Interesting point about current movies vs pop. Do you think there was an era when pop music played a different role--served the sort of function you’d like it to serve?
Boy, great question. I'm not sure. Perhaps the closest is during the singer/songwriter era of the late 70s/early 80s when mainstream artists were speaking to societal issues maybe more frequently than what we would call the historical baseline. But the majority of these were still in a protest context — pointing out what's wrong, without at least trying to suggest paths forward.
YES! So many great ideas here. Village, the Wolf and the Boy has always been one of my favorites of yours and that bridge lyric hits me so hard every time I hear it. This is actually part of why I left music for the TV/Movie biz - among other things I felt like songs didn't provide enough words or context to say what I wanted to say, and I was always worried my songs would come off as preachy if I did try to imbue them with this sort of socially conscious messaging. I'm finding that it's much easier to hide these ideas in subtext when you have 30 minutes as opposed to three - let alone a two hour movie. Hoping today's songwriters can find a way to make this happen!
Damn, Dave — it's so good to hear you talk about this from your unique perspective. You and me share the "from-music-to-X" trajectory, though my teaching has brought me back into music a bit more recently. You nailed the real challenge here — subtext and complexity and nuance are hard in a 3.5 minute pop song that has to adhere to culturally expected conventions. But like you, I have to hope someone can make it happen!
Interesting point about current movies vs pop. Do you think there was an era when pop music played a different role--served the sort of function you’d like it to serve?
Boy, great question. I'm not sure. Perhaps the closest is during the singer/songwriter era of the late 70s/early 80s when mainstream artists were speaking to societal issues maybe more frequently than what we would call the historical baseline. But the majority of these were still in a protest context — pointing out what's wrong, without at least trying to suggest paths forward.
YES! So many great ideas here. Village, the Wolf and the Boy has always been one of my favorites of yours and that bridge lyric hits me so hard every time I hear it. This is actually part of why I left music for the TV/Movie biz - among other things I felt like songs didn't provide enough words or context to say what I wanted to say, and I was always worried my songs would come off as preachy if I did try to imbue them with this sort of socially conscious messaging. I'm finding that it's much easier to hide these ideas in subtext when you have 30 minutes as opposed to three - let alone a two hour movie. Hoping today's songwriters can find a way to make this happen!
Damn, Dave — it's so good to hear you talk about this from your unique perspective. You and me share the "from-music-to-X" trajectory, though my teaching has brought me back into music a bit more recently. You nailed the real challenge here — subtext and complexity and nuance are hard in a 3.5 minute pop song that has to adhere to culturally expected conventions. But like you, I have to hope someone can make it happen!