http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/...st-soundtrack/ ALBUM with SUNDOWN and other music on the show to be released.
Any fan of “The Blacklist” will tell you how important the music is to the success of the show. The producers seem to find the perfect songs to fit so many crucial moments, and music montages seem to conclude almost every important episode and tie up what every character is doing.
Beyond that, certain songs have influenced some of creator and executive producer Jon Bokenkamp’s storytelling choices – and even character names. Bokenkamp and the show’s music director, John Bissell, shared with Speakeasy an inside look at the show’s musical choices, which will be showcased on “The
Blacklist: Music from the Television Series.”
The album, set for an Aug. 21 release, includes a mix of well-known songs such as “Beyond the Sea” by Bobby Darin and “Sundown” by Gordon Lightfoot, as well as several more obscure titles such as “Run from Me” by Timber Timbre and “Welcome Home” by Radical Face. The album also contains a never-before-released, slowed-down version of Dolly Parton’s hit “Jolene,” that caused quite a buzz when it was first played on “The Blacklist” late in season one.
Bokenkamp fell in love with the slower version of “Jolene” after hearing it on YouTube. He quickly named one of the characters on the show “Jolene Parker,” and knew the song would be perfect for the big reveal where Jolene is shown to be an undercover secret agent.
“She was named something else but we quickly changed her name,” Bokenkamp said. “I remember thinking it will really make it look like we know what we are doing if this character that we have known as Jolene for the past four episodes has this big reveal and we use this weird, haunting Dolly Parton song.”
Bissell added, “The label thought we were nuts. They were going to deny us outright and not let us use this slowed-down version of the song. But it was Dolly, and her management thought it was a great idea and allowed us to use it.”
Bokenkamp also recalled the first time he heard the song “Run from Me” by Timber Timbre, which ended up influencing the story of an episode called “The Kenyon Family.” In that one, Liz Keen (Megan Boone) is chased around the woods by a creepy giant of a man.
“We had been talking about an episode where we would have some weirdos in the woods and I heard this song and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s it!’” Bokenkamp said. “The episode began to be constructed around this song which says, ‘Run from me, darlin’.”
Bokenkamp admits he is musically ignorant to some extent. The executive producer didn’t even know who Gordon Lightfoot was until Lightfoot’s classic song “Sundown” was chosen for a key moment late in season one. Yet he describes Bissell – who has worked as musical supervisor for a variety of shows and films, such as “The Hurt Locker” and “The Bridge” — as a veritable library of musical knowledge.
Bissell, who became a Hollywood music supervisor 20 years ago when he realized he didn’t have the temperament to be a director, said he is constantly listening to music for the show – except in one specific setting. “The car is my ‘peace spot,’” he said, adding that he prefers listening to music on a turntable, not a digital music player.
Bokenkamp, meanwhile, also offered a preview of the coming season, which is scheduled to start filming in about a week and a half. The scripts aren’t coming together quite as quickly in the past because, “the first 10 or 12 episodes are a real paradigm shift,” the executive producer said. “We kind of blew up the format. It’s not like Red sits down on a park bench with Liz and says ‘Here’s the Blacklister that I want you to go catch.’ That’s not what the show is when we come back. They are on the run and they are fugitives.”
Even though Liz isn’t part of the FBI anymore, the show will still target a different member of the
Blacklist each week, he added. Could Liz still call Aram and ask for help with tricky computer problems? “She can try, but the FBI team is looking for her in a very serious way,” Bokenkamp said. “She is a fugitive.”
Fans will also learn more about Raymond Reddington (James Spader) in season three. “As an audience member, I want to know how Red does this stuff. How does it work? Who is this guy?” Bokenkamp said. “So Liz becomes our eyes and ears into Red’s world.”
“The Blacklist” season three is scheduled to premiere Sept. 24.
Here is the track list for “The
Blacklist: Music from the Television Series”:
1. “Citizens” by Alice Russell
2. “Welcome Home” by Radical Face
3. “Wicked Game” by Emika
4. “Beyond the Sea” by Bobby Darin
5. “Major Tom” by Peter Schilling
6. “Sundown” by Gordon Lightfoot
7. “Made of Stone” by Matt Corby
8. “Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene” by Hozier
9. “Blood on My Name” by The Brothers Bright
10. “Jolene (Slowdown)” by Dolly Parton
11. “Black Eunuch” by Algiers
12. “Run from Me” by Timber Timbre
The BLACKLIST-SUNDOWN
