Pulp Fiction (Various)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5OHrQYwRac An actor friend of mine once told me that one of the measures of a great film director is in their choice of music. What it achieves, what tone it creates, how it adds to the subtext of the scene, to the film overall. If you look at Pulp Fiction, the evidence of this paradigm is painfully clear. From the now iconic frenetic twang of Dick Dales Misirlou; to the soothing, almost pleading sentiments of Urge Overkills tender cover of Girl, Youll Be a Woman Soon; to the hazy, delirious urgency of Bullwinkle Part 2 by the Centurians; the Pulp Fiction OST really is both eclectic while always managing to remain heavily thematically linked to the film. Popular readings of the film itself suggest that Pulp Fictions dominant theme is the subversion of the American dream via Pop-Culture and that its soundtrack, which is largely comprised of tracks from American artists of the late 50s to the early 70s, is deeply emblematic of this overriding theme. In fact Pulp Fiction delivers slice after slice of Americana, from R&B, to Country to Surf Rock while the film itself deals with characters that have managed to subvert the American dream to suit their own ends; theyve gorged personal freedom to the point that theyll kill or even die to pursue their own happiness. Pulp Fictions soundtrack deals in images of American romance, heartbreak, big dreams, hard falls, freedom and hazy bubble-gum summers. The American dream. And in essence, isnt that what Pulp Fiction itself is about? I mean when you sift through all the violence and the strong adult content? One popular definition of genius is the ability to see relationship where there is none. If thats the case, then Pulp Fictions soundtrack and its deep sub-textual links to Pulp Fictions many governing themes is just another hallmark of Tarantinos genius.
Stuart Bedford