Music plays an important part in films. Since the birth of film, it has been both a
visual and aural experience. When silent
films were the primary output of cinema, there would be music to accompany
it. With the rise of the talkies came
the rise of dialogue. The music in
movies went to the background. Musicals
being the big exception. When non-score
music crept into movies it was mainly used for credits and montages. Other than that, it stayed in the background
like the score.
However, music has a way of finding itself in the limelight
for a time. There are many instances in
which filmmakers will highlight music and bring it out for everyone to
notice. There are many instances of
something like that happening in the Sunday “Bad” Movies, as well as many
instances of credits music being memorable.
This post is based upon a post I did back when I wrote about
Chopper Chicks in Zombietown. It was not
a post I liked all that much (I’ll link it at the end of this one anyway) but
one that I think had an alright idea. I
want to single out some of the music that has been in the movies I’ve watched
for the Sunday “Bad” Movies. The main
difference is that I want to write about the music rather than give a quick
summary and link to the song. So I’m
hoping it turns out better this time.
Flash Gordon
Nowadays, this is common practice. In 1980 it was a rarity to have a popular
musical group or artist creating the score and music of a movie. The people behind Flash Gordon managed to
snag Queen for their soundtrack. Queen
was very much in the cultural mind at the time.
It was five years after A Night at the Opera, and they had released four
albums since then. In fact, the
soundtrack to Flash Gordon was one of two Queen albums released that year.
Only two of the songs from the Flash Gordon soundtrack
feature lyrics, and only one of the songs on the soundtrack is still remembered
in a fairly large way. That song is
Flash’s Theme. It was so popular that it
made it onto a Queen greatest hits album.
There’s almost no way that people would not recognize the line
“Flash! Ah-ah! Savior of the universe!” The song is a cultural cornerstone for nerds
around the world. That’s how important
the soundtrack to Flash Gordon is.
Plus, it led to a rise in popular musicians doing the
soundtracks of movies. AC/DC would do
the soundtrack for Maximum Overdrive.
Danny Elfman would move from Oingo Boingo into the world of scoring
movies. And in more recent years, we
have seen The Arcade Fire, Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers, and Trent Reznor
of Nine Inch Nails all dip their toes into the world of movie scores. In my mind, it all goes back to Queen working
on Flash Gordon.
The Gingerdead Man
A very important musical cue in any movie is the transition
from the movie to the end credits. The
first song that plays during the final credits is what the viewer will likely
have as their final impression of the film.
Thought should go into what the credits song will be.
The end credits song in The Gingerdead Man was called I Can’t
Help This and was performed by writer and director Charles Band. I don’t consider it a bad song, though I
expect that many people wouldn’t like it.
It’s a laid back rock tune that sort of encapsulates the mood of the
film. But it does not seem right for the
end credits. Let me explain.
The Gingerdead Man ends with the set-up of a sequel through
a final second piece of shocking imagery.
It gives off the impression that the credits song should kick into high
gear rather quickly. However, I Can’t Help
This begins with a decently sized chunk of low instrumentals. It clashes with the mindset that was just
built up at the conclusion of the film.
It takes nearly forty seconds for the song to get into a rhythm that it
should have begun with to transition between story and credits.
Nazis at the Center of the Earth
The end credits song in Nazis at the Center of the Earth
takes the right approach in how to transition from the story to the
credits. The movie is an action packed
tale of Nazis trying to once again take Earth after hiding below the surface
for almost 70 years. The song kicks off
into an action feel as soon as it begins and does not take time with a slow
build into the song. The feeling is
immediate and completely satisfying.
The song that I am talking about is called Let Me Down. It was performed by a band called Sons of the
Lawless. That band features none other
than Jake Busey, one of the actors in Nazis at the Center of the Earth. I appreciate when people involved in the
movie bring a song to the table. Charles
Band did it with The Gingerdead Man, and Jake Busey for this movie. In this case, the song is placed much more
appropriately within the film, giving off the proper tone. It is the opposite of the last example and
highlights how well a thought out tune placement can affect a viewer’s
perception of the movie’s end.
Let Me Down also is not a bad song. It’s a middle of the road 2000s mainstream
rock style song, reminiscent of Puddle of Mudd or Papa Roach or such acts. I like that kind of music though so it fits
my tastes perfectly well. Jake Busey’s
group has the potential to be something I would listen to frequently. If I could find some Sons of the Lawless
records.
Hansel and Gretel Get Baked
Much in the same way as Let Me Down in Nazis at the Center
of the Earth, the song that begins the end credits of Hansel and Gretel Get
Baked kicks into high gear immediately and helps to musically rock the events
that were just witnessed out of the minds of the viewers. The song, titled The Witch, is an aggressive
simple rock tune that fits well with the ending of the movie.
What I really want to go over with this movie is the opening
credits. Another Zak Sobel song, this
time titled 420 eyes, opens the film.
Well, almost opens it. There is a
scene before it involving a man checking the meters at the house before being
killed. The song gives off both a dark
vibe and a laid back vibe that introduces the viewers to what the movie is
going to be. It is a dark stoner comedy
horror movie. The song was the perfect
choice to get that across early on.
Opening credits used to simply be a list of the names of
people involved in a film. In this day
and age, we have the end credits to do that.
The concept of the opening credits thus changed. Now the opening credits are meant to draw a
viewer into a movie. The style, mood,
and sensibilities of the story are brought out through a good opening credits
sequence. The music that backs it is as
important as the visuals being shown. As
Hansel and Gretel Get Baked shows, the right song choice can help to cement
what the movie is going to be in the mind of a person about to watch it.
Miami Connection
No post about music would be complete without me diving back
into one of my favourite movies that I’ve watched for the Sunday “Bad”
Movies. Miami Connection will always
come up in discussions of music because of the band in the movie, Dragon
Sound. At two different times in the
movie, the band performs on stage for a crowd in a bar and the two songs are highlights
of the film.
The first song, Friends, is a catchy song that highlights
the friendship that the main characters have.
They are friends forever. They’ll
stick together through thick or thin.
It’s not even a thinly veiled description of the band members. It’s a blatant musical depiction of their
loyal, honest friendship and how the friendship will help them to overcome all
of the evil that they encounter. That
might seem dumb, but I dare you to watch that music scene without wanting to
sing along to the song.
For their second song, the band performs Against the
Ninja. This song is basically a musical
representation of the movie’s plot. The
antagonist of Miami Connection is a ninja who is trying to control the drug
trade in Orlando. The friends are
against that ninja. They fight using tae-kwon-do,
which is chanted by name throughout the song.
Against the Ninja is also a catchy song.
These songs might not be key in setting or releasing the
mood of the film, but they help to set up the movie’s plot and characters in a
fairly enjoyable way. They’re not the
best songs ever made, however they’re catchy and easily listenable. The movie itself is a fun action-packed fun
fest. The music makes it more so.
Music is a very important aspect of film. It can affect people’s emotions while they
are watching movies. It can be used to
allude to aspects of the film that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. It can point out the obvious. It can set a mood or take the mood away. And music is damn well nice to listen
to. This was me highlighting only a few
of the different musical moments throughout the Sunday “Bad” Movie
history. There are many more that I
didn’t even touch upon in this post. I
believe this has gone on long enough, though.
Do I have any notes?
You betcha:
- Flash Gordon earned Sam Jones a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor.
- I should link to the posts for all of the movies I discussed in this post. First was Chopper Chicks in Zombietown. This post would not exist with that one.
- The movies I talked about the music from are The Gingerdead Man, Nazis at the Center of the Earth, Hansel and Gretel Get Baked, and MiamiConnection.
- Both John Hallam and Kevin Hudson were in Flash Gordon. They were also in Santa Claus: The Movie, which I watched last Christmas for the Sunday “Bad” Movies.
- If you have any suggestions for movies to watch for future Sunday “Bad” Movie installments, leave a comment. Or tell me on Twitter. The same goes for if you have any music used in any of these movies that you liked or disliked. I’d like to know these things.
No comments:
Post a Comment