MDIA 3210 Final
Jerry Lee Lewis
-"Great Ball of Fire" -Married his 13-year-old cousin -Eventually transitioned to country music
Music Television (MTV) (1981)
-"Ladies and Gentleman, rock and roll..." -Cable television music channel launched August 1, 1981 -Founder Robert Pittman -Revolutionized music, television, film and style -Slogan: You'll never look at music the same way again -Veejays instead of DJs
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1962)
-"Moon River" song that reappeared throughout the whole film
Beach Movies
-"Sandbox teen pics" -Fraternity humor -Sorority girl talk/gossip -Spring break setting -Teenage antics -Paradise of "endless summer" -Music (rock and surf)
Richard Lester
-"The Godfather of Music Video"
American International Pictures
-1954-1967 -130 low budget B-flicks -Ex: Bucket of Blood, I Was A Teenage Werewolf
Elvis Presley
-31 movies (singing, acting) between 1956-1969 -(1956-1958): Love Me Tender, Loving You, Jailhouse Rock, King Creole -Formulaic arc: the social undesirable redeemed into a regular guy, a victim of circumstance who succeeds in romance and as star performer. The films recognize and reward rock and roll.
Cop Rock (1990)
-A TV show unlike any other due to it being a police and crime drama performed as a musical. -It was a failure as a show but groundbreaking for television musicals.
The Graduate (1967)
-A landmark production that elevated the integration of narrative with rock music. -One of the first films that used music to film the silence between talking and explain exactly what the characters on-screen were thinking.
Elephant Parts (1981)
-A one-hour long production with parody commercials and comedy sketches, that featured five full-length music videos all by Michael Nemsith. -It won the first Grammy in the Music Video category.
West Side Story (1961)
-Adapted from a stage musical -The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 10, including Best Picture, becoming the record holder for the most wins for a musical.
The Sound of Music (1965)
-Adapted from a stage musical -received five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director -The American Film Institute listed it as the fifty-fifth greatest American movie of all time, and the fourth greatest movie musical.
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
-Bjork plays Selma whose eyesight is deteriorating, and she is particularly sensitive to sound, which triggers elaborately choreographed musical scenes. (Trains track clicks, factory machines and assembly lines -In the story line, she is also auditioning for a local production of Sound of Music.
Examples of "Traditional" Musical Episodes of TV Series
-Chicago Hope- "Brain Salad Surgery" (1997) -Blackpool (2004) Pilot Episode -Buffy the Vampire Slayer- "Once More, With Feeling" (2001) -Scrubs- "My Musical" (2007) -How I Met Your Mother- "Girls Versus Suits" (2010)
Popclips (1980)
-Considered the forerunner/first music video television program -Michael Nesmith conceived the production as a promotional device for Warner Communications' record division, featuring his 1977 song "Rio."
Beatlemania
-Cultural phenomenon where the Beatles music stormed through the US and took the top five spots on the Billboard Top 100.
A Hard Day's Night: The Film
-Directed by Richard Lester -Three picture deal -Production began 2 weeks after historical Ed Sullivan Show appearance -Integrated 26 songs into approximately 90 minutes -Follows Beatles during 36-hour period "behind the scenes" -Originally titled "Beatlemania" -No rags to riches narrative or romance; four clearly defined personalities (John, Paul, George, Ringo)
Alan Freed
-Disc Jockey and early promoter of "rock and roll" -Preferred the originals and black music to white covers of songs
MTV's Effect on Synergy
-Entertainment industries cross promotion of product (film, television, music) -Previous formula: Single + radio airplay = sales (song and album) -MTV 1980's model expands to include multiple outlets for exposure: Song, radio, music video, trailer, film, television soundtrack, artist album = $$$ PROFIT
Miami Vice (1984)
-Established the television soundtrack album/ phenomenon of the era -Stylish, cool crime drama series pitched and conceptualized as "MTV Cops" -Treated music as a character -Jan Hammer the composer of synthesizer score, with soundtrack of original songs from popular artists, among them Phil Collins ("In the Air Tonight") -One hour episodes averaged 33 minutes of music (soundtrack & score).
"Rocksploitation" Films
-Exploited rock and positioned music within mainstream show business to attempt to minimize generational conflict: Rock Around the Clock (1956), Don't Knock the Rock (1957)
Decadance(a-thon)
-Fame (1980) -Flashdance (1983) -Footloose (1984) -Dirty Dancing (1987)
The Day the Music Died
-February 3, 1959. -Buddy Holly, JP Richardson, and Ritchie Valens die in a plane crash.
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
-Film/soundtrack featured predominantly songs by the Bee Gees, who transformed from a Beatlesque melody group to a disco group -2nd highest top selling movie soundtrack of all-time -Double album soundtrack stayed at #1 on the charts for 24 weeks and remained on the charts for an astounding 120 weeks until March 1980
1955
-George Plasketes was born-James Dean and Marlon Brando are the rebels without a cause
Examples of Beach Movies
-Gidget (1959) -Where the Boys Are (1960) -Beach Party (1963)
Shaft (1971)
-Groundbreaking soundtrack due to Isaac Hayes' theme song which won an Oscar, and his album--the first double-LP from a soul artist— won multiple Grammy's. -This film established a busy, soaring sound that countless movies and cop shows in the decade would emulate
Easy Rider (1969)
-Helped establish a younger audience through its use of its soundtrack featuring songs such as "The Pusher" and "Born to be Wild."
A Hard Day's Night: Production and Visual Technique
-Iconic opening chord -Borrows from documentary, silent film, Keystone Cops and Marx Brothers comedies -Jump cuts, hand held camera, kaleidoscopic editing, tracking shots, natural but scripted -Witty remarks, disguises, antics, mistaken identity, disrespect, romps and youthful frivolity
Films with the biggest and most memorable scores
-Jaws (1975) John Williams -Rocky (1976) Bill Conti -Star Wars (1977) John Williams
Disco Demolition Night
-July 12, 1979 - Comiskey Park, Chicago -A crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field between games of the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers which ended in a riot.
Blaxploitation
-Low-budget action subgenre that integrated R&B and soul sounds into theme/soundtracks, aimed to appeal to African-American audience
Thriller (1983)
-Music video masterpiece that could almost be a short film at 13:42 -Directed by John Landis (Animal House, The Blues Brothers) -Featured horror icon Vincent Price voice-over monologue
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
-NOT a musical, but a significant moment in music/film development as it marked the beginning for rock and roll's full breakthrough as a popular music form within youth culture -Themes reflect 1950s and youth culture in high school setting: teen angst, alienation, rebellion, disorderly mob. Conservative values and conformity increasingly irrelevant. -The film ignited a seven year wave of teen oriented films: Teenage Doll, Drug Store Riot, The Cool and the Crazy...
American Graffiti (1973)
-Nostalgia, restless teenagers, graduation, loss of innocence, small town cruising in hot rods, listening to early rock and roll and doo wop in '62
Scrubs: "My Musical" (2007) Sn. 6 Ep. 6
-One of the more well-known television musical episodes -The episode follows the story of Patti Miller, a patient who mysteriously starts hearing everyone's speech as singing. -Received five Emmy Award nominations, winning one of them
Little Richard
-One of the original rock-n-roll singers that laid the foundation for others -Recorded hit songs in the 50's including Tutti Fruiti
Eric Von Zipper and the Rats
-Played the lovable bad guy Eric Von Zipper in seven American International beach party films -Was a parody of Marlon Brando's role in The Wild One
True Stories (1984)
-Quirky docu-collage of tabloid tales in small town Virgil, Texas, directed (and narrated in places) by David Byrne of the Talking Heads, and featuring their music. -Talking Heads songs are performed in the film by the locals in talent/fashion shows and other settings. -The popular 1980's New Waver's recordings of their songs used in the film were released as an album in 1987, though not billed as the film soundtrack. An actual film soundtrack, with the performances from the film, was not released until 2018.
Superfly (1972)
-Shaft was the groundbreaker for blaxploitation soundtracks, but this film is the masterpiece that Curtis Mayfield built atop Isaac Hayes' foundation
Goldfinger (1964)
-Shirley Bassey's cover of this theme song is often considered the best and most memorable James Bond opening theme.
Frankie Avalon & Annette Funicello
-Stars of the B-flicks and beach movies
Top Selling Soundtrack of All-Time
-The Bodyguard
"Anti-Rock" Films
-The Girl Can't Help It (1956)
Harold and Maude (1971)
-The film's presentation of music and visuals advanced the soundtrack by combining forms presented in late 1960's movie music markers The Graduate (interior monologue, character, mood, tone, emotion) and Easy Rider (traveling across vast visual panoramas). -The soundtrack is exclusively songs by folk rock singer-songwriter Cat Stevens who had a lot of popular songs and albums in the era
Video Killed the Radio Star
-The first music video ever played on MTV -Written and performed by The Buggles -Hans Zimmer was the keyboardist for a short while
A Hard Day's Night (1964): Significance
-The first rock n' roll film to matter. -Broadened the Beatles' audience and was a major bridge between the movie and record industries. -Legitimized Beatles phenomenon -Redefined soundtrack (multiple hit singles)
Music Video Aesthetic
-Visual narrative set to music (whether literal lyric interpretation or not). -Utilized in forms such as movie trailers, opening title sequences, montages, closing scenes, advertising commercials...
The Importance of MTV
-Visualization of music: Artistically/musically, the form music video joined/replaced radio as primary exposure vehicle for an artist's single song. -Put pressure on artists to produce a music video to accompany the album single(s).
Elizabethtown (2005)
-Was a major music mark because it is famous for one of the best examples of a mix tape montage film ending with the main character driving cross country with his father's ashes and listening to the mixtape his girlfriend made him along the way to find her.
Garden State
-Was a major music mark for the expansion of Indie rock and showed how powerful the Internet was at sharing media and ideas. -The song "New Slang" by the Shins.
The Cars' "You Might Think" Music Video (1984)
-Won the first ever Video of the Year award from MTV's awards beating out Thriller.
Sam Phillips and Sun Records
First label to record Elvis Presley
Northern Exposure
Gateway to television soundtracks with its use of musiclosure with example episodes the "Northern Lights" ("Ebudae" by Enya) and "Spring Break"