FACT - we all have songs that we really love but could never admit to liking. Like anything else in life, you just can't choose what you fall in love with, it chooses you.
If a song sings to your true emotion, it's got you in one hit. I'm not talking sappy songs either. It really could be anything. Here's a list of the top ten songs I know people really L-O-V-E but whenever it comes on the radio in front of friends or family, they will groan and mutter the words "oh I hate this song":
10 - The Darkness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love
Boom... boom... boom... the bassline is pumping and you immediately visualise yourself doing a slow mo. Admit it... you can't help it! Sometimes there's certain songs, rhythms, beats and sequences that make you just want to pull a Baywatch. But victory style. It's hard not to envision. Wind in your hair, eyes sternly on the subject, a few 'possy' members for support on either side of you. Or perhaps you have a bright light shining like an aura around you. Each to their own imagination really.
Generally the kind of song that makes you desperately want to slow mo out of the theatre or into your lovers arms or even to strut past a nemesis is intense, sexy, edgy and highly imaginative - a hard combination to come by.
For those who are slow mo inept, there's three simple keys to a successful imaginative walk.
The Baseline
Quite simple really. Step when the beat steps. You might even have to step on every fourth beat. Left Foot ...2 ...3 ...4 ... Right Foot ...2 ...3 ...4 ... Left Foot etc etc. Don't be concerned, you should be able to feel the beat reverberate through to your chest. When you are hitting the big beats, you'll know... oh boy will you know.
Chin Down. Eyes Up
Focus on your target. Whether it be the most wicked person around who you're about to teach a lesson (in your mind of course - I don't condone violence) or the absolute babe in your maths class; keep your eyes just above their head but keep your chin down. Still confused? Simple trick - look at the ground approximately 3 feet from your toes. Keep your head exactlywhere it is and move your eyes up target.
BYO Fan
Not ideal but kind of necessary. The windswept look was established in 1968 with the classic moment in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when Truly Scrumptious loses her hat while heading to the beach. You can't exactly slow mo while driving a car, so simply have a stand alone fan facing you, not set to rotation but rather still and have it to which ever side is preferable. Personally I prefer it front on.
The girls of Sucker Punch really know what they're doing.
And the sound track is ideal for rehearsing your three keys.
TRACK LISTING:
1. “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” - Emily Browning
2. “Army of Me (Sucker Punch Remix)” - Björk featuring Skunk Anansie
3. “White Rabbit” - Emiliana Torrini
4. “I Want It All”/“We Will Rock You” Mash-Up - Queen w/ Armageddon a.k.a Geddy
5. “Search and Destroy” - Skunk Anansie
6. “Tomorrow Never Knows” - Alison Mosshart and Carla Azar
7. “Where is My Mind?” - Yoav featuring Emily Browning
8. “Asleep” - Emily Browning
9. “Love is the Drug” - Carla Gugino and Oscar Isaac
Turns out - this is a common misconception when a fundamental song is one of the hardest to sing in key... you know the words, you've been singing it since you could walk... the Birthday song.
As a solo effort, belt it out now (provided you're alone) and sure! You're the local Pavarotti. In a group situation however, it's the most impossible thing to sing. I thought there was something wrong with me for exactly 23 years and 9 months and 11 days.
Today - 5th April 2011, I casually sang happy birthday to my Mum sitting next to my sister. Once the song was completed I admitted my faux pas to the younger sister who immediately jumped with wide eyes to inform me she too could not sing it either! Who on earth decided to write such a complex song for something so simple? Do you think when siblings Patty Hill and Mildred Hill decided to develop the song they honestly thought the tune was good? Seriously did they honestly think that young school children could sing it also? Dreaming!!!
Don't be shy guys - sing it loud and sing it proud cause no one's singing it in key. And after all - it ain't over until the fat lady sings.
I recently went and saw Red Riding Hood. To be honest it was purely a catch up with a girlfriend and this was the only movie showing at the right time slot so there was absolutely zero expectation of the flick. Miss Critty gave me a brief update as we wandered the dark red velvet isle to our seats on what the film was basically about and that it was directed by the same woman that did the Twilight Saga. As a 23 year old female, I was not impressed to be about to view something that had the same backbone as an Edward vs Jacob cinematic creation.
None the less, as the lights began to dim and the chatter fade, I was ready for the feature film.
Approximately 30 minutes in, I started to ponder why I wasn't getting entirely into the film. The acting was fine, the effects were cool and I wasn't distracted by any inappropriate patrons. So what was wrong? Was I tired? Perhaps I was stressed? Oh the possibilities! Then it finally dawned on me... the sound track to the movie. Or should I say lack of score?
There were no peaks, no silence followed by sudden thrashings of drum and base to really get the heart racing. Nothing. It was almost as though I were reading a book... silent - and even that isn't possible as I always have my ipod in while reading, creating my own appropriate sound track to the story.
Heck! Not even the trailer has a decent build up in it (I don't exactly count having a base line in the background as music). What ever happened to wonderful works such as the score for E.T done by John Williams? He not only created a dream like quality, but also allowed you to naturally develop sympathy for an unknown creature through his choice of pitch and depth. It's even believed Spielberg loved the music created for the final chase in the movie so much that he actually edited the sequence purely to suit the sound! Something that clearly didn't happen for Red Riding Hood.
Red Riding Hood directed by Catherine Hardwicke - out now
Jaws is another perfect example. EVERYONE knows the dum dum... dum dum... again a piece by John Williams. Such a simple E and F note sequence that absolutely everyone internationally relates to 'danger' when heard.
Perhaps they spent all the money on special effects and scoring top name current actors therefore had no budget left for the music direction? Maybe the deadline was fast approaching so they just spun a cd in the background? Or perhaps they just couldn't be bothered.
I'm not saying that a completely new and original score must be developed for a movie to be successful - Catherine Hardwicke got it right in her development of Twilight using a score composed by Carter Burwell and the remainder of the soundtrack a choice of fantastic tracks by various artists. A great selection made by music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas.
How amazing that something you generally don't even notice in a movie can truly make or break the climax of a scene.
