THE NOSEBLEEDS: Interview: Breaking Bad music supervisor Thomas Golubic
Original Link: http://thenosebleeds.com/interview-breaking-bad-music-supervisor-thomas-golubic/
November 18th, 2013
We were lucky enough to get Breaking Bad/Walking Dead music supervisor, Thomas Golubic, for an interview, and it’s basically as awesome as you’d imagine. Thomas runs SuperMusicVision in LA and has been a huge part of many other AMC shows, along with being a DJ as well. In the interview we mainly talked about Breaking Bad, how he decided to use the songs he chose, and most interestingly, what song he would pick for Walt’s funeral.
How often has Vince Gilligan suggested a song for a particular scene, like Ep. 312 using The Associations “Windy”?
It happens two or three times a season. Sometimes we end up with that song, other times it’s a terrific starting point. Generally his suggestions are very good ideas, and are helpful in our creative process whether or not that song ends up being the final song in the show or not
.
Silence plays a huge part in the show, was it ever difficult deciding between adding music or leaving a scene silent?
It’s often a challenge to know what the right decision is. Our general philosophy is to do what is best for story, and that is almost always done on a case-by-case basis. For example, in episode 515, the penultimate episode, we find Walter White in New Hampshire. There is a sequence where he wakes up in his bed noticing that his wedding ring has fallen off, and he has his moment of clarity and decides to send money to his son via the mail. We spent several weeks looking for music choices for that scene and covered every genre, from jazz to experimental music, to wistful singer-songwriters. After reviewing all of our options, Vince felt that having any music in the scene, even score, would tell the audience how to feel. And for that moment he felt that the audience should make up their own mind about Walter White’s state of mind, and the choice that he was making.
For the jail killings scene, using Nat King Cole was great. What was the thinking going into that?
That was a song that Vince found while on a running machine and listening to his iPod on shuffle. We explored all sorts of additional options, but it ended up being such a bold and interesting choice that we ended up sticking with it and it was the right one. The challenge there was convincing Nat King Cole’s estate to approve the use despite the incredibly violent imagery, which thankfully they did. They are very brave and creatively generous people.
Juxtaposition plays a large part in a lot of the scenes, like in ep. 302 using Timber Timbre’s “Magic Arrow” – which is a pretty simple song – during what seems to be a very hectic time for Walt, who is trying to get into his house while Mike is bugging the house.
In the case of the “Magic Arrow” song, what drew us to it was the tone of it. The song seemed to support the efficiency of Mike The Cleaner and the bumbling of Walter White – who is breaking into his own house – in equal measure. Likewise, Timber Timbre hadn’t been in the popular imagination quite yet, which made it an exciting introduction for the Breaking Bad audience.
I’m sure there’s a long list of songs that didn’t make the final cut for the Breaking Bad, can you share some of those songs with us?
Oh god, that’s an endless list. At some point we will team up with the folks from Spotify and put it online, but for now I wouldn’t even know where to start. Every episode has exciting and dynamic ideas that never even got pitched. Every scene has four or five other songs that we felt didn’t work quite as well in the end. It’s truly an endless list of opportunities. There are many versions of Breaking Bad that could have been, but we are very happy with the one that we shared with the world.
What’s the one song you would play at Walt’s funeral?
Silence.
When did you decide it was the right time to change Todd’s ringtone from “She Blinded Me With Science” to “Lydia the Tattooed Lady?”
When we decided to add the interesting character quirk to Todd that he has personalized ringtones for people, we established Walter White as having the ringtone “She Blinded Me With Science” by Thomas Dolby. When it came to his great love Lydia, The Marx Brothers song “Lydia the Tattooed Lady” felt like the right choice.
Episode 210 used TV On the Radio’s “DLZ” and it was bad ass! You said you found it around 3 AM after a night of song searching for that scene, what about the song struck you?
There was a very special chemistry between that scene and that song that was completely clear to me the first time I played them against each other. Everything else I tried against that scene felt either over bearing and macho, or otherwise inappropriate. That song seemed to capture everything about this key moment in Walter White’s development. This is truly the moment he stopped being a teacher and became a drug dealer.
“Baby Blue” saw a huge spike in streaming and downloads following the finale. Have any other songs used in the show seen that kind of success following their use, and does that provide any additional satisfaction for you?
I think it’s wonderful when people get excited about the music we use in the show and pursue it to add it to their collection. I love all the music and I hope that every song we put into the show will, for somebody, be an open door to a new exploration of an artists work. My first priority is always telling the story the right way and it’s extra cream on the top when a song reverberates with the audience and becomes something bigger than the scene. As Breaking Bad became more popular almost every song that would show up in the series would show a huge spike in activity on YouTube clips. That alone makes me very happy.
It seems like every band/artist wants their song in Breaking Bad, because they are either a fan of the show or just want to capitalize off of it. What’s the craziest proposition you’ve gotten from someone to use their music in the show?
To be honest, outside of some very enthusiastic e-mails and occasionally bumping into an artist who is a big fan of the show, there hasn’t been that many exotic offers made. I’m not sure I would take them up on it anyway, but it’s always nice to be asked.
Are you supervising the Saul spinoff? Or Will you be involved in the music at all?
I sure hope so, nobody’s called yet.
What’s on your playlist right now?
Lately, a lot of score. I’m working some new television series in which we are exploring composer options and we have been listening to a lot of contemporary score to get a sense of what the tone is.
What is your favorite music moment in the Breaking Bad series? And Why?
Like a nun who can’t chose her favorite child at the orphanage, I can’t choose just one. I love them all. Or at least that’s the story I’m going with…
Thank you so much to Thomas and Garrett at SuperMusicVision for being awesome guys and doing this interview. Be sure to check out SuperMusicVision’s website for more on the music of Breaking Bad or any of the shows Thomas works on. For the fans who want to be updated on SMV’s latest projects follow them on Twitter and like them on Facebook.
Read more at http://thenosebleeds.com/interview-breaking-bad-music-supervisor-thomas-golubic/#yJVHSswGhkZJj5bq.99
November 18th, 2013
We were lucky enough to get Breaking Bad/Walking Dead music supervisor, Thomas Golubic, for an interview, and it’s basically as awesome as you’d imagine. Thomas runs SuperMusicVision in LA and has been a huge part of many other AMC shows, along with being a DJ as well. In the interview we mainly talked about Breaking Bad, how he decided to use the songs he chose, and most interestingly, what song he would pick for Walt’s funeral.
How often has Vince Gilligan suggested a song for a particular scene, like Ep. 312 using The Associations “Windy”?
It happens two or three times a season. Sometimes we end up with that song, other times it’s a terrific starting point. Generally his suggestions are very good ideas, and are helpful in our creative process whether or not that song ends up being the final song in the show or not
.
Silence plays a huge part in the show, was it ever difficult deciding between adding music or leaving a scene silent?
It’s often a challenge to know what the right decision is. Our general philosophy is to do what is best for story, and that is almost always done on a case-by-case basis. For example, in episode 515, the penultimate episode, we find Walter White in New Hampshire. There is a sequence where he wakes up in his bed noticing that his wedding ring has fallen off, and he has his moment of clarity and decides to send money to his son via the mail. We spent several weeks looking for music choices for that scene and covered every genre, from jazz to experimental music, to wistful singer-songwriters. After reviewing all of our options, Vince felt that having any music in the scene, even score, would tell the audience how to feel. And for that moment he felt that the audience should make up their own mind about Walter White’s state of mind, and the choice that he was making.
For the jail killings scene, using Nat King Cole was great. What was the thinking going into that?
That was a song that Vince found while on a running machine and listening to his iPod on shuffle. We explored all sorts of additional options, but it ended up being such a bold and interesting choice that we ended up sticking with it and it was the right one. The challenge there was convincing Nat King Cole’s estate to approve the use despite the incredibly violent imagery, which thankfully they did. They are very brave and creatively generous people.
Juxtaposition plays a large part in a lot of the scenes, like in ep. 302 using Timber Timbre’s “Magic Arrow” – which is a pretty simple song – during what seems to be a very hectic time for Walt, who is trying to get into his house while Mike is bugging the house.
In the case of the “Magic Arrow” song, what drew us to it was the tone of it. The song seemed to support the efficiency of Mike The Cleaner and the bumbling of Walter White – who is breaking into his own house – in equal measure. Likewise, Timber Timbre hadn’t been in the popular imagination quite yet, which made it an exciting introduction for the Breaking Bad audience.
I’m sure there’s a long list of songs that didn’t make the final cut for the Breaking Bad, can you share some of those songs with us?
Oh god, that’s an endless list. At some point we will team up with the folks from Spotify and put it online, but for now I wouldn’t even know where to start. Every episode has exciting and dynamic ideas that never even got pitched. Every scene has four or five other songs that we felt didn’t work quite as well in the end. It’s truly an endless list of opportunities. There are many versions of Breaking Bad that could have been, but we are very happy with the one that we shared with the world.
What’s the one song you would play at Walt’s funeral?
Silence.
When did you decide it was the right time to change Todd’s ringtone from “She Blinded Me With Science” to “Lydia the Tattooed Lady?”
When we decided to add the interesting character quirk to Todd that he has personalized ringtones for people, we established Walter White as having the ringtone “She Blinded Me With Science” by Thomas Dolby. When it came to his great love Lydia, The Marx Brothers song “Lydia the Tattooed Lady” felt like the right choice.
Episode 210 used TV On the Radio’s “DLZ” and it was bad ass! You said you found it around 3 AM after a night of song searching for that scene, what about the song struck you?
There was a very special chemistry between that scene and that song that was completely clear to me the first time I played them against each other. Everything else I tried against that scene felt either over bearing and macho, or otherwise inappropriate. That song seemed to capture everything about this key moment in Walter White’s development. This is truly the moment he stopped being a teacher and became a drug dealer.
“Baby Blue” saw a huge spike in streaming and downloads following the finale. Have any other songs used in the show seen that kind of success following their use, and does that provide any additional satisfaction for you?
I think it’s wonderful when people get excited about the music we use in the show and pursue it to add it to their collection. I love all the music and I hope that every song we put into the show will, for somebody, be an open door to a new exploration of an artists work. My first priority is always telling the story the right way and it’s extra cream on the top when a song reverberates with the audience and becomes something bigger than the scene. As Breaking Bad became more popular almost every song that would show up in the series would show a huge spike in activity on YouTube clips. That alone makes me very happy.
It seems like every band/artist wants their song in Breaking Bad, because they are either a fan of the show or just want to capitalize off of it. What’s the craziest proposition you’ve gotten from someone to use their music in the show?
To be honest, outside of some very enthusiastic e-mails and occasionally bumping into an artist who is a big fan of the show, there hasn’t been that many exotic offers made. I’m not sure I would take them up on it anyway, but it’s always nice to be asked.
Are you supervising the Saul spinoff? Or Will you be involved in the music at all?
I sure hope so, nobody’s called yet.
What’s on your playlist right now?
Lately, a lot of score. I’m working some new television series in which we are exploring composer options and we have been listening to a lot of contemporary score to get a sense of what the tone is.
What is your favorite music moment in the Breaking Bad series? And Why?
Like a nun who can’t chose her favorite child at the orphanage, I can’t choose just one. I love them all. Or at least that’s the story I’m going with…
Thank you so much to Thomas and Garrett at SuperMusicVision for being awesome guys and doing this interview. Be sure to check out SuperMusicVision’s website for more on the music of Breaking Bad or any of the shows Thomas works on. For the fans who want to be updated on SMV’s latest projects follow them on Twitter and like them on Facebook.
Read more at http://thenosebleeds.com/interview-breaking-bad-music-supervisor-thomas-golubic/#yJVHSswGhkZJj5bq.99