Over decades of movie-making, cars on film have been rich occasions for music. Often fueled by the exuberance and challenges of youth, a ribbon of blacktop on the big screen — whether road trip, wild chase, or first love — is a promise of new directions. Driven by Songs spotlights some of the iconic soundtracks of these sonic roads, where music is never simply along for the ride.
Starting our trip with AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973) and DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993) this seminar explore the relationship between driving, time and remembrance before turning to films such as WILD AT HEART (1990), BOYZ N THE HOOD (1991), THE DEVIL’S REJECTS (2005) and DEATH PROOF (2007) to crash head-on into less comforting realities.
Adjacent to this seminar, check out the Belcourt’s “Lovers on the Lam,” August 12 - September 4, a series devoted to some of our favorite infamous outlaw couples for a cross-country cinematic crime spree to cap off the summer.
About the speaker
Stan Link teaches interdisciplinary courses on film, music, and sound at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, where he is the associate professor of composition, philosophy and analysis of music. His publications and research in the cinematic soundtrack range from horror and science fiction to disability, vision, silence and nerds.