because the music is so compelling and unusual that it gets in the way of the storytelling. However, we can’t really put them into the show. The Fall is really important to the mid- to late-‘80s, especially for people who are in counter culture. The Fall are a little bit like Tom Waits – when you put them into a scene, you almost can’t pay attention to anything else but that song. It was also a chance to bring in bands like the Fall, who probably influenced our characters in a lot of ways but might not necessarily be a band that they were listening to. Putting in a Depeche Mode song is a very expensive enterprise – almost any song you put in there, no matter how obscure. Is that why you enjoy making the Spotify playlists?Ī: The Spotify playlists have been really fun because a lot of the music that we include are that we can’t really afford to put into the show. Q: Obviously, you can't get all of those artists on the show. That led to a lot of fun stuff like Sylvester, who was a gay icon in San Francisco at the time and Pet Shop Boys who were very big in those days. We had a lot of bands that were from the area that were representing a new sound that was evolving. Of course, we also had the excitement of club life in San Francisco where the gay scene was really strong and there were a lot of active clubs. The Jim Carroll Band was based in San Francisco Camper Van Beethoven was in the San Jose area Faith No More did their first single during the time period Joan Armatrading was a big deal in San Francisco. For San Francisco, we had the chance to explore two different worlds – one of them was what was happening in the Bay Area in 1986, and that included bands like the Dicks, who were actually originally a Texas band who moved to San Francisco. We integrated some pop music, but a lot of it was very much of the time period and of the location.
While Mutiny was in Texas, we were very faithful to music from the time period and from local bands because we thought that’s what Cameron would be attracted to and what the guys would know. We also created a Mutiny 2.0, which was exploring music at Mutiny and letting that evolve from the punk rock we heard a lot of in the first season. The idea was essentially to have two different sounds and to try to trace the evolution of their sounds.
Silicon valley season 3 music series#
One of them was about the attitude that Mutiny would be taking to Silicon Valley, their energy and their sense of adventure and excitement – music we’d hope would be integrated into specific moments of the series as montages.
It’s an opportunity in many ways to keep on revisiting a life that feels very far away now.
Silicon valley season 3 music windows#
Were those your guiding principles in choosing the songs for this season? How did you highlight each?Ī: I went to high school in the ‘80s, so I got a chance to explore different windows of my high school experience. Q: Season 3 not only moved the story to a new year, but also a new location. You view it as an opportunity to find another solution that’s even more exciting.
If somebody says they have a different idea, you don’t view it as frustration. Part of the joy of being a music supervisor is the ability to keep on shifting gears. You don’t want to be too literal or obvious. Sometimes, being a little bit more abstract or coming at it from a different angle is the right solution for the storytelling. Q: Do you ever get a song or an idea in your head that you really like, but for some reason it doesn’t work?Ī: One of the skills that you have to develop is an ability to be in love with multiple ideas at the same time. The idea is to make music a part of the tapestry of the storytelling of the series as much as possible. Our feeling is that if we can give songs to the writers to help inspire them or just get excited about music in their own process, that would be beneficial to everybody and music will be more fully integrated into the show. Do you talk with the writers early on, or do you wait to see the episodes before choosing music?Ī: We tend to have meetings with the writers early on.
Thomas Golubić, music supervisor for AMC's Halt and Catch Fire, discusses how music is best used to amplify the story, why he builds a music library for every character and his favorite musical moments from Season 3.