Rock, Pathos, Shivers: the Music of Supernatural
- Submitting institution
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Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
- Unit of assessment
- 33 - Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies
- Output identifier
- 2856010
- Type
- D - Journal article
- DOI
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- Title of journal
- Monstrum
- Article number
- -
- First page
- 63
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 1
- ISSN
- 2561-5629
- Open access status
- Compliant
- Month of publication
- September
- Year of publication
- 2020
- URL
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-
- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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0
- Research group(s)
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-
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- An invited essay for a special edition of Monstrum to mark the end of the 15-year run of 'Supernatural', the longest running live-action TV series in US history. 'Supernatural' is, by definition, one of the most successful cult TV shows ever made. This paper explores two questions: what is the scoring strategy of 'Supernatural', and how does it fit into the ways that cult TV as a whole approaches music?; in what ways was 'Supernatural' innovative in its use of music and to what extent might this have contributed to its success?
I uncover a three-pronged scoring strategy similar to that of 'Buffy' but reworked around the two brothers (Sam and Dean) who are the central characters. So, the show makes use of rock music as the music that Dean, in particular, listens to; a single intensely emotional and lyrical theme that recurs a handful of times in each season across the entire run; and a lot of more generic “horror” mood and action music (the "rock", "pathos" and "shivers" of the title). Alongside this, and in keeping with cult TV, is playful experimentation with genre (taking in Hammer horror, scifi, westerns and others) and the creation of a supposedly fan-written musical for episode 200, 'Fan Fiction', which brings the rock music, lyricism and genre experimentation together.
This essay builds on my book 'Sounds of Fear and Wonder' and is part of a continuing mission (see the introduction to the monograph) to talk about film and TV music to non-musicians. Film music studies can be very ghettoised: I am often the only musicologist at the Film and TV conferences I attend, and my aim is to get discussion of music into Film and TV studies, and help colleagues in those disciplines feel confident about thinking and talking about music themselves.
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
- -