THE GREAT GATSBY. Soundtrack and symbolism
WHERE DOES MUSIC TAKE US TO?
Wich music moments do you remember?
Try to describe them...
Why does it sound like from the 20s?
1. The opening
song, "100$ Bill" by Jay-Z contains a chopped and screwed beat and
electro-rap elements, and is written from the perspective of a modern-day
Gatsby.
It begins
with a speech by Leonardo DiCaprio, while throughout the song Jay-Z is backed
by samples of a children's choir and a '20s jazz horn.
In the
song, he raps about being remembered, the pitfalls of wealth, as well as
comparing rich people from the 1920s and the 21st century.
2. "Back
to Black", written by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse, originally appeared
on her 2006 album of the same name. It was the last song added to the album
after Jay-Z's suggestion to Luhrmann that it be included to add a darker moment
to the album. It is a slower version than the original with chopped-and-screwed
elements, a dark and haunting sound, using guitar, moody synth and electro
bleeps to provide the instrumentation.
5. "Bang
Bang" performed by will.i.am contains a sample of the jazz composition
"Charleston" (1923) and features Louis Armstrong-inspired vocals
along with hi-NRG, EDM, electropop and hip-hop elements, and 1920s-style dance
music as well as the use of a ukulele.
6. "A
Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)" is a swing, hip-hop, and
dubstep song which references the novel's viewing parties held by Gatsby.
7. "Young
and Beautiful" was written by Del Rey and Rick Nowels. Musically, it is a
lush ballad which contains Del Rey's sweeping vocals accompanied by dreamy
strings and canned percussion. Lyrically, the song is written from the
perspective of Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby's lover, and it talks about being
young forever, going to parties, nostalgia, and vulnerability as shown in the
lyrics "Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and
beautiful?".
8. "Love
Is the Drug" originally appeared on Roxy Music's 1975 album Siren; the
song was written by band members Ferry and Andy Mackay. It contains jazz
elements, trumpet wails, and skittering drums as well as honky-tonk, bass sax,
sleazy strings, and vocal "oohs".
9. "Over
the Love" performed by Florence and the Machine is written from the
perspective of Daisy Buchanan. It contains references to the yellow dress she
wears and the green light that hovers outside her home on the dock in East Egg;
both were inspired by the novel.[36] Instrumentally, it uses a light piano and
Welch's "trademark heart-wrenching wail".
10. "Where
the Wind Blows" contains soul vocals performed by Coco O and contains an
old-time piano sampling with a whirring drum 'n bass circular beat and jazzy
keys.
11. "Crazy
in Love", credited to Beyoncé, Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), Rich Harrison, and
Eugene Record, originally appeared on her 2003 album Dangerously in
Love.[5][40] It was chosen for inclusion on the album as it reminded the
Luhrmann of a character from the novel and it was a blend of modern and traditional
music complete with a jazz band and Sandé's vocals.[6] The version included on
the album is a swing and soul mash-up.
12. The
song "Together" by the xx contains skeletal electro-pop elements and
a slow atmosphere, as well as a dark and insistent backing, metronomic beat,
and breathy, deep vocals which climax with an orchestral swell. Thomas Corner
of the Chicago Sun-Times, notes that '' evokes the narrative's palpable
desperation in its hushed tone and nagging heart-monitor beat."
13. "Hearts
a Mess" first appeared on Gotye's second studio album, Like Drawing Blood
(2006). It is a "neo-lounge ballad" "with the same clunking,
treated backbone used in Gotye's song 'Somebody That I Used to Know'".
Lucy Jones of NME notes it is instrumentally complete with "strings,
martial beats", horns and Wouter "Wally" De Backer's
vocals". According to Philip Cosores of Paste magazine, three of Gotye's
vocal styles are featured in the song, "the hushed and earnest songwriter,
the Sting-esque frontman with remarkable range to handle the chorus, and then
the human and battered character of the song's latter moments".
14. "Love
Is Blindness" was originally written by Bono with music by U2 and appeared
on the band's 1991 album Achtung Baby. The rock-hip-hop version on this
album contains drum beats, "piercing yelps...and a gut-poking bass
line".
15. "Into
the Past" is a slow-tempo song performed by Nero and contains dubstep
elements and strings.
16. "Kill
and Run", which contains electronica elements and is performed by Sia, was
compared with Adele's songs, most notably with "Skyfall" because of
its lush and languid sound, backed by strings, and because "[it] slowly
builds to a crescendo that hits all the right emotional notes
- The lashing green light at the end of Daisy’s dock
- Valley of ashes - Sinners and where everything vanishes...
- Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg - God...
- Windows
- Staircases
- Strings of pearls (2 women get them)
- Ringing telephones
- Gatsby's yellow roadster
- Gatsby's swimming pool
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