Tags
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Character, Elizabeth Fais, Joss Whedon, Music, Once More With Feeling, Prayer of St. Francis, Sarah McLachlan, Sarah Michell Gellar, Story
Music that Shaped Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Joss Whedon inspired many a writer (myself included) with his panache for strong story, witty dialog, and quirky characters in his irreverent series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
What’s easy to overlook, though, is how Whedon broke new ground with music in the series. To the point where music became a character integral to the story.
Take the Bronze. Sunnydale’s hippster nightclub. Of 144 episodes of the series, 66 have at least one scene at The Bronze. Each of those scenes featured live bands, playing original music. [Wikipedia] By the third season, groups were clamoring to be featured in an episode of Buffy.
But the Bronze’s live music wasn’t just a convenient plot device; it also shaped the mood and tone of the show. New bands from the Los Angeles area were showcased, as well as more well-known artists such as Aimee Mann, Splendid, Cibo Matto, Angie Hart, Michelle Branch, K’s Choice, Garbage and Nerf Herder. [Wikipedia]
The bands that took the stage at The Bronze weren’t everything, though. The musical scores that flowed through the seven season run, gave depth of story and emotion in equal measure.
Every Buffy fan has their musical favorites. Here are a couple of mine…
Prayer of St. Francis ~ Sarah McLachlan
Try as I might, I couldn’t pick just one favorite song from the classic musical episode, Once More With Feeling, in Season Six, so I opted for the trailer. If you haven’t seen the episode, do it NOW. It’s utterly brilliant. All the more so, when you realize the story, music, and lyrics were all written by Joss Whedon himself!
Elizabeth Fais 
So good. Love the post and the music made me smile. 😊
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
It’s a funny thing, but I never watched that show, because it was based on Wheedon’s original 1992 movie which was so unspeakably bad that I never bothered wasting even one second, which I’d never get back, on the subsequent TV how. It was only later that I discovered Wheedon had re-thought the whole thing and got it right second time round… I must check it out.
The reason the original film was so bad was because Whedon lost control of the production. He actually walked out; quit. He was that upset with what they were doing with his script. A producer approached him a few years later with interest in creating a television series based on Buffy, and he agreed as long as he had final say. The television series is well worth watching. But then again, I’m a huge Buffy (television series) fan. 😉
Aha – I didn’t know that. Explains a lot. It really was an awful, awful movie. Wheedon’s other stuff has been great & from what I’ve heard of the Buffy show it sounds like I should be a fan of it too! Must check it out! 🙂
I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t watch Buffy until a year ago and then proceeded to watch all 7000 minutes of it in three weeks. I agree with you that the music played a huge role in the series. I found myself putting my phone up next to the TV so my Shazam app could tell me the name of the song, usually playing at the Bronze.
Really, everything about that series is brilliant but I love that you decided to highlight the music since it had such an impact on my watching.
Don’t be embarrassed. I didn’t watch Buffy until it had been off the air a couple of years. Then, like you, I mainlined the entire series. I think I appreciated the story and character arcs more, watching the series all at once like that. It would have driven me crazy to only see one episode a week! Emmie Mears has done some wonderfully in-depth blog posts on the character relationships and the Buffyverse in general. If you missed those, they’re worth a read. I’m glad you liked the music as much as I did. 🙂
Seven series in 3 weeks is very impressive, Sara! But I daresay the BEST way to watch such a stellar show.
What she said. 😉
I thought the best use of music was the episode that had NO music (the one where **SPOILER ALERT** Buffy’s mom dies). The lack of music is even more powerful. Whedon is amazeballs.
You are so right. That episode pricked my conscience as I wrote this post, but I decided mentioning it might confuse anyone who hadn’t been a fan of the series. I saw an interview with Whedon where he said his reason for not using a musical soundtrack on that episode was to heighten the senses, so the audience would feel the depth of Buffy’s desolation and loss.
The “Hush” episode was also stellar, where Whedon took away the characters’ ability to speak. Pure genius.
Always good to relive a Buffy moment – thanks, Elizabeth. I’ve seen most of the episodes several times, and always thought I’d recognised Angie Hart (who is Australian), but was never quite sure. I daresay I could have looked it up, but never did. Good to know I was right. 🙂
I’ll have to look for Angie Hart next time I watch the series. I didn’t know she was Australian. Any reason to relive a Buffy moment is a good reason. 😉