Music has been an important part of movies since they added sound. The film The Jazz Singer(the first full-length film with both music and spoken dialogue) contained six songs and music was instrumental to the plot. There were movies in the thirties that were nothing more than filmed records of elaborate musical stage shows.
Then came my least favorite type of movie, the musical. A story told with standard dialogue for the most part, then interrupted by someone breaking out in a song that relates to the moment somehow. I can accept unreality in movies, but I just find the the idea that a person or group of people will spontaneously break into song (and maybe dance) so ridiculous as to not appreciate the art form. Further, music from these types of shows are normally of a character so different from that of the particular era that I don't enjoy much of the music either.
(Of course, there are exceptions. Fiddler on the Roof has such a strong story and good songs. On the whole, however, I don't like them.)
There are a host of movies, however, that feature music in a way that makes sense. I wrote last week about That Thing You Do. A movie about a (fictional) rock band ought to have a lot of music in it and this one does. A Hard Day's Night was terrific and Help was okay.
One of my favorite movies from the seventies is Phantom of the Paradise. A truly quirky and campy movie, it contains quite a few songs, mostly parodies of certain styles. Parodies without quality is easy. SNL does it all the time and the results are quite forgettable. The parodies in Phantom, however, are really quite good and listenable. Fox Movie Channel has been playing it quite a bit recently, but I have not been able to find the music online.
Tomorrow: Mockumentaries and the quirkiest music movie of them all.
Showing posts with label That Thing You Do. Show all posts
Showing posts with label That Thing You Do. Show all posts
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Music of the Movie
Yesterday I wrote about That Thing You Do. Among the many reasons for enjoying the movie, I really love the music. I am a sucker for 60s-styled pop/rock performed with modern recording equipment and techniques (see Phil Keaggy's Sunday's Child album from 1988).
The song, That Thing You Do, is performed--at least in part--ten times : in the garage (just the ending, original slow version), at the talent show, at the restaurant (partial), recording in the church (partial), on the radio, in Pittsburgh (partial), Columbus fair segueing into radio studio (partial), Wisconsin fair (partial), KMPC radio studio (partial), and the Hollywood Television Showcase. If you don't like the song, it's probably too many times, but since eight of the ten are just snippets, it works for me.
In the story, Jimmy originally writes the song as a ballad--a forlorn guy lamenting the love that he never had with a girl who is not even aware of his feelings. Done slowly, the words and mood of the song match. When sped up by Guy (who was clearly bored with the original version), the song becomes a dance-along party number. It's funny to see the girls in the audience at the television taping smiling as they dance and sing along to the song. This is not happy music!
This is one of the things that the movie-makers get right about 60s pop hits. The music to the Beatles' I'm a Loser is much to cheery for the lyrics. Strawberry Fields Forever was changed from a wistful song about childhood into a psychedelic ditty. The success of That Thing You Do (both in the movie and in 1996) is that--in the words of Mr. White--it's snappy. If you are not familiar with this song, here is a snippet:
The song, That Thing You Do, is performed--at least in part--ten times : in the garage (just the ending, original slow version), at the talent show, at the restaurant (partial), recording in the church (partial), on the radio, in Pittsburgh (partial), Columbus fair segueing into radio studio (partial), Wisconsin fair (partial), KMPC radio studio (partial), and the Hollywood Television Showcase. If you don't like the song, it's probably too many times, but since eight of the ten are just snippets, it works for me.
In the story, Jimmy originally writes the song as a ballad--a forlorn guy lamenting the love that he never had with a girl who is not even aware of his feelings. Done slowly, the words and mood of the song match. When sped up by Guy (who was clearly bored with the original version), the song becomes a dance-along party number. It's funny to see the girls in the audience at the television taping smiling as they dance and sing along to the song. This is not happy music!
This is one of the things that the movie-makers get right about 60s pop hits. The music to the Beatles' I'm a Loser is much to cheery for the lyrics. Strawberry Fields Forever was changed from a wistful song about childhood into a psychedelic ditty. The success of That Thing You Do (both in the movie and in 1996) is that--in the words of Mr. White--it's snappy. If you are not familiar with this song, here is a snippet:
The movie contains three other songs that the Wonders perform. A running gag consists of Jimmy's constant worries about the song that was the flip side of That Thing You Do--All My Only Dreams. This is another ballad (Jimmy's preferred style) along the lines of All I Have to Do Is Dream. He is worried that it didn't get the attention it needed during recording, while everyone else thinks it was fine, the implication being that no one else liked it that much. A partial performance is shown in the restaurant they perform in for a while. It is a fairly predictable song, but nice. Here is a snippet:
Also heard in the restaurant is a short bit of Little Wild One. This is oddest track. Not written by the team that created the other songs for The Wonders, it was written by the members of a band called Gigolo Aunts. It seems to have been written for the movie as the band's discography does not list them as ever having recorded it. The leader of Gigolo Aunts also wrote the music for Josie and the Pussycats and has written for other movies and TV shows.
Musically, it is a nice bouncy tune. Lyrically, it seems to me to be a bit of a spoof of 60's songs. It extols the virtues of a girl who is, shall we say, easy. Other girls tease, she pleases. In the chorus, the protagonist declares his feelings for his girl, but when he wants to get wild, he knows who to go see. Pop songs of that era never praised the girl who "puts out", though they might forgive her if she comes back. An odd choice for the movie. Here is a snippet:
The final song that we see the Wonders perform--and in its entirety--is Dance With Me Tonight. In the movie, Lenny is the lead singer and The Bass Player is quite animated in his on-stage performance. It captures the typical party song of the day. Here is a snippet:
There are two other songs that appear in the closing credits and soundtrack worth noting. First is a song credited to The Wonders called I Need You (That Thing You Do). With that parenthetical title, it makes me wonder if they had the movie title first and that this was an early attempt at a song to match. Though I love this song (it's probably my favorite of them all), it would not have been a good choice to be the title track. The electric twelve-string always works for me. Another snippet:
Last is She Knows it, credited to The Heardsmen. According to the story arc told in the final credits, this is a band that Jimmy formed after The Wonders that made three gold albums for Play-Tone Records. This was the original pun-name that Jimmy came up with for The Wonders before Faye came up with The One-ders. This song captures some the non-sequitors that existed in 60s pop music where in one breath the guy has the girl but in the next he still has to win her. There is a nice phasing effect in the bridge (probably too early for 1964, but cool nonetheless). Here is a snippet:
All of these songs are eminently listenable. Rather than buy the entire album (which contains stuff I'm not interested in), I just bought the six songs from Wal-Mart.com (I assume iTunes and others have it as well). If you like these snippets and this style of music, you might get these tunes for yourself.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
A Movie I Can Enjoy
When talking about Star Trek yesterday, I mentioned that I am not a movie critic. I am just not interested enough in movies to really study them (but if you want to talk about music...). I do, however, know when a movie has touched me or entertained me on multiple levels.
Tom Hanks has had a remarkable career, not only as an actor, but also as a writer, director, and producer; two Oscars for acting (plus three nominations); Emmys for writing, directing, and producing; and a bunch of Golden Globe nominations and wins. But my favorite Tom Hanks movie won him nothing: That Thing You Do.
This 1996 film about a fictional "one-hit-wonder" band from 1964 resonated with me on several levels. As a big follower of music, I got most of the small touches that others probably missed (no name for the bass player, the authenticity of the instruments and the actors' playing, the irony that so many in the music business don't understand music at all, the small scenes that mirror some real life event). And it was just fun. To follow these teen-agers (although because he was in the army, Guy must be a bit older than the rest) on a dizzying ride to the top of the pop charts is really enjoyable.
Though there are some mistakes and anachronisms in the movie (the IMDB page has a list), the movie is true to its era. The tour mixing has-been stars with new talent. The datedness of the jokes on the Hollywood Showcase. The clothing styles. The seedy side of the music business.
Knowing that Tom Hanks is behind every aspect of the movie--acting, directing, writing--and it seems clear to me that this movie is a labor of love for him. He wants the audience to like his characters (even Jimmy, who is often a jerk) and to like his story.
That Thing You Do is a fun movie, but even more so if you have an appreciation for the 60s era pop/rock bands. Tomorrow, I want to take a minute to talk about the music.
Tom Hanks has had a remarkable career, not only as an actor, but also as a writer, director, and producer; two Oscars for acting (plus three nominations); Emmys for writing, directing, and producing; and a bunch of Golden Globe nominations and wins. But my favorite Tom Hanks movie won him nothing: That Thing You Do.
This 1996 film about a fictional "one-hit-wonder" band from 1964 resonated with me on several levels. As a big follower of music, I got most of the small touches that others probably missed (no name for the bass player, the authenticity of the instruments and the actors' playing, the irony that so many in the music business don't understand music at all, the small scenes that mirror some real life event). And it was just fun. To follow these teen-agers (although because he was in the army, Guy must be a bit older than the rest) on a dizzying ride to the top of the pop charts is really enjoyable.
Though there are some mistakes and anachronisms in the movie (the IMDB page has a list), the movie is true to its era. The tour mixing has-been stars with new talent. The datedness of the jokes on the Hollywood Showcase. The clothing styles. The seedy side of the music business.
Knowing that Tom Hanks is behind every aspect of the movie--acting, directing, writing--and it seems clear to me that this movie is a labor of love for him. He wants the audience to like his characters (even Jimmy, who is often a jerk) and to like his story.
That Thing You Do is a fun movie, but even more so if you have an appreciation for the 60s era pop/rock bands. Tomorrow, I want to take a minute to talk about the music.
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