Since this is the second-to-last Fall 2018 issue of The Stute, this will, sadly, be the final installment of Put Your Records On for this semester. This has been an amazing semester of listening, writing, and talking about music, and I’d like to thank everyone who reads this column. My goal with this column has always been to urge students to spread the music they love, listen to something new, and keep up with exciting trends and releases within music. Every time someone approaches me and tells me they’ve read or talked about my column, it makes my day. Thank you everyone, and I hope your semester ends well!
I spent a lot of time thinking about what to write about for this semester’s final column. As much as I’d have liked to talk about the Grammys, it seemed too early for that discussion — but stay tuned for my predictions early next semester (and pay attention to the nominations, to be announced on December 5)! I also considered making a list of the best songs and albums from this year, but didn’t find that option fitting since the point of this column is to foster a community where we can all talk about music we’re excited about, not to simply project my opinions outward. Also, lists like that are so arbitrary and opinion-centered, and I don’t feel that anyone can make such a list in good conscience without having listened to boatloads more of this year’s music than I have.
However, while watching A Star Is Born last week, it became apparent to me that I should use this last column to talk about the increasing impact of movie soundtracks, a recent trend I have noticed. Soundtracks can by turns provide a movie with character development, plot movement, or an emotional anchor. A Star Is Born, while enhanced by great performances from Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, who also revealed himself to be a masterful director, cruised on the strength of its music. The main characters Jack and Ally are two musicians who share an intense romance, and their music accompanies them through points of both complete enchantment and deep loss. All aspects of this movie captivated me, but seeing these characters express their feelings through song undoubtedly left a lasting impression on all viewers. I think it’s becoming apparent that movie creators are increasingly tapping into the power of music to reach viewers, especially in more recent years.
Over the last few years, movie soundtracks have had an increasingly significant impact on pop culture, playing a bigger and bigger role in the consumption of movies and reaching greater heights on sales and streaming charts. It seems that ever since Frozen unexpectedly dominated all charts in 2013 and 2014, the role of the soundtrack has been reconsidered by movie makers. 2018 has been a great year for soundtracks, with movies like The Greatest Showman, Black Panther, Mamma Mia 2, and, more recently, A Star Is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody, assembling blockbuster musical accompaniment to enhance the experiences of watching each film. The results have been staggering; despite receiving only very gentle acclaim, The Greatest Showman’s soundtrack has been the most lasting success on the Billboard 200 chart this year. Just take a look at the iTunes album chart, where The Greatest Showman has resided near the top for nearly 10 months now, outlasting releases from the biggest hip-hop and pop artists. This level of success is beyond clear explanation. Are directors crafting their movies to have music moments which have lasting impacts on their audiences, and relying more on this than in previous years? And what is causing audiences to buy soundtracks disproportionately, rather than stream them?
Have you ever read a comment on YouTube that sounds like, ‘I bought the soundtrack right after I left the theater’? Well, I think that this might be a sign of this trend. Movies basically serve as a two-hour advertisement for the soundtrack, so it’s no wonder that after the massive success of Frozen, companies have realized the power of selling a soundtrack through a movie. Audiences will spend two hours with a movie, soaking in its characters and their emotions, and creating a memorable soundtrack is the perfect way to (make more money) give audiences something to remember the movie by.
Soundtracks are increasingly emphasized in movies, which has seemed to make both the audiences and movie makers happy. It looks like Bohemian Rhapsody’s soundtrack will be the next smash hit, and in the future, I wouldn’t be surprised if soundtracks continue to dominate the album sales charts, even though it may be too complicated to tell why this trend occurs.
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