tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post115888325962641165..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Stop the music!!By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1159622655183147182006-09-30T06:24:00.000-07:002006-09-30T06:24:00.000-07:00Drama wise, the only time I remember it being done...Drama wise, the only time I remember it being done really well was the series finale of Six Feet Under, though at least they were building on solid foundations. Damn, I miss that show.<BR/><BR/>A problem I also had with Smith was the recycling of footage in the pilot. Sure, it was fun to see the heist again, but they could have saved it for an episode later on.<BR/><BR/>I won't deny I'm still bitter that Thief was cancelled (I presume), and his is what we have instead.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1159469717218810212006-09-28T11:55:00.000-07:002006-09-28T11:55:00.000-07:00Thank you Ken! It’s good to know that I’m not alon...Thank you Ken! It’s good to know that I’m not alone.<BR/><BR/>I’ve hated the whiny end-of-episode handwringing by proto-punk “sing from the nostrils” type artists. You can almost smell the angst.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1159445282150839412006-09-28T05:08:00.000-07:002006-09-28T05:08:00.000-07:00House used it in their second season premiere. Shr...House used it in their second season premiere. Shrek used the original Leonard Cohen version. I think someone said the original use of it in film is in "Those Who Love Me Can Take The Train."<BR/><BR/>The Wire, the best show on television (now finally acknowledged as such) only uses diegetic music, except for one montage at the end of the season, and they make that one count, showing a quick future of the characters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1159245070933489142006-09-25T21:31:00.000-07:002006-09-25T21:31:00.000-07:00I remember watching McBeal and thinking David E. K...I remember watching McBeal and thinking David E. Kelley must have watched the soap Another World. They were doing those poignant musical montages in the 80s.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1159215751517651842006-09-25T13:22:00.000-07:002006-09-25T13:22:00.000-07:00My favorite tweak of the cliche was in the first s...My favorite tweak of the cliche was in the first season of LOST when partway through the song-over-pensive-characters montage the song stopped and we realized Hurley was listening to it on his now-dead Discman.<BR/><BR/>And the film Magnolia kind-of tweaked it by having the montage characters actually singing the song, no? Very effective, that.<BR/><BR/>Another vote to retire Buckley's Hallelujah, sure, but can anyone fill in the blanks of who's used it? West Wing, OC, I know there are more?Tosy And Coshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11466315384515717261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1159197159042886952006-09-25T08:12:00.000-07:002006-09-25T08:12:00.000-07:00and, oh yes, Mary Stella was right! The best use o...and, oh yes, Mary Stella was right! The best use of music ever was on PICKET FENCES... right out of the gate, almost every episode the first season. I always thought it was a bit of Kelley's thumb to nose at COP ROCK (see, SB, this is how you put music in a drama and have it work!!!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1159196501248962162006-09-25T08:01:00.000-07:002006-09-25T08:01:00.000-07:00amen, amen and AMEN!!!The COLD CASE montage last n...amen, amen and AMEN!!!<BR/>The COLD CASE montage last night was WHAT IF GOD WAS ONE OF US (again???? I only watch the show for fellow former DJ Thom Barry).<BR/><BR/>The Dixie Chicks LULLABY was used as underscore, thematic music on MEDIUM last season and turned up as... somebody's closing montage last week... I don 't even remember which show.... there were sooo many montages .... all the characters... all the angst... I'm dizzy...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1159134444026941832006-09-24T14:47:00.000-07:002006-09-24T14:47:00.000-07:00"Brothers in Arms" was also used very well in a Mi..."Brothers in Arms" was also used very well in a Miami Vice episdoe, but it wasn't over a montage, it just covered a drive through Miami. <BR/><BR/>I'm all for using good music, just not to cutting it to the same montage all the time. If I recall in that West Wing episode the song didn't cover a montage it just covered Bartlett getting into his motorcade and giving a speech deciding to run again. Or not...I guess I could look it up on some sort of inter-connected network of computers, but who has the time?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1159103184797568202006-09-24T06:06:00.000-07:002006-09-24T06:06:00.000-07:00The first time I remember the "song-at-the-end-of-...The first time I remember the "song-at-the-end-of-the-episode" thing was the finale of "Northern Exposure." In that case, the song was so I good I went out and bought the CD.<BR/><BR/>Guilty secret: Because the only radio station I can stand without steering my car into traffic during the commercials is NPR, I am woefully unfamiliar with contemporary music. And I didn't even much like the pop hits of my own generation. Therefore, I LIKE the songs at the end of the episodes of television dramas. Between that and Mitsubishi commercials, it's my only exposure to songs recorded after 1986.<BR/><BR/>And as for House, they can do no wrong. Well, they do lots of wrong, but I still want Hugh Laurie. Bad.Toni Lea Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019145772583242781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158979133164094662006-09-22T19:38:00.000-07:002006-09-22T19:38:00.000-07:00How 'bout the music in George Lucas' best film, Am...How 'bout the music in George Lucas' best film, American Graffitti. I've never seen a movie capture a time and a place better than A. G.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158976546589661342006-09-22T18:55:00.000-07:002006-09-22T18:55:00.000-07:00And please, please, please, can we get rid of the ...And please, please, please, can we get rid of the sports equivalent of "Wonderful World," Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline"? The Red Sox (who I suppose originated it) use it, the Nationals use it (and I <I>hate</I> hearing it at RFK!), the NY Rangers use it, and I just heard it at Shea at a Mets game. Ah, what originality. Then again, kitsch is easier than thinking.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158962231051815362006-09-22T14:57:00.000-07:002006-09-22T14:57:00.000-07:00I'm still laughing about the reference to Mary Tyl...I'm still laughing about the reference to Mary Tyler Moore -Ordinary People, but without the warmth- but here's an example of when music works.<BR/><BR/>I forget the name of the episode from West Wing, but it's the one when the Prez smokes in the cathedral and chews out God. The music is Brothers in Arms, the long version, by Dire Straits. Through the rest of the episode, it seems to be a character in the show. Just great.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158961757722297762006-09-22T14:49:00.000-07:002006-09-22T14:49:00.000-07:00before the spelling police get me - that would be ...before the spelling police get me - that would be "elizabeth fraser."deepstructurehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07583913547299709213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158961684362325032006-09-22T14:48:00.000-07:002006-09-22T14:48:00.000-07:00i completely agree with this. since we only watch...i completely agree with this. since we only watch tv on dvr it's not a problem to zip through them, but sheesh! there's a lot of them! <BR/><BR/>even on shows where it can make sense (in that there's action but not dialog), like csi, zip!<BR/><BR/>funny, i've never watched house but just the other day saw a promo for it and laughed because i recognized 'teardrop.' although i must say elizabeth frazier's vocals are the best part of that song.deepstructurehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07583913547299709213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158958935198753182006-09-22T14:02:00.000-07:002006-09-22T14:02:00.000-07:00I'm just waiting for the "House" episode where the...I'm just waiting for the "House" episode where the montage is set to "Dare to be Stupid" by "Weird Al" Yankovic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158955649119539432006-09-22T13:07:00.000-07:002006-09-22T13:07:00.000-07:00I think this blog should have Dire Straits' "Broth...I think this blog should have Dire Straits' "Brothers In Arms" playing on it full-time!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158954977113259012006-09-22T12:56:00.000-07:002006-09-22T12:56:00.000-07:00I doubt it has as much to do with showrunners disc...I doubt it has as much to do with showrunners discovering new music as it does with them getting paid to place the songs in the shows.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04499773796473787733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158951841299492222006-09-22T12:04:00.000-07:002006-09-22T12:04:00.000-07:00Agreed. Montage annoying. But I did like the show ...Agreed. Montage annoying. But I did like the show very much.<BR/><BR/>I think the lowest of the pushes for soundtrack came in an episode of Smallville when Clark's friend Pete walked up and said, "Hey, Clark, have you heard the new Talone Mix?" which was the actual name of the soundtrack theyr were selling for the show. I felt dirty just having watched that scene.Emily Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02163221455899041141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158945412839146132006-09-22T10:16:00.000-07:002006-09-22T10:16:00.000-07:00Yes, stop the "Soundtrack Card!" Another egregious...Yes, stop the "Soundtrack Card!" Another egregious violation of this was displayed in Forrest Gump, where the use of music to convey emotion was perfectly consistent with a movie that simply wanted you to feel something but had no clue what it was. <BR/><BR/>Good use of music in movies: High Fidelity, Pulp Fiction, and, even though this is one-of-these-things-is-not-like-another, Hard Day's Night. One tv series that occasionally uses music brilliantly is The Sopranos (The Beast in Me and the Happy Wanderer were two great moments), although it overplays its hand in this regard now sometimes.Tom Ehrenfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11631646873808799064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158944866642175642006-09-22T10:07:00.000-07:002006-09-22T10:07:00.000-07:00The most overused "really intense dramatic moment"...The most overused "really intense dramatic moment" song on TV has to be, hands down, Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah." I know I've heard it on at least five different series, and I'm sure there have been more. It's a fantastic song, but it's basically ruined for me now; it's a symbol of the worst kind of TV cliche.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158940500485170042006-09-22T08:55:00.000-07:002006-09-22T08:55:00.000-07:00If you want to watch a movie that used music super...If you want to watch a movie that used music superby, watch and listen to ALL THAT JAZZ. Masterful Masterful!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158939257948867442006-09-22T08:34:00.000-07:002006-09-22T08:34:00.000-07:00I think the trend of overly-sappy musical montage ...I think the trend of overly-sappy musical montage started when everyone and their dog felt the urge to use "Lightning Crashes" back in the mid-90's.<BR/><BR/>The most formulaic use of the sappy montage is Cold Case. Of course, Cold Case is the most amazingly formulaic show in history, so that's no surprise. But every show ends with a music montage based on a popular hit of that time period!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158936857538467872006-09-22T07:54:00.000-07:002006-09-22T07:54:00.000-07:00Maybe we can get rid K.D. Lang's version of Leonar...Maybe we can get rid K.D. Lang's version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah (which I know I'm spelling wrong) as part of the dramatic where did my life go wrong why am I at this strip club by myself, why did so and so have to die montage, too. Great song, great version, just to have it rolling over the last scenes of the O.C. tends to, well, suck. Then again, maybe the problem is that I'm watching the season finale of the O.C.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158936147339188032006-09-22T07:42:00.000-07:002006-09-22T07:42:00.000-07:00That's why the best show on television, 24, doesn'...That's why the best show on television, <I>24</I>, doesn't do the musical montage.Tenspeed & Brownshoehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05070438538916989398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1158932033580218612006-09-22T06:33:00.000-07:002006-09-22T06:33:00.000-07:00My favorite use of music by David Kelley came in P...My favorite use of music by David Kelley came in Picket Fences when, on at least two shows, he incorporated songs by Tom Lehrer. One one episode, the math teacher with the brain tumor sang <I>New Math</I>. (You can't take three from two, two is less than three so you look at the four in the ten's place.) On another episode, I think it was Fivush belting <I>Who's Next</I>.Mary Stellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02186261066656584772noreply@blogger.com