The Danny Boyle Effect- Music and Film
Hit shows such as Skins may put new artists centre-stage, but for the perfect blend of popular music and drama, one must look to Hollywood.
Q: 'Hey, have you heard of Grizzly Bear?'
A: 'No...oh wait...yeah! Weren't they on that episode of Skins?
Long before I had ever actually seen Skins, I had already been repeatedly subjected to the above conversation. Yes, Grizzly Bear had indeed been featured on E4's hit teen-drama, and so it seemed had a long list of other bands, beloved I imagined, only by me. But I was not alone, in fact, all those who had tuned-in to see the first episode of Skins' second series, had also heard the hypnotic thrum of Grizzly Bear's 'Knife', as they watched Anti-hero, Tony Stonem wig-out on a bus.
The huge success of Skins can be attributed, in part, to this simple and effective formula: emotive and/or memorable scenes augmented by well chosen 'indie' tracks. One particularly moving set-piece saw the hapless Sid acknowledging his father's death to the un-hinged, electronic thump of Crystal Castles. Furthermore, promotional footage for Season One featured scenes of debauchery and vomit complimented by The Gossip's rowdy anthem, 'Standing in The Way of Control'. Series One and Two of Skins present us with a mutually beneficial relationship: bands such as the aforementioned The Gossip and MGMT increased their sales and recognition in the early stages of their career, whilst the producers of Skins, by keeping their ears to the beer-splattered ground of the alternative music scene, procured a vital legitimacy for their show.
But that was then...
With the Skins franchise now dragging its tired corpse into a fifth series, the show's soundtrack remains as memorable as ever. However, instead of complimenting the script, artists such as Bon Iver are charged with the task of inducing emotion in an otherwise emotionally barren landscape.
The same can be said of One Tree Hill: Warner Bros’ monolithic answer to the O.C. One Tree Hill, which has just been picked up for an eighth season, appears utterly reliant on an almost continuous soundtrack, making for hypnotic, emotionally didactic viewing. The musical over-saturation of the show results in artists of genuine quality (Explosions In The Sky, Lupe Fiasco) being lost in an indistinct, creative mush, rather than receiving the publicity they rightly deserve.
It would seem then that a truly inspiring, mutually beneficial synthesis of popular music and drama is a rare thing. However, as 127 Hours traumatises cinema goers this month, we are reminded that one man has been consistently achieving just that for the last 15 years. A true music fan, Danny Boyle's films employ popular music in a deft and reverential manner. Carefully chosen tracks enhance the emotional range of his work and the clarity of his story telling; in turn, the artists featured in Boyle's films are catapulted to new levels of fame.
In 1997, the success of Trainspotting provided a seismic breakthrough for electro group Underworld. Their track, Born Slippy. NUXX, which was featured in the film's closing scene, peaked at number two in the U.K charts and has since sold over two million copies worldwide.
In 2003, Boyle spent several months courting the highly elusive, post-rockers God Speed You! Black Emperor, in order to use their music in his apocalyptic horror, 28 Days Later. The ominous guitar crescendo of 'East Hastings' provided the perfect backdrop to now iconic scenes of a deserted London. As a result, God Speed received widespread publicity for the first time in their careers, and their cult following grew...ever-so-slightly.
More spectacularly, M.I.A.'s work on Slumdog Millionaire lent the film a priceless sense of cool and won Miss Arulpragasam an unlikely Oscar nomination.
Now though, it is the turn of Art-Rockers Free Blood to sun themselves in the glow of Boyle's genius. Former residents of the indie backwaters of New York, the name Free Blood is now circulating on countless internet forums, and their song 'Never Hear Surf Music Again' is in high demand. All this is thanks solely to the inclusion of that track in the exhilarating opening sequence of 127 hours, where a tribal drum-beat and octave hopping bass perfectly encapsulate Aron Alston's extreme sports fanaticism and his fierce grip on life.
See the film, buy the soundtrack, and revel in the work of an artist who truly understands what popular music and cinematic drama can do for one another.
