You might remember a few issues ago, I was talking about the greatest movie soundtracks of all time, and yes I still think that The Blues Brothers and Almost Famous are up there as the best, because well, they were my childhood and nothing can take that away from me. If for some reason you have up until this point, heeded my advice and not checked them out, what are you thinking? Classic fun times ahead for you my good friend.
You may also remember that when I was talking about the greatest movie soundtracks, I was later on going to discuss the importance of music in TV. This is that very moment. No matter how hard you look at it, music is always around us and important and we all get addicted to TV shows – that’s no lie. So the soundtrack on which a TV show is based, is also essentially important to both character development and story progression.
So without further ado, here is a brief list of some of the TV shows that I think have the most important music soundtracks. Starting out with the mid 2000s teenage years, The OC was one of the biggest teen dramas of the noughties and the soundtrack that went along with it was simply astounding. There are many fine moments in the series where the music is stellar and starting to think about the start of season one (partially because that is where I am up to with re-watching the epic drama series) there is some great bands that many people discovered and fell in love with due to The OC.
One such band is Mazzy Star, who have over their 25 year career released four albums. So Tonight That I May See, is their second studio record that was released in 1993. Opening with just acoustic guitar and the sweet sorrowful vocals of ‘Hope Sandoval’, the only accompaniment in ‘Into Dust’ is a sparse violin line that weaves beautifully alongside the other instruments in the track. Used four times throughout the series at very intense emotional moments, in thinking about my favourite songs of all time, I think that ‘Into Dust’ by Mazzy Star would definitely have to be up there. The track funnily enough has also been thought of as an OC all time favourite. If you haven’t heard the beauty in this track, I highly recommend that you get on it, I wholeheartedly guarantee that the song will be included on a chill out relaxation playlist. Although it’s a mid 2000s drama, it’s well worth the re-watch just to indulge in the awesome music.
Right from the very first moment that I saw the opening scene of season one, episode one I knew that if I had to write a column about the best TV music, that Sons of Anarchy would be included in the list. From the Black Keys’ ‘Hard Row’ to Battleme’s ‘Hey Hey, My My’ , the music supervisors on this show are quite simply geniuses. There is a healthy mix of cover songs and original music allowing you to discover new music from bands such as Battleme who were virtually unknown before being featured on Sons of Anarchy.
Alexandra Patsavas was the music supervisor for the OC and introduced many people to the sounds of Death Cab for Cutie, Alexi Murdoch and Sufjan Stevens – bands who were all taking off at that point. She has since worked on the likes of Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy and Mad Men. Although I haven’t seen Gossip Girl or Grey’s Anatomy, I can assure you that the music in these shows are sure to be nothing but stellar due to her amazing work with The OC and Mad Men. There are so many other TV shows that could get a mention and given that there are new TV shows to indulge in popping up every single month, this could quite easily become a regular column for The Night Vibe. Everyone has their favourite TV shows and undoubtedly they will all have great music to them too. Here’s to great music in TV and discovering new bands along the way. Who knows, your favourite might just be around the corner.
Written by Tex Miller