Music of The Walking Dead

[Morto Vivente]

The CD they are releasing looks underwhelming, personally. AMC - gimme the score damn it. *grumble grumble grumble* I'm not positive but I think they're packaging the CD with the Season 3 boxset. BIG WHOOP ! Who picked that track list anyway......Glen Mazzara ?

[bassman]

I'm not positive but I think they're packaging the CD with the Season 3 boxset. BIG WHOOP ! Who picked that track list anyway......Glen Mazzara ? Although Mazzara has left, he wasn't stupid. As I said before, I imagine this "TWD Soundtrack" is just a marketing ploy by AMC. They're sitting on a gold mine and they're gonna exploit it in any way possible...

[MinionZombie]

Aye, The Governor pulse theme was really cool ... very nifty ... I also dug the dark piano twist on it at the start of 3x16. It had the air of inevitability to it. Creepy... The right piece of music-music can work well (e.g. Civilian by Wye Oak in "18 Miles Out" fits the bill perfectly, and I thought "The Regulator" by Clutch fit in quite nicely - mainly for the bassline, or whatever you music-y type folks call it - which was in "Nebraska") - but yeah, too much music would be a bad thing - but I don't think TWD has ever overdone the music. Most action scenes just focus on sound effects as it should be ... the music is for tone and emotion and establishing a certain mood at the right time. I'm gonna defend Emily Kinney - she's got a lovely voice and I really liked her two A Cappella pieces. It would make sense, in the horrific world of a zombie apocalypse, that you'd need a bit of a sing-song from a fair-haired farmer's daughter to ease the tension a smidge. It's a good counterpoint to the main score. I don't get why some folks out there, and evidently here too, come down on her for it. Another piece of music that I really liked was in 1x05 - it was a cue from the score to "Sunshine" - and it fit wonderfully (as they drive away from the camp, up until poor old Andy can't take it anymore and gets them to pull over and leave him against the tree). Oh and as the CDC is about to be incinerated, there's another soundtrack cue, sourced from Rabbit Proof Fence, called "Running to the Rain", and again that worked very well indeed. I wasn't fond of the song at the end of 1x01 ... I didn't like the sound of it. I'd have preferred something a bit darker, or a little edgier, so yeah ... wasn't that keen on that track. On the other hand, as I said earlier, "I'm A Man" by Black Strobe in 1x02 was a nice addition - it sounded exactly as cool and rockin' as Glenn would have felt in that moment hoofing the muscle car around an abandoned highway.

[bassman]

I've got no real problem with Beth's singing, it just seemed overused this season. How many times did we hear it? Two? Three times? Just the once was good enough. It started to feel like a crutch. As for Wang Chung at the end of 101, I loved it. Sure, it's more upbeat than expected but the lyrics perfectly match the end of the episode(movie). I feel like it wouldn't have so much of a punch if they went with a darker orchestral score. If it were the end of a real movie, then sure. But it was designed to lead into a much larger story, so the inclusion of that song gave it a big "F*CK YEAH!" at the end. The beginning of Rick's story has been completed(wonderfully), but now you're going to see the rest of his journey. "Welcome to my only world....". It's perfect.

[Morto Vivente]

I really liked the placement of "The Regulator" to close Nebraska (as I said at the start of the thread). How about this as a cue, Dave saying "Nobody's shooting anybody", and then .......GUNSHOT (the sound of Rick's Python). The whole sequence is probably my favorite of season 2. The look on Hershel's face after Rick shoots both Dave and Tony is priceless. Although Mazzara has left, he wasn't stupid. As I said before, I imagine this "TWD Soundtrack" is just a marketing ploy by AMC. They're sitting on a gold mine and they're gonna exploit it in any way possible... I agree with you bassman, I was joking. Just goes to show that emoticons aren't full-proof.

[ProfessorChaos]

As for Wang Chung at the end of 101, I loved it. Sure, it's more upbeat than expected but the lyrics perfectly match the end of the episode(movie). I feel like it wouldn't have so much of a punch if they went with a darker orchestral score. If it were the end of a real movie, then sure. But it was designed to lead into a much larger story, so the inclusion of that song gave it a big "F*CK YEAH!" at the end. The beginning of Rick's story has been completed(wonderfully), but now you're going to see the rest of his journey. "Welcome to my only world....". It's perfect. yeah, what he said. i also liked the dylan song at the end of season one, the closing song from the nebraska episode, and i sorta like the civilian song used at the end of 18 miles out. i really don't want a whole lot of music (songs by artists, that is, not the score by mccreary) included in the show, as i feel most of the time it just feels out of place. as for the amc-pimped TWD soundtrack, no thanks. however, an amc show that uses amazing music in a brilliant way would be breaking bad. i can't even tell you how many awesome songs/artists that show has introduced me to..and they also use some good and more well-known jams as well. i almost jumped out of my seat when they used crystal blue persuasion by tommy james and the shondells on the the "gliding over all" episode.

[MinionZombie]

As I recall, they had Beth sing twice - once in each half of the season. I wouldn't say that was a "crutch" at all, particularly as it's only a passing moment, I don't see what it would be holding up, or how it would be holding anything up ... it's just a nice moment to mix up the tone a touch. The song at the end of 1x01, yeah the lyrics might fit, but I just didn't really dig the sound of the music ... I see what you're saying, but I think there could have been a better song out there to fit into that moment that would strike a balance between our views. On "Breaking Bad" - there was a really good track called "If I Had A Heart" by Fever Ray that was used brilliantly in, IIRC, season 4 when Jesse's in a state of depression.

[bassman]

however, an amc show that uses amazing music in a brilliant way would be breaking bad. i can't even tell you how many awesome songs/artists that show has introduced me to..and they also use some good and more well-known jams as well. i almost jumped out of my seat when they used crystal blue persuasion by tommy james and the shondells on the the "gliding over all" episode. Agreed. BB has had some amazing music. Hell....everything about BB has been amazing. I can't wait for the inevitable full series box set in the next year or so....

[facestabber]

Minion zombie......"Another piece of music that I really liked was in 1x05 - it was a cue from the score to "Sunshine" - and it fit wonderfully (as they drive away from the camp, up until poor old Andy can't take it anymore and gets them to pull over and leave him against the tree). Oh and as the CDC is about to be incinerated, there's another soundtrack cue, sourced from Rabbit Proof Fence, called "Running to the Rain", and again that worked very well indeed." Andy? Jim. Just messing. In all serious I'm going to miss the back and forth after each episode.

[MinionZombie]

Minion zombie......"Another piece of music that I really liked was in 1x05 - it was a cue from the score to "Sunshine" - and it fit wonderfully (as they drive away from the camp, up until poor old Andy can't take it anymore and gets them to pull over and leave him against the tree). Oh and as the CDC is about to be incinerated, there's another soundtrack cue, sourced from Rabbit Proof Fence, called "Running to the Rain", and again that worked very well indeed." Andy? Jim. Just messing. In all serious I'm going to miss the back and forth after each episode. Damnit, you're quite right ... I knew something was off in my head when I wrote that, but I was too lazy to check. Yes - JIM - not Andy. The season may be over, but we've got months of rumours and tidbits of information and trailers and Q&A sessions to examine in finite detail ahead of us.

[Morto Vivente]

Nothing to do with the music, but in the spirit of tidbits, rumours and speculation what do you all think about the theories in the link below ? My own take on the Governor example is that he was hiding who he truly is to the Woodburians until he eventually massacred them. http://walkingdeadpictures.tumblr.co...pening-credits

[MinionZombie]

Nothing to do with the music, but in the spirit of tidbits, rumours and speculation what do you all think about the theories in the link below ? My own take on the Governor example is that he was hiding who he truly is to the Woodburians until he eventually massacred them. http://walkingdeadpictures.tumblr.co...pening-credits I think a lot of those are simple images to do with the characters - e.g. Rick's badge, Glenn's watch (that used to be Hershel's etc), but the odd one is a fair reading (such as the two arrows for Norman Reedus' credit). However, the two bullets theory - the one who carked it in the finale (just in case someone's reading this who hasn't yet seen the finale ... weirdos ), that decision wasn't made when this credit sequence was made, so... They missed something, I believe, with the Chandler Riggs shot - yeah yeah, stay in the house, or whatever - but I'm pretty sure that's the building that Daryl searched during his season two hunt for the missing Sophia. Also, the Cherokee Rose flower is in the shot - so it's the loss of a fellow child, and a loss of innocence. I don't think the meanings are quite as deep as the writer believes, there is meaning there, but it's not profound ... and some of their suggestions are a stretch, or don't match up with production chronology (they were still writing - and filming - season 3 when the credits sequence was created in time for 3x01), and others are images that might be something you can read into in hindsight, but I don't think they actually mean anything necessarily (i.e. just some spooky shots of abandoned houses to match the overall tone of the credits sequence). The sequence though, is definitely about taking stock of where they're at, who they are, and certain symbolic possessions that also carry further meaning (e.g. the watch and the notion of time).

[Morto Vivente]

The sequence though, is definitely about taking stock of where they're at, who they are, and certain symbolic possessions that also carry further meaning (e.g. the watch and the notion of time). Yeah, I'd forgotten about Dale's philosophizing (around the campfire in season 1) concerning how people relate to time, and then in the following season Hershel gives a watch to Glenn. Considering that they're practically father and son in law there's an obvious theme there. I take your point about "reading too much into" some of the title sequence imagery after the fact. As you said the title sequence pre-dates some of the directions that the season took after re-writes etc. I wonder if Merle's death was decided in the initial draft of the season or if it just developed that way ? The Chandler Riggs section of the title sequence that you nailed, and how Carl's arc concludes in season 3 definitely echoed one another (IMO). Interesting stuff !