Another week gone, I think that these blog posts are one of the only ways I know which day it is. I enjoyed the content for this week, I hadn’t seen (or even heard of) Detroit Rock City before this and it did not disappoint. I loved it. It’s not often that a film makes me actually laugh out loud, not to make myself sound bland I have emotion I swear, but this movie had me roaring. Some of the antics were so absurd that I couldn’t believe they were actual parts of the plot. What a great movie that I definitely had to share with my parents, they loved it too. But I have to say that my favorite part of this week was the reading about soundtracks. You see, music was the first way I germinated my love for movies. Sometimes I love the soundtrack more than the film itself. I can accredit this largely to my parents, who were heavy on giving us our share of music-centered films, but I have found my own love beyond the rock operas and musicals in soundtracks. I recently watched the TV adaptation of High Fidelity, if you haven’t seen the show or movie it centers around the main character who happens to own a record store (no coincidence that if a movie is centered around the music scene the soundtrack will be delectable) and dissects his/her bad relationships through their love for music (I personally like the show better). Why am I talking about High Fidelity? Well, there is a scene where Rob talks about the art of a creating a playlist; creating a playlist is not as simple as one might expect. According to High Fidelity, a playlist is created to evoke a feeling, “you are using someone else’s poetry to evoke how you feel.”

So when you think about what a playlist is in these terms it makes complete sense why music goes hand-in-hand with film; they are both trying to communicate to their audience, when combined the results can be unforgettable. Now, I lean heavily towards soundtracks that are arrangements of songs unrelated to the film in their creation but, as the reading “Cult Cinema and Music” discussed, this is not the only way of combining sound and image. Like we saw with Valerie, scores created for the movie can gain their own cult following too. While using music unrelated to the movie to enhance or juxtapose a scene is proven to be successful (looking at you Tarantino), some works need original sound to transcend into the next realm. We see this in the works of David Lynch.

But creating music to accompany film isn’t the only mode of combining the two, there’s another category of films that are created to accompany music. The reading defined these as music-documentaries, film adaptations of musicals, and, my personal favorite, the rock opera. Because we have watched a few films that depend heavily on rock n’ roll to drive home the thrill and/or raw emotion of a shot (Dazed and confused, Detroit Rock City, and The Warriors), I would like to talk a bit about what a rock opera is. A rock opera isn’t created with the intention of becoming a film, a rock opera is created to be an literal opera; it is an album that features songs that play one after another to create a storyline. When they are adapted to film it’s almost a given that they will become cult classics, they can be outrageous, tender, and campy. So, because I think that everyone should see at least one rock opera, here are my top three: (starting with my all-time favorite)

1. Jesus Christ Superstar, 1973 (for the lovers of camp and a soundtrack to die for)
2. Tommy, 1975 (for those who love cameos and the thrill of 60’s UK)
   

   Roger Daltrey as Tommy (1975)

3. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1973 (for the tender-hearted, PSA the Beatles do not make an appearance)
   

   This movie is so lovely 

    

The first soundtrack I fell in love with was Juno, before I even saw the film (I was 8 when it came out). My mom bought the soundtrack after watching it and would play it in the car nonstop, I will always have a special place for it in my heart. The Juno soundtrack is perfect for the film, Ellen Page and Michael Cera were asked to recommend artists that they thought the characters would listen to. Because I like lists and because without these soundtracks the films wouldn’t be the same, here are some of my favorite soundtracks (excuse my taste):

-Juno ❤                  -Scott Pilgrim vs. the World       -Easy Rider (as mentioned in class)

-Baby Driver                -Darjeeling Limited               -High Fidelity (show and movie)

-American Ultra             -Ruby Sparks                       -Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 1 & 2

-Only Lover’s Left Alive   -Little Women (2019)     -Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Here is also a list of the 50 best movie soundtracks put out by Pitchfork and it does not disappoint!