Building the World of Sound for 'WTF'
3 songs that are core inspirations and 3 more that get me thinking
Happy Friday! Music Appreciation!
Welcome back everyone.
Today we are continuing the *checks notes* Myka using Music App. to learn about how to combine music and film - season.
Basically, for this season I’m going to use this space and these writings to work out in real time the process (my process) for figuring out the music for a film. Film, like many other industries often has different departments that specify in different disciplines. Indie films, particularly smaller ones that are the foundation for Hawaii’s industry is more like a start-up company. Less people involved, which means more people have to wear multiple hats.
Usually, that’s a negative constraint. Productivity is often boosted by specification and specialization, however LUCKILY for me I have a really wide array of random skills and interests so that characteristic is something I can rock with.
That said, where are we and what are we doing?
Currently, I’m trying to build out the *feel* of the film. As we are all music lovers here, we all know the difference music can make. A boring room with your favorite song playing is suddenly a place you feel comfortable and energized. A aesthetically pleasing room, with something like “Baby Shark” blasting on the speakers is an experience that could drive you insane. Music has THAT kind of power. And as a strong music lover, I know for whatever film I want to make I MUUUUUUST have it sound as good as it looks.
But similar to making aesthetic playlists, figuring what songs truly fit and resonate is a hard task. Right now, my approach has been forming a big compost pile. Just adding in a bunch of songs that kind of fit the mold. And then eventually I’m going to reduce it down to 10-20 or so that FOR SURE make the cut and exemplify the experience that I’m aiming for.
When I finish that playlist, I’ll be sure to share it with y’alls.
As of right now, I only have a handful of songs. Three that are closer to the target and then three more (bonus) that are in the right direction, but a little off.
Have a listen and enjoy :)
Song List:
01 - Don’t Let Me Down (Gramatik Remix) by The Beatles
02 - Put Down the Phone by Tavana (ft. Caleb Keolanui)
03 - Feel Like Making Love by D’Angelo
Song 01 - Don’t Let Me Down (Gramatik Remix) by The Beatles
Key Elements / Ingredients:
The juxtaposition between the sample with the electronic sounds.
The groove. The way the drums just lay down the funk is tremendous.
The way the vocals lay in the mix. It keeps the bluesy feel of the original while fitting in with the new funky parts.
Notes:
When I first started thinking about what sounds and songs would be good for the film, I initially thought of more folk-y / almost country sounds. Things like the introduction to “Breaking Bad.” That sort of slide-y guitar and twang. To me, those sounds are a nod to the history of prohibition and backwoods moonshine. They also have that lulling depressive vibe - it’s the audio equivalent of what the physical feeling of being drunk is like. Booze-y and wobbly, kind of hazy.
However, I didn’t want to necessarily go full country with it. The story is about Whiskey, sure, but it’s not really about that ranch sort of environment. After that, I started thinking about the what are some close proximal genre modules and I settled on things that have a blues sound.
In my own musicianship, I love the blues. It’s my bread and butter and where I first learned how to express myself when improvising. But again, I didn’t really want to go too into the realm of folk-y sorts of sounds, so that’s where the funk came into play. After scrolling through the mental rolodex for imagining what sort of beat would be fun (which was me literally beatboxing to myself) I remembered the Beatles song and then I remembered this remix which I really loved.
The remix itself is a little too modern - it sounds very electronic music-y but it is in the right direction for what I want to eventually settle on.
Song 02 - Put Down the Phone by Tavana
Key Elements / Ingredients:
The sonic texture is EXACTLY what I’m looking for. Hawaii + Blues.
It has a very heartfelt and natural energy to it.
The dude has a connection to the venue I am going to use as a location for the film.
Notes:
If it were 100% up to me and I had an unlimited budget and unlimited imagination, I would love to go with a local artist / sound that perfectly blends Hawaii music and the blues. Generally, Hawaii has a sort of folk back bone. Old school Hawaiian music sounds almost like country music in the sense that they are both somewhat derivative of cowboy music. (The Spanish vaquero’s influenced the Hawaiian Paniolos, which is how we got the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar and the Ukulele as prominent instruments in our music cultural history).
When scrolling (again through the mental rolodex) I remembered Tavana. A local artist who also had a small residency for a stretch of time at Hawaiian Brian’s (the bar that I am going to use for my location for the film is in HB). When I looked into his music, I also remembered that he 10000% has that blend I was looking for. Hawaii musician + bluesy almost swamp-y music.
I think the main thing about his music that I might need to explore a little more is a lot of his songs have a lot of energy and they’re powerful, but they do lean on the slower side. They have a BIG sound with a lot of weight, but doesn’t quite have that quick jab to it that I imagine would be good for this film.
That said - a *dream* mash-up would be like a Tavana song remixed and flipped in a way almost similar to the first Gramatik x Beatles song.
Song 03 - Feel Like Making Love by D’Angelo
Key Elements / Ingredients:
The groove (how it feels)
The simplicity.
The rhythm in how the whole song just keeps the same movement throughout while being able to embellish on top.
Notes:
This song is actually one of the first songs that was on my initial compost-pile playlist. It’s less the SOUNDS that I think match the film, but the groove. This song was heavily inspired by J Dilla’s sense of rhythm, which is often mistakingly understood as a drunken groove. Straight time is robotic. Swung time is jazzy. Dilla Time is right in the middle and it is often hard to figure out.
The cultural legacy of J Dilla and his music is phenomenal. He truly was a pioneer for an era of music. So there’s that component of wanting to pay homage to him as a creative. But beyond his accomplishments, I feel like this song and the groove is something that is aligned and resonant with the story. It’s the spirit of hip-hop in the sense that it exists and creates in a space in between.
The story is historical fiction. There’s components of real life Hawaiian history. There’s also components of narrative fiction (think National Treasure, some real some not real). The story exists in a space in between. But on top of that it’s about Whiskey, which again is boozy, which also resonates with the “drunken” feel of the groove.
Next Week:
I’ll probably have the playlist ready to be shared, but we shall see.
If any of you have any suggestions for songs that might fit the vibe (as based on these songs), please share them with me.
Additionally, if you’d like to read the script and see if anything sticks out at you, please reach out and I’ll send the script over.
Or! If you have any songs or favorite films that have good music that I could analyze and learn from, I’d be open to that as well.
In typical Music Appreciation fashion, I am appreciative and thankful for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING.
Until then,
MYKAAA
Bonus #1 - Catch Hell Blues by The White Stripes
This is one of my favorite songs of all time. If ever I had a walk out song that I needed to play to let everyone know I mean business, this would be one of them. This song gets me HYPED. There’s something about the rascal, devilish, stanky licks and guitar on top of loud and messy drums that just get me going.
The song features a slide guitar sound along with a bluesy note selection that energetically I think really feel good for the aesthetic of the story. Unfortunately, this song might be a bit too loud and too energetic for what I’m going for.
Bonus #2 - The Next Episode by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg
One thing I really like about the Gramatik song is the double kick. That sound/pattern is ubiquitous toward the funk genre, but I really enjoy it when I hear it OUTSIDE of the genre. The Gramatik song is electronic and funky, which is why that double kick has that funky, stanky, spice that make the song so much fun. When I was thinking about other songs that have that THUMP-THUMP, I immediately thought of this song.
G-funk as a genre is a hip-hop derivative of funk music. Again, it’s that juxtaposition of the (then) old and (then) new. On top of that, the song that “The Next Episode” samples is a really cinematic song. The orchestra, the horns, all of that feels very 70’s and 80’s era of film which gives the sounds a unique visual quality to them.
Bonus #3 - the million way of drum by Force of Nature
This was the VERY first song that hit my playlist when I started building the sonic world of the film. Samurai Champloo is one of my favorite shows / stories / works of art EVER. Everything about that show from the top to the bottom is just *chef’s kiss* for me. One thing in particular that I love about the show is it’s ability to perfectly weave music in. The soundtrack of that show is truly singular. Nothing sounds like it. And it’s more than just good songs, there’s just something about the resonance that totally elevates the work.
For the film I’m working on, I thought I wanted something similar to this. Heavy emphasis on the snare drum (to provide energy), ripping basslines to set the energy, and this jazzy-hip-hop feel that really texture everything in a unique way. As I read the script and listened to the song a bit more, I felt it was out of place. Maybe I’ll try to incorporate those elements - the snare and the bass - but I’m not sure if I’ll keep that high octane energy.
If I could just magically create anything - it would be something like the Gramatik song, but with a Tavana sample, with embellishments of snare drums and bass like this song. And the whole thing would have that funk-y double kick rhythm and drunken feel groove.
Perhaps this might work?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cBRZwyH8n8k
MYKAAA!
Of course I have a suggestion! Not sure if this would fit your storyline, but I thought of Del Beazley and “Brown Man Blues.”