Sarah Moran of ScreenRant is accurate in saying that Quentin Tarantino likes to transport his audience to a time they might remember or might never have experienced either by visuals or by sound. The soundtrack to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood seems to prove this as it takes us back decades to a time that might not have made any more sense to people then as the current era does to those living in it now. But all the same, the music of that long-go time was something that could lift you up and allow a person to have fun even if things around them were going nuts or somehow falling down around their ears. Plus, things just seem to make sense when you have the right music, and movies can take on a different and more personal meaning than they might originally have without the selected tracks.
Here are a few of the best songs from the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood soundtrack.
5. Treat Her Right
This brings back a feeling of the 50s and 60s since you wouldn’t hear this kind of music being sung in this day and age without someone raising a huge stink about the lyrics. But back then it was still considered pretty normal, and women being used as backup dancers wasn’t much of a thing apart from being desired. That being said though the song is pretty upbeat and positive for the most part as it just wants to have fun and seems to carry the same frantic energy that one might have seen in a lot of of different programs of the era. It does have the ability to make a person a little anxious though since the frantic pace and the sound quality is something that has improved over the years.
4. Summertime
A lot of us have heard this song multiple times since it’s been adopted and used over and over throughout the years for commercials, in movies and even on TV shows since it’s just a pleasing song and can be used as a transitional piece to convey one scene into another and denote the movement of the movie in a big way. It’s not an insanely challenging track and for the most part it can be laid in the background without losing any of its potency and without taking over any other aspect of a movie or presentation. Out of a lot of songs that came out of this era it’s one of the few that you could listen to multiple times a day and rarely get tired of.
3. You Keep Me Hangin’ On
There are more than a few versions of this song that have been produced throughout the years and to be honest a lot of them seem to convey the same feeling no matter how the background music changes. In a big way it’s the type of song that can remain the same throughout the decades even when its sound changes. This version however seems to go along pretty well with the feel of the 60s and the almost psychedelic sounds that have been popular for a while now. It doesn’t move all that fast, but at the same time it’s one of those songs that you can’t help but sing along with since it’s kind of infectious in a way.
2. California Dreamin’
This is another song that’s stood the test of time and is a great transitional song since it conveys movement and change in a big way and can be placed in a movie during a moment of contemplation or struggle and therefore is perfect for a montage or something similar. The original version is still one of the most classic, but the versions that have come along since are still pretty impressive since it’s almost impossible to beat out the original, but it’s usually possible to at least pay one’s respects. California Dreamin’ is one of those songs that you can’t help but feel a rush from when it’s played, even if it is kind of a slower song.
1. Mrs. Robinson
This is one of those songs that’s great for the beginning of a movie as a lead-in or at the ending as the credits begin to roll. In truth it can be used pretty much anywhere but those two locations are just perfect since they seem to highlight the feel of the song and give it just a bit more meaning. Throughout the years this song has been referenced more than once and it’s even been done in different versions, but there’s really no beating the original since Simon and Garfunkel came up with a bit of magic in the studio the day they created this piece.
If you haven’t seen the movie at this point it might be time to go buy your ticket and experience it.
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