What's Happening?
The new Netflix series, 'The Body,' which began streaming recently, features a soundtrack heavily influenced by late 1990s and early 2000s music. Co-showrunner, executive producer, and director Gina Gammell noted that many crew and department heads were
teenagers in 2004, contributing their favorite songs from that period. Co-showrunner Quinn Shephard described the soundtrack as a mix of 'turn up' music and moody, sweet songs from the era. Artists featured include Kylie Minogue, Kelly Clarkson, No Doubt, Björk, and TLC. Shephard specifically mentioned the effort to secure Björk's 'Unravel' for a scene in Episode 7, highlighting the artist's selective nature. The soundtrack also incorporates tension-cutting songs like Kelly Clarkson's 'Breakaway' to add life and playfulness to serious moments. The series, created by Quinn Shephard, is an eight-episode production set in a Catholic school, exploring themes of spiritual and sexual awakenings, and potential possession.
Why It's Important?
The curated soundtrack for 'The Body' is significant as it leverages nostalgia for a specific musical era, potentially drawing in viewers who grew up with these artists and genres. This approach can enhance viewer engagement by creating an emotional connection through familiar music, thereby boosting the series' appeal and streaming numbers for Netflix. The inclusion of a diverse range of popular artists from the late 90s and early 2000s, such as Kylie Minogue, Kelly Clarkson, and Björk, demonstrates a strategic effort to craft a memorable auditory experience that complements the series' themes. Furthermore, the emphasis on securing specific, sometimes 'picky,' artists like Björk underscores the value placed on music licensing in modern television production, reflecting significant investment in the show's overall artistic quality and marketability. This trend of integrating well-known music into series can also lead to a resurgence in popularity for older tracks and artists, impacting music streaming platforms and catalog sales.
What's Next?
The full soundtrack for 'The Body' is available for streaming, allowing audiences to revisit the music independently of the series. The success of this soundtrack could influence future Netflix productions to adopt similar strategies of curating era-specific music to enhance storytelling and audience connection. The show's creators hope that some of the deeper cuts, like Kylie Minogue's 'Confide in Me,' will gain renewed popularity in public spaces, such as clubs. The series itself will continue to be available on Netflix, with its soundtrack serving as a key component of its identity and appeal. The detailed tracklist provided for each episode suggests a deliberate and integrated musical narrative, which may encourage other productions to consider soundtracks as integral conceptual albums rather than mere background music.
Beyond the Headlines
The meticulous curation of 'The Body's' soundtrack highlights a broader cultural phenomenon where music from past decades is continually re-contextualized and re-introduced to new audiences through popular media. This practice not only serves as a nostalgic touchstone for older viewers but also exposes younger generations to influential artists and genres they might not otherwise encounter. The showrunners' personal connection to the music of their youth, as evidenced by their group chats for song suggestions, illustrates how personal experiences and collective memory can shape artistic choices in media production. This trend also raises questions about the evolving role of music in storytelling, moving beyond simple accompaniment to becoming a character in itself, deeply intertwined with the narrative and emotional arc of a series. The potential for older songs to 'turn up' in clubs again speaks to the cyclical nature of popular culture and the enduring power of music to transcend time.
