Mike Malarkey
is the man when it comes to music. When he’s not tickling the ivories at Second
City revues, he’s composing sups cool music for recording artists such as TYGA. (Seriously, his full time job is composing music in his own home studio.) Earlier
this year, Mike helped me lay down music for a song I wrote for Robot vs.
Dinosaur’s summer horror show, “Wait Wait…Don’t Kill Me!” At the end of one of
our sessions, we fell down a rabbit hole of music; more than an hour after the
track had finished mixing, we were still playing songs for each other.
He and I
continue to share music a few times a week via Spotify (so much so I think
Facebook thinks we’re dating). In this year-end review post, M. Malarkey will
be guest blogging on an assignment I call “The Soundtrack of Our Lives.”
The rules are
simple: Mike and I have each selected 2 songs that came in as a recommendation
from the other. We’ve also picked 1 song that we sent the other, hoping it would
be their new favorite. Then we wrote a movie montage of where this song would
be perfectly placed in an imaginary film.
The project
got kind of lengthy so I’m breaking it into separate posts. Here are the first
two songs.
Tune in to
this Internet page tomorrow for two more tracks. The final two drop on Monday.
Then the world explodes and the cycle begins again.
(A musical gift from Susie)
Mike's thoughts on this hot piece: “This
is an easy song to love. You could easily convince someone that this was
a popular song in the late sixties. Super groovy, really well performed,
and dang fun. Also, three funky guitar parts panned differently? I'm
game.”
Movie title: "Suspendedeers”
Screenwriter: M. Malarkey
Genre: Teen Comedy
Some context: In an effort to get the
hottest dates to high school prom, the nerds in school manage to get every
popular attractive guy from school suspended (thus banning them from going to
prom).
Montage: the morning after their
suspensions are announced where the nerds all show up to school in tuxedos,
suits, and what they consider 'cool guy' clothes to impress the girls.
Lots of slow-motion spinning, popping collars, and missing high fives
while the girls panic and make disgusted faces.
Ending Line: "Hey Jilly, how would you
like a Black Lotus corsage? (Gareth does a
slight of hand card trick to reveal a black lotus card from “Magic the
Gathering”) It's a rare misprint. "
(A musical gift from Mike)
Susie's thoughts on this hot piece: “Not to sound like an old tramp, but
BACK IN MY DAY, singers sang songs! This one is completely carried by the
vocals, which are so rich. The piano is delicate and gives her voice such a
nice place to rest. It’s a touch melancholy, but hints at something
flirtatious.”
Movie Title: La Fleur de Nuit (Flowers
of the Night)
Screenwriter: S. Gutowski
Genre: French Romance
Some context: Celine has never had a
serious relationship – romantic or otherwise. This is how she likes it. But
despite being amused by her trivial exploits, there is a lingering desire for
something more.
Montage: Celine wakes up alone to the sound of rain
hammering on the windowpane. She smokes a joint in the kitchen while cuts up
the colorful fruits and vegetables to make a mouthwatering breakfast. She wolfs
it down at a small wooden table; a stuffed animal giraffe sits across from her.
With the joint in hand, she lays about her living room, glumly listening to the
rain outside. She reads, but can’t get comfortable in any one position. She yells
at the characters in the book.
Bored with herself, she grabs her
bicycle, and clatters down to the seashore in the rain. She chases pigeons on
the beach, then takes a flying leap off a small dock. When she breaks the
surface, the music ends. Two men who are fishing at the dock yell at her for
scaring away the fish.
Ending line: (to the
fishermen) "Maybe one day you’ll stop worshiping the fish from afar!"
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