Today
is Monday, December 23 and welcome to Heard But Not Seen. The focus of
this blog is an on-going discussion I have been having with my music-loving
friends and colleagues that deals with listening to new music versus going to
see it in-person. So not only does today mark my first official
post, it is also my first listings for ‘New Music Monday’.
I
know the internet is what brought you to this blog and for all intents and
purposes can be an excellent resource for new music, but I want to draw
attention to an underrated outlet for new music: film. The word
soundtrack can be defined as a recording of the musical accompaniment to a
movie – most often for dramatic effect as the movie's plot occurs.
And it is important to note that music in film is not new.
Since the early 1900s composers have been making music specific for movies, and
in the late 1950s “The Music from Peter Gunn” became the first album ever to
win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In today’s economy with struggling
bands trying to make ends meet, bands have been known to give their songs to
filmmakers for free based simply on the potential new audiences that they might
reach. There is even a dedicated web site to the concept: http://www.mobygratis.com/.
I
recently watched “The Lifeguard” a 2013 American comedy-drama filmed in
Pittsburgh that was produced, written, and directed by Liz W. Garcia (and
starred Kristen Bell and David Lambert). In one of the pivotal scenes of
the movie, a song filled the background that caught my attention. The
2012 song, “Lightshow” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rL403ynyY4) is by the Montreal, Canadian indie-rock band
Plants and Animals (http://www.plantsandanimals.ca/).
And after listening to the song a few more times, it clearly stands on its
own. So although this song was released in 2012 and the band currently
has no shows listed on their website, they are still getting their music
heard. In fact, this also turns out to be the second time in as many
movies that I was introduced to new music. Previous to “The Lifeguard”, I
watched Nat Faxon and Jim Rash’s “The Way Way Back” another 2013 American
comedy-drama film that used the Nashville, TN based, indie-roots band the
Apache Relay (http://theapacherelay.com/)
song, “Power Hungry Animals” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYDfitEcPAw). Thankfully Apache Relay hits the road in
the Midwest in February 2014, but if you are not in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois
or Wisconsin, you now know where else you might be able to find their music as
well as other gems waiting to be discovered.
Thanks
for reading!
