"The Sounds of Commerce" is the first book to present a
detailed historical analysis of popular music in American film,
from the era of sheet music sales, to that of orchestrated pop
records by Henry Mancini and Ennio Morricone in the 1960- to the
MTV-ready pop songs that occupy soundtrack CDs of today. Jeff
Smith's landmark exploration of film and music cross-promotion
investigates the combination of historical, economic, and aesthetic
factors that brought about the rise of popular music in the
movies.Smith employs a sophisticated yet accessible fusion of
musicology, film theory, and social history. In one chapter, a
musicological unpacking of the theme song from Goldfinger is used
to show how the repeated refrain developed massive cultural appeal,
leading to huge singles sales and a ubiquitous tune that most
Americans can recognize several decades after the film's release.
Other chapters look at how the film and music industries became so
heavily intertwined, how soundtrack music progressed from
orchestral score to pop song, and how certain soundtracks today
become chart successes while their accompanying films generate
scant box-office interest.Throughout the text, Smith persuasively
argues that the popular film score has been as successful as its
classical predecessor at enhancing emotions and moods, cueing
characters and settings, and signifying psychological states and
points of view. With "The Sounds of Commerce, " he challenges film
music scholarship to recognize the significance of popular music in
modern film.
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