Music on Buffy

[Black Eye Guy]

I was just thinking about Music in TV, Programs like The O.C. and Greys Anatomy use music amazingly in their episodes. Even if you don't like the shows you have to admit they use music very effectively!

But I kept thinking how cool it would be if Buffy had used the more mainstream type music that they do. By mainstream I don't mean the most popular songs at the time, but like less outsider then the artists in Buffy.

I did like some of the music on Buffy, but not that much really grabbed me, after watching an ep of Greys I always go check out the music from the ep. But Buffy never really had those huge Music moments, The two I think of are, the one at the end of season 2, and Goodbye to You at the end of Tebula Rasa. Where they used the kinda more known music in the show, but it wasn't used that often!

So I was just wondering do you think the show could have been enhanced by using type of Music Greys used, or would it not have worked at all?

 

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

i loved a lot of the music on buffy! granted, i agree that some of the unknown bands at the bronze i didnt like, but i liked all the alison krauss (thats a singer i really got into from buffy- i love 'that kind of love' and 'it doesnt matter') music they played, and i loved that song at the beginning of 'conversations with dead people', and of course there is always great music composed for the background, like in 'becoming prt. 2' (i think its called 'full of grace'; not sure. you guys know.) a lot of the music does grab me, but maybe its just my personal taste. im very open to music. anyway, the point is, i always thought they did use music effectively. maybe i'm wrong...

 

[Black Eye Guy]

Yeah I'm not saying I didn't like the music, like the ones you mentioned, especially in CwDP the music was cool. I really liked Amiee Mans apeareance, I actually bought her CD after I saw her on the show.

But like if I was to describe what makes Buffy such a great show to watch, I would say it's funny, The characters are great and the storys are excellent. But if I was to describe Greys Anatomy I would say that and I would say the music in that list. I wouldn't put music in the reasons to watch Buffy, if you get me?

 

[Edmund Blackadder]

Firstly, I think there are quite a few stand-out moments in Buffy, musically.
I liked the music of Buffy because it had the perfect feel for the show. It was understated yet meaningful, the fringe but worthy of success.

When I watch a TV show, say Smallville, and I hear the latest Dido track and no matter how well it fits in with the scene, all i'm thinking is 'The only reason she has allowed this is because the audience it is aiming at is a large group of who she wants listening to her music, so its publicity for her, publicity she is being paid for that quite frankly she doesn't need'.


No, I think the music of Buffy was perfect for what it was meant for and if more mainstream music had been involved then I think I would have been annoyed.
Heck, I can't help but think the scene where Blink 182's song is used is really cheesy now.
Sorry BEG, I plum don't agree with you🙂

 

[The Arcane]

I'm with BotD. One of my favourite things about Buffy was the fact that it used the music that was right for the show, rather than what was well known or popular. Occasionally you would hear a more popular artist on the show (Sarah McLachlan, Michelle Branch, Aimee Mann and so on) but only when that particular track was appropriate and thankfully only quality artists that deserved the popularity in the first place.

I've never watched Greys Anatomy (hospital dramas depress me) and frankly I can't remember any standout musical moments from the episodes of The OC that I suffered through, which tells me that none of the musical choices were that fantastic. Many of the bands and artists that were used on the show deserve to be a lot more successful than they are actually. It's just that Joss has way better taste in music than the general public. 😉

 

[What happened to good TV?]

I agree that the music used on Buffy (most of it being a composed score), particularly in the bronze setting, was effective. On some buffy related featurette I watched I remember it being said that the 'unknown' bands were used to give it a more realistic feel. If you had well known bands playing at the bronze...well that wasn't the point. It was Sunnydale after all.

However I think that like you said BEG the music in Greys and the OC (2 of my favourite shows at the moment!) is amazingly effective. But I think it works well, particularly in the OC because its the sort of music the characters listen to (and the creators) which is current and to an extent 'mainstream'. I think the unknown bands worked better in Buffy.

 

[Schillaci]

Displaced - Azure ray
This song played in Seeing Red, it was good use of music that summed up the scene perfectly.

There are quite a few instances where the song choice worked perfectly with the scene. Wild Horses was a great choice for the Prom scene with Buffy and Angel.

Plus Pink Floyd and Radiohead were both mentioned, while no music of theirs was played, Joss or whomever still gets a thumbs up. Funny actually, that Giles mentioned Pink Floyd and Oz mentioned Radiohead, both bands I'd imagine their characters would listen to.

 

[Joamna]

I agree that the music in Grey's Anatomy and the O.C. is really good, I also check out the music from the episodes after I watched them. But I wouldn't want Buffy to have music more like that, I love those songs and bands that play at the bronze, most of the time it's music that I probably wouldn't listen to myself, but it helps create that atmosphere very good..

 

[eponinethen]

I know what you mean BEG and I love that they're doing that on especially Grey's.. Like they played Tegan and Sara in every other episode (or actually more than that) at first, made me really happy 😀
Also the music on Veronica Mars can be great etc.

I loved it when Michelle Branch played at the Bronze, as well as Aimee Mann and some other bands but, it's like a different thing, different reality, I don't think I could have heard any of my fav bands' songs on BtVS, wouldn have been a bit weird... I think

 

[The Arcane]

I agree that the music in Grey's Anatomy and the O.C. is really good, I also check out the music from the episodes after I watched them. But I wouldn't want Buffy to have music more like that, I love those songs and bands that play at the bronze, most of the time it's music that I probably wouldn't listen to myself, but it helps create that atmosphere very good..

That's where I was lucky with Buffy because the nature of the show lends itself to rock, and rock is ALL that I listen to (and pretty much all the time).

Dzhug, agreed about The Sundays. That song was absolutely spot on for that scene. Can't imagine the original Stones version working quite as well though. Whilst it is probably the superior version of the two I reckon it was Harriet Wheeler's vocals that made the scene work so well.

 

[caileybeth]

I liked the more obscure music on Buffy because it fit with the whole show. It was pretty flippin' weird when Blink 182 was played on Buffy, it just didn't sit right with me. I'm not like the Indie music girl or anything, hurrah for mainstream, but I think the music choices in Buffy were generally all good.
And the original score stuff is just brilliant. Close Your Eyes? Sacrifice? Dead Guys With Bombs? All good.