Musings on music in 3.04
Specifically, the last song we heard in the episode, which made me sit up and take notice...
So Chris didn't quite get his Bowieflash moment like a lot of us were predicting, but something happened in a roundabout way, and I think the music is the clue. The song used in the last scene in Luigi's, which we do eventually hear quite clearly is "My Way," sung by Frank Sinatra. I looked up the song after I saw the episode, and I found this tidbit on Wikipedia:
The lyrics of "My Way" tell the story of a man who is nearing death. As he reflects on his life, he has few regrets for how he lived it, saying that, as he reviews the challenges he’s faced, he is comfortable with and takes responsibility for how he dealt with all the ups and downs of his life while maintaining a respectable degree of integrity.
If we go with the Gene is the dead police man theory and how it possibly relates to corruption in the force, this makes that choice of music particularly meaningful in my opinion.
But I have to say that I am a total nerd about music. When I hear a song I like, I research it, I try to find as many versions of the song as possible, and I try to learn as much about it as possible. I did this with another song a while ago, a song that is related to "My Way", in a way, which is why I almost had a heart attack when I heard that song playing. Maybe, I'm looking far too much into things, but this show seems to encourage that everything has a meaning so I don't feel too bad. :)
Anyway! On to the point. Check out this other blurb, again lifted from Wikipedia:
In 1968, Bowie wrote "Even a Fool Learns to Love", a song with lyrics by Bowie set to the music of a 1967 French song ("Comme d'habitude"). Bowie's song was never released, but Paul Anka bought the rights to the original French version, and rewrote it into "My Way," made famous by Frank Sinatra in a 1969 recording on his album of the same name. The success of the Anka version prompted Bowie to write "Life on Mars?" as a parody of Sinatra's recording.
From this article which expands a bit on the above blurb:
The song strongly resembles Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” - it has identical chords - and with good reason...Bowie recorded “Life On Mars?” as a Sinatra parody in anger at having missed out on a fortune, although the Hunky Dory liner notes state that the song was merely “inspired by Frankie”.
So, thoughts anyone? There has to be a reason as to why they chose this song to end the episode and use as the backdrop for Gene's rousing speech. :)
So Chris didn't quite get his Bowieflash moment like a lot of us were predicting, but something happened in a roundabout way, and I think the music is the clue. The song used in the last scene in Luigi's, which we do eventually hear quite clearly is "My Way," sung by Frank Sinatra. I looked up the song after I saw the episode, and I found this tidbit on Wikipedia:
The lyrics of "My Way" tell the story of a man who is nearing death. As he reflects on his life, he has few regrets for how he lived it, saying that, as he reviews the challenges he’s faced, he is comfortable with and takes responsibility for how he dealt with all the ups and downs of his life while maintaining a respectable degree of integrity.
If we go with the Gene is the dead police man theory and how it possibly relates to corruption in the force, this makes that choice of music particularly meaningful in my opinion.
But I have to say that I am a total nerd about music. When I hear a song I like, I research it, I try to find as many versions of the song as possible, and I try to learn as much about it as possible. I did this with another song a while ago, a song that is related to "My Way", in a way, which is why I almost had a heart attack when I heard that song playing. Maybe, I'm looking far too much into things, but this show seems to encourage that everything has a meaning so I don't feel too bad. :)
Anyway! On to the point. Check out this other blurb, again lifted from Wikipedia:
In 1968, Bowie wrote "Even a Fool Learns to Love", a song with lyrics by Bowie set to the music of a 1967 French song ("Comme d'habitude"). Bowie's song was never released, but Paul Anka bought the rights to the original French version, and rewrote it into "My Way," made famous by Frank Sinatra in a 1969 recording on his album of the same name. The success of the Anka version prompted Bowie to write "Life on Mars?" as a parody of Sinatra's recording.
From this article which expands a bit on the above blurb:
The song strongly resembles Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” - it has identical chords - and with good reason...Bowie recorded “Life On Mars?” as a Sinatra parody in anger at having missed out on a fortune, although the Hunky Dory liner notes state that the song was merely “inspired by Frankie”.
So, thoughts anyone? There has to be a reason as to why they chose this song to end the episode and use as the backdrop for Gene's rousing speech. :)