Reservoir Dogs (soundtrack) explained

Reservoir Dogs: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Type:soundtrack
Artist:Various artists
Cover:Reservoir Dogs OST.jpg
Genre:Pop rock
Length:30:50
Label:MCA
Chronology:Quentin Tarantino film soundtracks
Next Title:Pulp Fiction
Next Year:1994

Reservoir Dogs: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's 1992 film Reservoir Dogs, released on October 13, 1992, by MCA Records. The film contains a mix of pop rock music from the 1970s, intercut with dialogue from the film and a radio-style voiceover by Steven Wright.

Composition

Reservoir Dogs: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was the first soundtrack for a Tarantino film and set the structure his later soundtracks would follow.[1] This includes the extensive use of snippets of dialogue from the film. The soundtrack has selections of songs from the 1960s to '80s. Only the group Bedlam made new recordings for the film. Reasoning that the film takes place over a weekend, Tarantino decided to set it to a fictional radio station 'K-Billy' (presumably KBLY)'s show "K-Billy's Super Sounds of the Seventies Weekend", a themed weekend show of broadcasts of songs from the seventies. The radio station played a prominent role in the film.[2] The DJ for the radio was chosen to be Steven Wright, a comedian known for his deadpan delivery of jokes.[3]

An unusual feature of the soundtrack was the choice of songs; Tarantino has said that he feels the music to be a counterpoint to the on-screen violence and action.[4] He also stated that he wished for the film to have a 1950s feel while using '70s music. A prominent instance of this is the torture scene to the tune of "Stuck in the Middle with You".[5]

Track listing

Certifications

Notes and References

  1. News: Stovall . Natasha . Jackie Brown Original Soundtrack . Salon . December 22, 1997 . March 25, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110208103310/http://www.salon.com/music/sharps/1997/12/22sharps.html . February 8, 2011 .
  2. News: Strauss . Neil . September 29, 1994 . The Pop Life . The New York Times . live . May 5, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081207213029/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E2DD1E3AF93AA1575AC0A962958260 . December 7, 2008.
  3. News: Howe . Desson . Reservoir Dogs . The Washington Post . October 23, 1992 . May 2, 2013 . November 8, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121108073933/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/reservoirdogsrhowe_a0af27.htm . live .
  4. Web site: Breen . Marcus . December 1996 . Woof, Woof: The real bite in Reservoir Dogs . https://web.archive.org/web/20080303144739/http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/AHR/archive/Issue-Dec-1996/breen.html . March 3, 2008 . March 10, 2008 . Australian Humanities Review.
  5. Web site: Jardine . Dan . The Killing Fields (on Reservoir Dogs) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071214055601/http://www.thefilmjournal.com/issue10/reservoirdogs.html . December 14, 2007 . March 10, 2008 . The Film Journal.