more than 100 films and TV shows - to put a song, the mood of which is instantly read, is often easier than looking for something new and not so obvious.
The beauty of such “universal” songs is not only that most of the audience knows and understands them, and they automatically set the mood of the scene. They can also be used for comic purposes - to impose a song that means one thing on an absolutely opposite in meaning and plot. (The ironic use of the uniquely positive and very popular movie in the movie "Walking on Sunshine" in "American Psycho".)
The best of the best
There are quite a few tracks for which some specific values were fixed on the screen.
The “White Rabbit” of the Jefferson Airplane group is associated with drug use or nostalgia for the 60s culture (or both at the same time). The song sounded in dozens of films and TV shows - it all started from the scene in the movie “Platoon” of 1986. Jimi Hendrix’s All Along The Watchtower track has a similar meaning.
Many modern viewers of “Stayin 'Alive” of the BeeGees group were remembered on the TV series “Sherlock” by the complete discrepancy between the song and the character of the character who put it on his bell. But she has been a popular musical accompaniment to films and TV shows since 1977, after the release of the film “Saturday Night Fever”. (John Travolta’s walk on Saturday Night Fever under “Stayin 'Alive”.)
And the Gimme Shelter song of the Rolling Stones is one of Martin Scorsese’s favorite tracks, which the director often inserts in his films. This is the “unofficial anthem” of mafia representation at the cinema - when Gimme Shelter starts playing, you can be sure that a serious action will start happening on the screen soon. ( Gimme Shelter in Martin Scorsese films.)
Have you ever noticed how the same songs “wander” from one film to another? We will discuss your observations in the comments.
These days Audiomania is holding a grand New Year sale . It will last until January 9, 2018. Products with discounts up to 50% participate in the sale: acoustics, electronics, vinyl records and much more. And we also have a special selection of products from our range, which will help to find New Year's gifts for your loved ones and friends.
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