Friday Face Off: Soundtracks - Hughes vs. Crowe
Welcome to what will hopefully become a regular feature here at armchaircommentary - the Friday Face-Off. Shauna and I recently got into a discussion (heated argument) about the use of music in movies. We both have our favorites and decided the best way to settle it would be to hash it out the old fashion way - via email and YouTube. See for yourself and weigh in if you think one of us is clearly the winner (me!) or maybe you think we're both way off base....
To: Canny, Kira
Subject: Soundtrack
Face Off!
John Hughes was not just the king of the
80's teen flick. He was also the Sultan of the Soundtrack. Not only did
he have great artist selection, he was masterful at placing the perfect song in
the perfect place to make you remember it for the rest of your life.
Example 1: Sixteen Candles: at the very end when Jake Ryan goes to the church to get Sam and she walks out of the church. All of the cars part and as the they slowly drive away, the music slides in with the Thompson Twins, If You Were Here, the drums kick in right as she looks up to see the HOTTEST guy on the planet leaning against his beautiful red Porsche. Judge for yourself(sigh)...
Sixteen Candles - Final Scene - Movie Ending - The best video clips are here
From: Canny,
Kira
To: Furbush, Shauna
Subject: RE:
Soundtrack Face Off!
Sure, that's an amazing
moment and I swooned along with every other pre-teen girl the first time I saw
that (who am I kidding, I swoon every time I see that) and the Molly
Ringwald coy look behind and mouthing of "me?" - Kills me! The man
knew what he was doing when it came to the soundtrack. But I stand firm
in my opinion that Cameron Crowe does it better. It seems like he finds
that one song in every movie to provide the absolute heart of the story.
Let's think for a moment about Say Anything, shall we? That image
of John Cusack with the boombox and the determined look - holy hell! - it
gives me chills just thinking about it. I'm not sure I know anyone who
isn't totally affected by that scene. It solidified John Cusack as
the prototype sensitive-punk-dork heartthrob that every girl worth her Lisa
Loeb glasses and One Star Chuck Taylors will worship until the end of time
(including this one).
From: Furbush,
Shauna
To: Canny, Kira
Subject: RE:
Soundtrack Face Off!
LOVE that scene. I think the world
fell in love with John Cusack at that moment, giving every slightly dorky guy
hope. But let me say this: don't you think it could have been any
touching/emotionally driving song on that boom box? It was Cusack that sold
that moment with his determined look, as you said, and the song just
came along for the ride. AND - In Your Eyes was already a hit song from
Gabriel's 1986 album "So". What makes John Hughes soundtracks superior is
his ability to match the character action with the song itself and to
pick unique and not necessarily popular songs that are perfect for the
moment. Case in point: The scene in Some Kind of Wonderful when Eric
Stoltz & Mary Stuart Masterson kiss in the garage -
From: Canny,
Kira
To: Furbush, Shauna
Subject: RE:
Soundtrack Face Off!
Ah, Some Kind of
Wonderful - so undervalued and perfect...the anti-Pretty in Pink. I love
that song choice and it works really well in the scene, but I have to say that
a major soundtrack pet peeve of mine is when the music basically tells us
what's happening. We all know it's the first kiss between two life-long
friends and that Watts is totally in love with Keith - do the lyrics need to
spell that out too? I think Crowe is really good at capturing the feeling
of the moment and using the music to make a greater emotional impact, but not
hitting you over the head with it. Even if the music isn't all that
unique, he's able to pick songs that don't distract you from the scene and
absolutely enhance the moment. One of many - the ending of Vanilla Sky,
utterly tragic but also peaceful. And Crowe chooses a song from the band
that's captured the market on Beautiful and Sad, Sigur Ros.
From: Furbush,
Shauna
To: Canny, Kira
Subject: RE:
Soundtrack Face Off!
That song in Vanilla
Sky is fantastic, but the movie is sofa king cringe-worthy for me that I don't
think I was capable of listening. To me, Vanilla Sky is Cameron Crowe's Home
Alone: A departure from his usual genius.
Also, point taken about the uber-literal song in Some Kind of Wonderful. I get
that. But sometimes I like to be smacked in the face with the message.
And sometimes when the song lyrics match the action, it can be the most
emotional, tear-jerking moment you've ever seen. Case in point: She's Having A
Baby; the scene in the hospital at the end that is set to Kate Bush's "This
Woman's Work". Kevin Bacon is waiting to see if his wife and un-born baby
are going to die in delivery. I have that movie memorized and STILL can't
get through that montage without tearing up. And talk about obvious lyrics? You
may as well hit me with a sledgehammer, but in my book, it still doesn't take
away from the utter beauty of pairing that montage with that song.
From: Canny,
Kira
To: Furbush, Shauna
Subject: RE: Soundtrack
Face Off!
Alright, you got me with the
Kate Bush. Even without a crying Kevin Bacon and a maybe dead baby, this
song always destroys me. The scene is playing on my other screen right
now and sure enough, here come the (mild) waterworks. And while I don't exactly
agree with the Vanilla Sky = Home Alone comparison (Elizabethtown anyone?), I
do want to make it clear that Vanilla Sky isn't exactly my favorite Cameron
Crowe film. Let me tell you what is. As someone who watches far too
many movies, there are really only a handful that I can watch and watch and
watch again. Royal Tenenbaums, Amelie, John Water's Hairspray, and of
course - Almost Famous (deep sigh). Do I even need to describe the scene
and why it's so great? Sure, it's Elton John - it's a song that everyone
and their grandma knows every word of, but that's the point. It's the
beating heart of the movie and it gets me. Every. Freaking.
Time. And herein lies the reason that I believe Cameron Crowe is
the winner of this directorial death match: the use of music in his movies
isn't just about enhancing the film (though it does), and it's not just about
adding emotion to a scene (does that too). Music is always the glue that
unites his characters and it's not just in the background, it's this thing that
the characters and the audience experience together. And music matters to
these characters, they don't just passively experience it - whether it's Tom
Cruise singing along to Tom Petty in Jerry Maguire or Kyra Sedgwick and
Campbell Scott flirting in a club while Pearl Jam plays on stage in
Singles. He's a director who clearly loves music and knows how to
use it in his movies to make the biggest impact. So take that Hughes!
From: Furbush,
Shauna
To: Canny, Kira
Subject: RE:
Soundtrack Face Off!
Yes, yes. Great scene in Almost
Famous. But once again, was it the song, or was it already the perfectly
written moment and the music was just part of a brilliant scene? Cameron Crowe
is a genius at creating that magical moment with a song as its catalyst.
I still get a "pang" of happy when Tom Cruise busts out with the Tom Petty song
in Jerry Maguire because of the incredibly relatable moment he created.
What John Hughes did was take a new or 'not so well known' song and indelibly stamp it on his film. Think about that
ridiculous song by "Oh Yeah" by Yello that will be forever linked with Ferris
Bueller...
Chk-chk-chkahhh. That song would
never have seen the light of day without Ferris, but it's like another
character in this scene. OMD's "If You Leave" is marked with the Pretty
in Pink label, and Simple Minds, "Don't You Forget 
About Me" was practically a
teen anthem simply because of that one shot of Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club with his fist in the
air. You can hear the song, can't you?
Maybe Cameron Crowe's gift is finding the perfect song to go with an already poignant moment, while John Hughes is great at finding a new or 'not so well known' song to hit us over the head with lyrically and to be indelibly linked to a film.
As I was falling asleep last night, I had
this thought: I think that Cameron Crowe took up the
writer/director/soundtrack movie mantle with Say Anything just as John Hughes
was laying it down. Maybe the two of them represent the evolution of the great
filmmakers who know how to create a movie that can still make you cry
after the 500th viewing. And both of whom have a special genius at
knowing how important music is to a movie.
My question is this: Who's next?
Weigh in on our debate. Tell us what your favorite soundtracks are and who you think might be able to fill the giant shoes of Cameron Crowe and John Hughes?
---Kira and Shauna
T's Bro on October 31, 2008 at 11:40 PM
I have to declare Shauna the winner here. While Cameron Crowe is certainly the successor to John Hughes, the soundtracks to Hughes' films are the ones that have stuck with me. I guess Hughes' work pertaining to soundtrack selection sticks with me more is because they are more glamorous and forceful. Crowe's selections seem to be more subtle. The scene with Cusack holding the boombox in "Say Anything" is the only moment in any Crowe film that has remotely the same impact of the music in Hughes' films.
"The Breakfast Club" is still Hughes' master stroke in my opinion. Not only is it the best film he ever made but "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds is still one of the most powerful song selections I've seen in a film. But, then again, I have a personal attachment to "The Breakfast Club". I truly believe it's a film that should be shown in every high school across the country. It's not just a movie, it's a social comment on adolescence. And an honest one at that...even 20+ years later.
The only filmmakers that seem to be in the same league of soundtrack selection as Hughes and Crowe are Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson. Hard to compare I'm sure, but then again 80s pop isn't exactly still whistling over the airwaves.
Shauna wins! Sorry, Kira.
Lowell on January 02, 2009 at 08:29 PM
I'm a big fan of both Crowe & Hughes and their choice/use of music in their movies. It's hard to pick a winner between the two but then again I've never felt this kind of stuff is a competition but more a matter of personal taste. Even though "Almost Famous" is one of my favorite movies of all time, that does not detract from the enjoyment I've gotten when watching any of the other movies mentioned. Thanks for posting all the clips, that was fun to watch.
As far as another film maker who uses music very well in their movies, I would like to nominate Martin Scorcese. His musical choices are defintely darker, moodier and much more subtle, nevertheless, the Stones and Ronnettes have never been used more effectively in a movie. If you look at Little Steven's Underground Garage archives:
http://www.littlestevensundergroundgarage.com/play/archive.html
find the Martin Scorcese show (year 2006, episode 241), Steven van Zandt (Silvio from the Sopranos) plays music from Scorcese movies along with audio clips from his movies and some interview clips with Little Steven and Scorcese.
Lowell