The use of popular music in Quentin Tarantinos 'Reservoir Dogs '


Book Description

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,7, University of Potsdam, language: English, abstract: Qurntin Tarantino ́s movies are mostly violent scenarios in the world of American West-Coast gangster bosses and their Hit-Men - Shoot-outs, language as brutal as the action and even cooler quotations. Almost all of his movies have managed to be at least cult among the younger generations. Is the type of music Tarantino uses in most his films responsible for their popularity, since it is mostly popular music? If it is, what exactly is the effect of the music that Tarantino uses? One may certainly say that in his movies film and music represent two different types of media: There are no movie-themes involved which have been composed only for this purpose. As a regisseur, Tarantino prefers "chewing gum" music as he calls it, which contrasts the scenes taking place on the screen (Havighorst, Michaltsi, Strauß). Tarantino ́s songs have has an “own life” in the real world of the watchers, apart from the movie. The most famous example is probably the “Pulp Fiction”- soundtrack-album, which in is, in certain circles, mostly of the female gender, even more popular than the movie itself. Anyway, it seems obvious that Tarantino has a specific style of combining the accoustic and the visual media in his works. I want to find out possible results and intentions of this more or less unique combination.




The song ‘Stuck in the Middle With You’ (Stealers Wheel) in Tarantino’s ‘Reservoir Dogs’. How the right song in the right scene makes a film iconic


Book Description

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Musicology - Miscellaneous, grade: First class honors, Trinity College Dublin (Department of Music), course: Film Music, language: English, abstract: Looking for the song ‘Stuck in the middle with you’ (written by Gerry Rafferty and Joe Eagan; performed by their group ‘Stealers Wheel’) on YouTube (2016) , displays the immense popularity of this song; more than 40 years after it was published on the 1972 Stealers Wheel debut album. The number of clicks is considerably impressive: the most popular video on the website counts more than 44 million views since July 2010. The original music video shows the band with Joe Eagan alternately performing in a big, empty building and him being at a banquet table, surrounded by odd guises, unsuccessfully trying to get some food from the table. Comparing the top comments to the video shown, some incoherence becomes visible. For instance, user ‘nosferotica’ writes: ‘Last time I listened to this song I cut someone’s ear off.’ (YouTube, 2016). Another user asks if anyone could listen to the song, ‘without thinking of torture anymore’ (YouTube, 2016). Without knowing the linkage of the song to one of the most iconic scenes in later film history, these comments make no sense at all. Moreover, we must agree with Quentin Tarantino, who said ‘that certain pop songs have been used so successfully in certain movies that in a sense the movie blots out all other associations and ‘owns’ the song . In the case of ‘Stuck in the middle with you’ and the ‘infamous’ torture scene in Tarantino’s debut film Reservoir Dogs (1992), this statement does fully apply, as the song originally is about an annoying record biz dinner that Eagan and Rafferty had to attend . Tarantino’s debut became cult over the years, considered to have notably inspired further independent cinema. The quintessence of Tarantino’s idea of film making is already identifiable in his rough debut: cool characters and violence combined with deadpan humour plus a fantastic soundtrack.




Film Music: a Very Short Introduction


Book Description

"Film Music: A Very Short Introduction focuses on the most central issues in the practice of film music. What is film music? How is it composed? How does film music work? Why does film music work? The rich and deeply moving sounds of film music are as old as cinema. The very first projected moving images were accompanied by music around the globe as a variety of performers-from single piano players to small orchestras-brought images to life. Film music has since become its own industry, an aesthetic platform for expressing creative visions, and a commercial vehicle for generating increased revenue. The second edition updates coverage to 2022 and includes attention to recent developments in global film music, women in film music, and African -American and minority composers"--




Film Music in the Sound Era


Book Description

Film Music in the Sound Era: A Research and Information Guide offers a comprehensive bibliography of scholarship on music in sound film (1927–2017). Thematically organized sections cover historical studies, studies of musicians and filmmakers, genre studies, theory and aesthetics, and other key aspects of film music studies. Broad coverage of works from around the globe, paired with robust indexes and thorough cross-referencing, make this research guide an invaluable tool for all scholars and students investigating the intersection of music and film. This guide is published in two volumes: Volume 1: Histories, Theories, and Genres covers overviews, historical surveys, theory and criticism, studies of film genres, and case studies of individual films. Volume 2: People, Cultures, and Contexts covers individual people, social and cultural studies, studies of musical genre, pedagogy, and the Industry. A complete index is included in each volume.




Popular Music and the New Auteur


Book Description

Popular Music and the New Auteur looks at seven contemporary directors whose feature films are characterized by music-video aesthetics. Demonstrating a fresh kind of cinematic musicality, these filmmakers write against music rather than against script, and allow pop songs a determining role in narrative and imagery.




The Popular Music Studies Reader


Book Description

Maps the changing nature of popular music and considers how popular music studies has expanded and developed to deal with these changes. The book discusses the participation of women in the industry, the changing role of gender and sexuality in popular music, and the role of technologies in production and distribution.




The Routledge Companion to Screen Music and Sound


Book Description

The Routledge Companion to Screen Music and Sound provides a detailed and comprehensive overview of screen music and sound studies, addressing the ways in which music and sound interact with forms of narrative media such as television, videogames, and film. The inclusive framework of "screen music and sound" allows readers to explore the intersections and connections between various types of media and music and sound, reflecting the current state of scholarship and the future of the field. A diverse range of international scholars have contributed an impressive set of forty-six chapters that move from foundational knowledge to cutting edge topics that highlight new key areas. The companion is thematically organized into five cohesive areas of study: Issues in the Study of Screen Music and Sound—discusses the essential topics of the discipline Historical Approaches—examines periods of historical change or transition Production and Process—focuses on issues of collaboration, institutional politics, and the impact of technology and industrial practices Cultural and Aesthetic Perspectives—contextualizes an aesthetic approach within a wider framework of cultural knowledge Analyses and Methodologies—explores potential methodologies for interrogating screen music and sound Covering a wide range of topic areas drawn from musicology, sound studies, and media studies, The Routledge Companion to Screen Music and Sound provides researchers and students with an effective overview of music’s role in narrative media, as well as new methodological and aesthetic insights.




Quentin Tarantino FAQ


Book Description

(FAQ). Quentin Tarantino is a man who came to Hollywood and didn't break the rules so much as make plain that he didn't even notice them. Making the films he wanted to see, Tarantino broke through with Reservoir Dogs in 1992 and then cemented his reputation in 1994 with the release of Pulp Fiction . As his fame grew, he spread his love for movies that are far from commonplace through his promotion of older films and theaters and by reviving the stalled careers of actors such as John Travolta, Pam Grier, and David Carradine. Quentin Tarantino FAQ examines the movies directed by Tarantino, the influences on his work, and the inspiration he gave to others. There are also chapters on certain recurring elements in his films, from fake "product placement" to the music, actors, and even cinematic moments used. The book also reviews his work in television, the articles written about him or by him over the years, his acting career, his public battles, and some of the projects he abandoned along the way. It all comes together to tell the story of a man who forged his own unique path and helped shape the way movies are made today.




Quentin Tarantino and Philosophy


Book Description

In Quentin Tarantino and Philosophy, seventeen professional thinkers shamelessly exploit the cinematic achievement of Tarantino for all the steamy, sensational metaphysics and epistemology they can wring out of it. Are these eruptions of intelligent thought merely a cynical hypnotic manipulation of our cerebral cortexes? Or can we somehow relate them to the human values that really matter pyrotechnic car chases, Mexican standoffs, and exploding heads? Is the philosophers' preoccupation with quoting other philosophers nothing more than incestuous indulgence? Or are they somehow conveying a deeper point about the enduring validity of amputated ears and anal rape? In the final analysis only you, the viewer, can decide. What can Reservoir Dogs teach us about the evolution of co-operation? Is Beatrix's revenge in Kill Bill both justified and self-destructive? Can we agree completely on what has happened and disagree on whether it was a miracle? How is Pulp Fiction's Vincent doomed because of his messy bathroom habits? Does Grind house/Death Proof reflect the epoch in which everything that actually occurs is unreal? ""With Tarantino and Philosophy, it's the little differences, like having your Royale with cheese dissected by a grease monkey with a blowtorch. It's so bad, it's good.""




Film Music


Book Description

Bringing together some of the most influential international scholars on the subject, this anthology provides a detailed, diverse and accessible perspective on music in the cinema.