I recently wrote about the important of sound in movies. It's one of those overlooked but integral parts of filmmaking. It's not necessarily about making epic battles sound right, but doors creaking and closing too. As important as sound is, I'd like to talk today about my love/hate relationship with music in the movies.
There are a few ways that music exist in the movies: (1) dramatic music or music that is scored to be played over scenes in movies for dramatic, comic, thrilling etc., effect; (2) popular songs that are played over scenes also for dramatic effect; (3) music that eminates from a source within the scene of a movie. I hate the first, am torn on the second, and am a total advocate for the third. Dramatic, originally scored music just pisses me off. It exists solely to evoke emotion from the audience and it is completely artificial to the story. It's one of those things that just yanks me out of a movie and I am immediately aware that I'm watching a movie. The worst experience I can remember in regards to this heavy-handed nonsense is Crash (2004). Half of the God-damned movie was shots of the characters standing around and looking pensive, all to the sounds of some sappy, bullshit music that's supposed to make me feel bad that Matt Dillon is a racist asshole. The are times I can tolerate it. A lot of classic films are scored and I usually let it slide, consider it a sign of the times, nothing more. It is a bit distracting at times, it's my biggest issue with Hitchcock. (Among other issues.) Most recently, when I saw Inception, I hardly remembered the music and I know that was scored. Although I have heard that all the music is supposed to be a derivation of the Edith Piaf song that is integral to the story, and eminates from a source within the film. Maybe it gets off on a technicality. It was a good sign that when talking about the film with a friend after having recently seen it, I couldn't remember the music. I suppose it had gelled with the film well. Perhaps action films are better suitors for scored music. There are some scores that are great. Just about anything Ennio Morricone does is amazing and a lot of great Noir films owe much of their mood to scores: Elevator to the Gallows (1958), Chinatown (1974), L.A. Confidential (1997) just to name a few. There are many exceptions, but they are just that, exceptions.
The second iteration of music in films is popular songs being used in the same way as scored music: played over scenes to evoke emotion from the audience. Again a cheap tactic, a crutch on the part of the director to get under our skin. Some might say that the music is part of the whole vision that the director has, but as a viewer it feels cheap and easy. And I don't like the things I like to be cheap and easy. However, I am torn in regard to this type of music because this type of music is the reason for most of the great soundtracks ever: Super Fly (1972), The Graduate (1967), Purple Rain (1984), Easy Rider (1969), and just about every Quentin Tarantino film. Jackie Brown (1997) is perhaps my favorite soundtrack ever and the music works great in that movie, except for the useless and irritating scene with The Firm song playing. What can I say, I'm a sucker for Strawberry Letter #23. Pop songs have also been used for bad, such as every 80s movie montage ever. Enjoy this Rocky IV clip. I love this song unironically, especially the bass in the beginning.
These montages exist to further along the plot but don't require any real acting. Mainly you just need a good editor, not to understate editors. It's just another crutch. Instead of evoking emotion, the director furthers things along, tells us something that would take a while and compresses it into a four and a half minute montage. The above video for instance, shows Rocky trying to decide what to do now that Apollo is dead and Adrian doesn't want him to fight Drago. But within four minutes Rocky knows what must be done for the sake of his friends memory and patriotism, yadda yadda yadda. The decision to fight someone whose just killed your best friend and might do irreparable brain damage to you is not one to be taken lightly. That could be a movie in itself. So, popular songs have the same problem as the scored music, it's artificial to the scene.
The last type of music is music that emanates from within the context of the movie: a car radio, a band, a loudspeaker at the mall. This music is organic, is a part of the world in which the characters live, adding to the authenticity of that world. In a movie that has music dubbed over the scenes I feel like the viewer of a movie; in a movie with music that originates from within the scene, I feel like the viewer of something that would be happening even if I wasn't watching. The HBO show The Wire only featured music that was in the scene which helped to bring the reality of the city of Baltimore alive. It's all about authenticity and being organic.
Oh and musicals. They're musicals: there's music in 'em.
Interesting points - as for the second type - popular songs laid over movies - I find that this can (not nearly always) work from time to time along the same notion as this: when you listen to a song that makes you feel a certain way and even certain lyrics somehow relate to something your going through or feeling BUT the song itself and sometimes the lyrics are not even about or related to what it evokes in you - this happens to me as I usually listen to the music and the sound of the voice more than I always hear the whole lyrical story and it might make me feel - say in love - when really song was about falling out of love or maybe it was about friendship. But somehow through some self-interpretation and a bit of suspension of understanding one can "feel" the song as if it were your own. By suspension of understanding I mean that one quietly accepts that their understanding or feelings about the song is not the same as the author.
ReplyDeleteIt is though a process like this that it is possible to accept the blatant laying over of pop songs as soundtracks. But of course this all has to happen in a single moment and still keep me from noticing - which I cannot think of an instance or example - so the idea of "suspension" in whatever form does become the form of success.
Seeing as how this medium of art known as "Film" is so young there has yet to be a real concrete understanding of posing music in film. In actuality "Film" is a combination of so many mediums that reconciling them all together is a constant challenge - and so far 99% of viewers only know films as being scored or having popular soundtracks so there is no big push towards this notion of reconciliation.