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New Moon/Gossip Girl
Alexandra Patsavas
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Q&A: Inside the 'New Moon' Soundtrack
Meet the mastermind behind the No. 1 album, along with Gossip Girl and other TV soundtracks.
By Steve Kandell 11.05.09 6:50 AM
New Moon/Gossip Girl
Music supervisor for hit TV shows including Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, and Mad Men -- along with the Twilight movie series -- Alexandra Patsavas has quietly made herself one of the most influential figures in the industry, helping to break new bands and shape the aesthetics of popular drama.
With the indie-all-star New Moon soundtrack currently the No. 1 album in the country, Patsavas talked to SPIN.com about how the project came together, what makes for a good soundtrack moment, and which new bands you should watch out for.
How you go about something like New Moon, which features original songs from so many artists who don't often appear in projects this high-profile?
The work starts as soon as the script is finished and distributed. Chris Weitz, the director, had a very specific point of view about how he wanted the music to feel. There's a lot of separation and longing and loss in the movie; the bands and lyrics and sound and arrangements had to reflect that. Some folks, like Lykke Li, the Killers, Grizzly Bear, OK Go, and Anya Marina all came into the cutting room and sat with Chris to watch the movie and talk about their contributions. Other tracks were submitted with the movie in mind. I think it's very difficult to succeed without any context.
Alexandra Patsavas
Click to Enlarge!
MORE ON SPIN.COM:
>> 'Twilight' Author Reveals Favorite New Music!
>> WATCH: Death Cab for Cutie's 'Twilight' Video
>> 'Gossip Girl''s Taylor Momsen Debuts Band -- And It Rocks!
A lot of people were surprised by Thom Yorke's inclusion. How did that come about?
A Radiohead song ["15 Step"] played over the end titles of Twilight, so we had a relationship. I believe this is the first soundtrack he's been on in a long time, so that's exciting. A lot of bands were interested in submitting great material, which helps a lot.
It does seem like music that the characters would actually listen to, which is certainly not always the case in soundtrack tie-ins.
I think the music has to be inspired by the characters' lives, but it's not always just used as source material—it's used to score as well. Chris used the Bon Iver/St. Vincent track ["Rosyln"] and Thom Yorke track ["Hearing Damage"] in spots that would have traditionally been scored. I grew up in Chicago in the ‘70s and ‘80s, so those John Hughes movies were important to me. He created a world but also cleverly introduced mainstream kids to non-mainstream kids.
What are some of your favorite music-related movie or TV moments?
Just to give you a John Hughes example, the end of Ferris Bueller's Day Off ["Oh Yeah" by Yello]—genius. Hughes helped make me be adventurous. The final scene in Six Feet Under ["Breathe Me" by Sia], certainly—it was such a life-changing moment and my colleagues Gary Calamar and Thomas Golubic did such an amazing job with that show. I loved the Gossip Girl pilot, there's a great mix of pop and rock bands from New York. I'm really proud of the on-cameras.
On-cameras?
On Gossip Girl, the first ten episodes have included four on-camera performances: Sonic Youth re-recorded "Starpower" to fit a wedding scene and Thurston Moore and Jemina Pearl did the Ramones' "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker." That kind of stuff is really gratifying. Lady Gaga is upcoming playing a new song.
Is it sometimes tricky finding ways to incorporate performances like that into the show?
That's the producers' job—when it's scripted, we get the call and start to work on it. We're not leading the story.
What bands have you been listening to lately?
I like the new Air, David Guetta, Magic Bullets, Florence and the Machines, Fanfarlo, the Middle East.
Is it hard for you to separate a band you just enjoy listening to from one that you think could work for a specific scene in one of your projects?
Yeah, definitely. I listen to music two ways: As a person, you have an instinctive, personal, emotional response. But as a music supervisor, you have a secondary response, which is, "Will this sit well under dialogue?" "Can people die to this?" "Can people kiss to this?"
How does one get this kind of job? Is a degree needed? How did this chick get this job and why am schleping all over town for peanuts? Is her Dad rich? A studio head or something? God, I just hate her.
She is such a genius!
totally
I thought the NM soundtrack was just 'okay' The beats to all the songs were really good, but the lyrics to most the songs... I just wasn't feelin' them. Frankly, most didn't even make sense to me. I thought there was some great music out there that really captured the 'theme' of the movie and would have been great on the soundtrack, but oh well, that's just my opinion.
Yeah but the studio has to get the record company's and the recording artists' permissions to use the song. Some music may fit better but the people who own the rights may withhold it from being used on the soundtrack.
im really into soundtracks atm ..
NM's soundtrack is brilliant ..
yes a few of the songs lyrics didnt make much sense to me but it just sum how still fits ..
i love it .. im listening to friends by band of skulls .. its great ..
i would love a job as a music superviser .. im studying A-Level media studies so maybe one day lol
Alexandra Patsavas is amazing :) good work :)
x
I was dissapointed with the soundtrack! I wanted Alex Pavia on it, his music is really good and he has twilight inspired songs. Look after him on Youtube! He should've been on the new moon soundtrack! I got a question.. If you want to a song or an artist on the soundtrack of Eclipse.. what do you do? Is there anywhere you can send a demo or something? Because I looked for an adress for months just to be able to have Alex Pavia on the NM soundtrack but I never found anything, and neither did he, listen to his song Death in Black and White and you'll know you did a mistake not to have it on the soundtrack! :((((((((((((((((
I for one am glad that there aren't known titles on this soundtrack, like a lot of people have suggested. It's for a movie, which when listening to the music should make you think about the movie, not about the band or song you are listening to. Personally, I love this soundtrack. Even if I never see the movie, this will be one of my fav playlists, there is such emotion and longing. If you are not impressed with the list right off the bat, just give it a chance and listen through a few times.
Oh and if I hear one more person say that the author's playlist should have been included in the movie I am going scream. What worked for the author years ago to create her story doesn't necessarily translate well for the movie. So just get over it already!
I LOVE the soundtrack! I am so into local music and the unknown! I think choosing relatively unknown artists is the definate way to go....makes the movie experience that much more enjoyable! May I recommend for Eclipse the song "She" by Clay Hughes. Check him out on iTunes, if it is not the love triangle in song form, I am not sure what else could be. AMAZING work miss!!!
I've always thought Josiah Leming's music would be great for the Twilight movies. His mix of joy and sadness is exceptional. He has a MySpace page and is on tour right now on the East coast.
the movie has to be sad as hell in some spots bc thats the way the story is (bon iver, thom yorke, likke ly). and other times its really adrenaline-driven and dangerous (muse, hurricane bells, band of skulls). though its not what i may personally listen to, its spot on with the story, so i love it!
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Hi Guys, this is Phantom Lyric. I have recorded a song for the soundtrack and the video is up on youtube. Go ahead and check it out and give me some feed back!
Here is the link -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7nMZ-p5UiI
Please subscribe to PhantomLyric - youtube .com/phantomlyric
The only bad thing about the New Moon soundtrack was the piece she put in by Lupe Fiasco.She has all this great talent, and then just out of the blue there is Lupe Fiasco. I'm hoping it's used in good context.
wow - she tips The Middle East - that's an amazing australian gem. can't wait to hear that on the next soundtrack!
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