One of my favorite aspects of Velvet Goldmine was it's fabulous 70s glam soundtrack. I found the music of this movie to be a character just as important as Curt Wilde and Brian Slade. Without it, the film would completely lose it's 70's era fashion and flare. Not only that, but upon doing a bit of research on the music after the viewing, I found that the soundtrack is perfect for this film for more than just it's additive 70's sound. Similar to many characters in the film, this album faces some identity crisis of it's own. According to the all knowing source, Wikipedia.com, the character of Brian Slade what heavily influenced by David Bowie. However, Bowie was not a huge fan of the script and therefore did not release any of the music rights for several of his songs that were meant to be in the movie. This is why the soundtrack mainly features songs that only sound like those of popular glam rock bands from the past and present. For example, musicians such as Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood from the band Radiohead were involved in the 70s sound recreation process in Velvet Goldmine.
As you can see, the characters in this glittery film were not the only ones posing as someone or something they really weren't. The soundtrack successfully reflect the themes of false identity and performance played upon throughout Velvet Goldmine.
2 comments:
I definitely agree that the soundtrack holds an important role in the film and acts as sort of another character. However, do you think there is any connection between David Bowie and Oscar Wilde? I still cannot figure out where their stories seem to relate to both be so heavily referenced in the movie.
The outside information you found is really interesting. I was thinking the entire time I was watching the movie that Brian had to be based on David Bowie. I also love the point you made about the music being a kind of false identity, that's incredibly interesting and thought provoking.
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