A look at how cars and music have gone hand in hand in movies over the
years.
Cars and music have long gone hand in leather-gloved hand. Experiments into
installing audio equipment in automobiles go as far back as 1904 and by the
1940s there were nine million car radios in circulation. Today cars are
pimped out with all manner of hi-tech speaker gear so drivers can blast out
their favourite music while cruising the open road.
In Nicolas Winding Refn’s slick and stylish Drive, music is front and centre, propelling the unnamed driver as he motors
throughout a neon-lit Los Angeles. While many praised the film’s use of
synth music, Drive was rescored with the director’s approval
in 2014 by Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, who gathered his favourite artists
together over two years to create new music for the film. Now, music and
film fans can finally experience the film on Blu-ray and DVD with the
alternative Radio 1 soundtrack. To celebrate the new release of
Drive, we’re looking back at some of the best movies which fuse music and
high-speed metal.
Two Lane Black-Top (1971)
This '70s counterculture classic has some serious music credentials. The
film stars legendary American singer-songwriter James Taylor and
Beach Boy Dennis Wilson as a pair of street racers cruising from town
to town in a souped-up 1955 Chevrolet 210. Earning money from illegal drag
racing, their easy lifestyle gets complicated after picking up a female
hitchhiker from the side of the road and getting into a cross-country race
with a rival driver. Surprisingly for a film starring two major musicians,
the film’s music is kept on the back burner mixing in a low-key blend of
rock, folk and blues, with tracks from The Doors and
Kris Kristofferson. A real cult car hit, a tribute album to the film
was released in 2003 featuring alt-favourites Sonic Youth,
Cat Power and Wilco. Groovy.
Christine (1983)
John Carpenter’s 1983 horror Christine was based on
Stephen King’s novel of the same name and tells the story of Arnie
(Keith Gordon), who buys a 1958 Plymouth Fury called Christine, which
possesses a malicious supernatural power - the car will kill or maim anyone
who tries to harm it or its owner. Along with a soundtrack composed by
Carpenter and Alan Howarth, the film is chock full of evocative music
from the '50s and '80s such as Johnny Ace, Little Richard and
George Thorogood and the Destroyers. While this might not seem like
the music of a killer car, Christine certainly conjures up a sinister
atmosphere as she ploughs through bodies in small-town California, aided by
the dulcet tones of Buddy Holly. This is one car who’s bad to the
bone!
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
In 2001, The Fast and the Furious spawned one of the most
successful film franchises of all time, with eight films and one spin-off
plus video games and even theme park attractions. In total the film series
has taken a whopping $5bn at the global box office, making it the ninth
highest grossing film series of all time. The first film followed a cop
(played by the late Paul Walker) who infiltrates an underground group
of car hijackers led by none other than Vin Diesel (with that name,
who could resist!). The film’s music featured a variety of urban hip-hop and
RnB tunes from such characters as Ja Rule, R Kelly,
Nate Dogg and Ashanti. The soundtrack album itself went
platinum in 2002 in both the US and Canada. Just another fact that proves
the enduring appeal of this nitro-injected franchise.
[ musicgateway.com
]
Death Proof (2007)
Whether it’s scores lovingly plundered from the Italian horror films of
Dario Argento, Sergio Martino and Lucio Fulci, or pop
and rock that brings to life his bombastic stories, music always plays a big
part in Quentin Tarantino’s cinema. Death Proof, which formed part of the Grindhouse double-bill with
Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror, starred genre veteran Kurt Russell as a serial killer who
despatches his victims by driving his car at high speeds and then violently
breaking, splatting their bodies on the windscreen. It also starred famed
stuntwoman Zoe Bell as herself, who’s seen doing some rather
dangerous stuff on the bonnet of the car. With Death Proof, Tarantino opted for a potent blend of ‘poliziotteschi’ Italian crime
cinema soundtrack music from the likes of Stelvio Cipriani and
classic driving numbers such as 'Jeepster' by T.Rex. Prepare to step
into the white hot juggernaut!
Drive (2011)
The critically acclaimed and ultra-stylish noir thriller
Drive is back in the fast lane. Drive follows
the thrilling story of a mysterious Hollywood stunt driver (Ryan Gosling) who shifts gear into a criminal getaway driver as night falls. Featuring
an astounding mix of high art, gruesome violence, black humour and
full-throttle action, Drive is a stylish modern masterpiece
from director Nicolas Winding Refn. On its initial release the film
was noted for its evocative use of pop tracks such as 'Nightcall' by
Kavinsky and a pulsing synth score from Cliff Martinez. And
now in 2019, Drive is back so audiences can experience the
film for the first time with both the original soundtrack and the
alternative BBC Radio 1 version, curated by Zane Lowe and featuring
artists
The 1975, Bastille, Bring Me The Horizon, Foals, CHVRCHES, Jon Hopkins,
Pryda, The Neighbourhood, Banks, Baauer, Laura Mvula, SBTRKT
and ZZC. Fasten your seatbelts!
Baby Driver (2017)
This fast-paced 2017 heist thriller
built its high-octane action sequences around its giddy pop, rock and rap
soundtrack to staggering audio-visual effect. The film follows young getaway
driver Baby (Ansel Elgort), who suffers from a chronic case of
ear-ringing tinnitus. To escape the constant head-buzz, the prodigious
driver pops in his ear buds and turns up the tunes as he works, burning
rubber away from bank robberies to the sound of
Queen, Blur, Martha & the Vandellas and more. Aware of possible
cross-over with
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, another film set to feature extensive '70s rock references, director
Edgar Wright consulted with his Guardians counterpart
James Gunn when choosing his tracks.
Wild Wild West: THE KID & The Best Of Real-Life Gunslingers On Screenhttps://t.co/HAwudkuW29 pic.twitter.com/E5CSYsrUuq— ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ.๐๐ ๐ ๐ฌ (@themoviewaffler) May 21, 2019