Music steals the show

With the shocking amounts of Rihanna and Cheryl Cole in the music charts of late it was a surprise, albeit a pleasant one, to see a decent band making headway for a change. The Temper Trap’s ‘Sweet Disposition’ hit number two in the charts, and while this in itself isn’t that surprising (it is a good song) what is surprising is the fact that it has only achieved these heights of musical stardom over one year after its initial release.

Short of a tragic misfortune affecting the band and causing a panic buy of their records (Michael Jackson anyone? Too soon?) it is uncommon for a band to chart that long after the initial release of the record, unless the record receives some exposure in some way or form. Hardly surprising I have such an exposure in mind, and hardly surprising for an article in this section of the paper this exposure involves film. Or to be more specific, a film; (500) Days of Summer.

Telling the story of a boy who falls head over heels in love for a girl who doesn’t love him back, not only is it better, funnier, and less clichéd than I just made it sound but it is perhaps the best and certainly the most original romantic comedy of recent years. In short, watch it.

But enough of singing its praises, and more on praising its singing (sorry). Featuring not only the recent hit from The Temper Trap, but music from as varied bands as The Smiths, Hall and Oates (old school indeed), Regina Spektor and Wolfmother, the soundtrack has more identifiable names on it than the cast list. And herein lies the potential problem; while ‘Sweet Disposition’ shot up the charts, leading The Temper Trap to new found acclaim, (500) Days of Summer passed almost unnoticed, only receiving a limited release over here.

While it received rave reviews (from those reviewers that actually saw it), and made back its budget (not the hardest task for an indie film), its success seems negligible compared to the success of a song which it propelled into the public ear via the medium of trailers and TV/radio spots for the film. Is it possible, in this case, that a film has actually been overshadowed by its soundtrack?

From the very beginning (of film, not time itself) music has always been an integral part of movies. Silent films have a misleading name, as they surely would have been nothing without a chirpy piano appropriately accompanying the action (happy for when the hero pulls some slapstick stunt, thrilling for when the villain ties some woman to the railroad tracks, stuff like that).

Music plays a bigger part in the development of film than just that however. The first “talkie”, The Jazz Singer, was about just what the title suggests, and featured several songs. Musicals instantly became the next big thing, and for many years were not only the most popular and highest grossing of Hollywood films, but also the most critically acclaimed.

The tradition continues to this day, with a significant amount of the most popular Bollywood films each year being musicals, and less than ten years ago in Hollywood the musical Chicago being honoured with six Oscars.

Music in film is not just limited to musicals however. Iconic moments have been immortalised simply be using the right song in the right place. Who can think of Robert DeNiro in Goodfellas without picturing him standing at the bar, smoking in slow motion, as ‘Sunshine on your Love’ plays in the background. And what moment better sums up Almost Famous, than the band, singing together to ‘Tiny Dancer’, perhaps the only time they are all on the same page. However when your film is being nominated for Oscars and being seen around the globe it is hard to imagine some unknown rock song stealing your thunder. For a low budget indie film, such as we have here, that could potentially be a risk.

However for a second let me consider another recent indie hit, Juno. Sharing many qualities with (500) Days of Summer, Juno is not only original and quirky, but boasts a killer soundtrack to boot, including David Bowie, The Velvet Underground, The Moldy Peaches. “Wait, stop, the Moldy Peaches? Who are they” I hear you ask? The Moldy Peaches were a favourite band of Juno star Ellen Page, and were included in the soundtrack at her request.

Having achieved limited exposure before hand, they suddenly found themselves with hordes of new fans after their songs were used in the film, especially for the ending where Juno and the father of her baby sing a duet together of ‘Anyone Else But You’. However their new found success did not overshadow the film in any way, and also the potentially more likely situation did not occur of the band constantly being associated with the movie and not being able to escape the label of “that Juno band”.

As it turns out, both band and film had considerable success individually, stemming from the beautiful initial arrangement of playing the song at the right time in the movie. It doesn’t just work, but works perfectly, raising the quality of the movie by giving it that perfect ending which in turn increases the exposure the band gets.

Hopefully (500) Days of Summer will have a similar situation. The use of the song is perfect within the movie, accompanying a silent series of jump cuts showing the comfort Summer and Tom feel around each other, and really makes the specific scene something special. Just as the film aids the song by raising its profile, the song aids the film by creating something truly enjoyable to watch.

Rather than overshadowing the film that brought it success, if the success of ‘Sweet Disposition’ encourages more people to seek out (500) Days of Summer that can only be a good thing. Likewise if the success of indie films keeps more bands like Temper Trap at the top of the charts, then I’m all for it! Let art, as they say, inspire art.