A Soundtrack That Keeps You Under Its Spell
"Drive" Is More Than A Movie, It's A Vibe
The reason that Drive exists could be pinned down to an abrupt epiphany experienced by the film’s director, Nicolas Winding Refn.
Upon their first meeting, Ryan Gosling was driving Refn back to his hotel when suddenly, just after being brought to tears by REO Speedwagon’s Can’t Fight This Feeling, Refn turned to Gosling and shouted: We’re going to make a movie about a man who drives around in a car listening to pop music because that is his emotional release! Gosling just turned to Refn and said: I’m in.
To be honest, I've never gotten the impression that Gosling’s character, known only as Driver, listened to music as he drove. Nonetheless, it is delightful just knowing that music was both the catalyst and the concept around which the excellent noir thriller came into being.
Music was the seed, the starting point from which Drive began to form in Refn’s head. Music was the seed from which Gosling began to develop his character. Fitting then that the music itself is an uncredited character in the film. Without it, the film would lack the darkly sanguine spirit that makes it truly unlike any other.
The music is bathed in the energy of Los Angeles. It’s ever present and always lurking in the distance. It sets the tone. And the tone is everything.
There are essentially four tracks on the soundtrack besides the minimalistic score. Not surprisingly, they seem to pop out larger than life in contrast to their subdued counterparts, which vibrate low and ominous with occasional moments of glimmering hope.
Drive is a film noir, a suspense movie, a thriller, and kind of a gangster pic, but primarily it is a fairytale. The director was inspired by the fairytales of The Grimm Brothers, which he noticed were rather minimalistic yet still complex. Drive has balanced these two qualities quite well, both in the music and the story.
The fairytale plays out between Driver (Prince Charming?) and Irene, the damsel in distress. Although their story is the central one, it is also the most understated. There is little dialogue between them. Instead, emotions are conveyed in the stillness of locked eyes, in unanswered questions, in the spanning of time. Their attraction doesn’t need words to be expressed.
The story spotlights a fleeting moment of hope for Driver and Irene. They seem almost stunned by their unanticipated potential for contentment, the rare opportunity to feel love. The stillness of the love story is mirrored in the stillness of the score. Both run deep with understated emotion.
The other characters, such as the gangsters and Bryan Cranston’s Shannon, are vivid walls of words. They pop out, just as the pop songs on the soundtrack do.
It is the pop songs that mold the vibe that springs to mind when thinking of the Drive soundtrack. The brightest moments are found within the eighties infused tunes that really grab the ear.
The Chromatic’s Tick of the Clock opens the film as we are introduced to Driver, a wheelman who expertly provides his service without any entanglement in the crimes he accomplices. The tension builds with the wax and wane of the music, some evasive driving and an NBA basketball game, all brilliantly woven together.
Then we bust into the opening credits with Lovefoxxx and Kavinski's Nightcall, which pulls an 80s synth sound into a stern, modern place, perfectly resembling the glowy grit of L.A. at night. It sounds like neon flickering on a drab concrete Los Angeles, a city just writhing with the souls that only come out at night.
The gentle cooing of dreamy, starstruck lyrics over electronic music is a perfect audio snapshot of the film. Desire's Under Your Spell is the north star that guides the soundtrack. It embraces the eighties feel that the film exudes, as though Refn intended Drive to be an homage to the straight-to-video action flicks that entertained a generation.
A soft and soothing version of the eighties vibe continues with A Real Hero. It dares us to imagine Driver as the hero, albeit an unlikely one. There are moments when he displays murderous violence, yet in spite of this, somehow Driver is likable, almost admirable. The violence is minimal, but it’s stunning and impactful. It’s devastating and heroic all at once.
The Driver character, the film, and the soundtrack are all exercises in balancing the darkness and the light, minimalism and complexity. This balance is what makes Drive such a treat.
I admit to having seen Drive more than once. More than twice. I love the film and the music. So much so that I had to create a playlist to keep the vibe going.
If I were to make a playlist for Driver, a playlist to help him achieve his emotional release, this would be it. It has the cornerstones of the soundtrack and a whole bunch of other songs that I felt Driver might enjoy.
The playlist is great because it provides the opportunity to hear classics that aren’t in my heavy rotation; songs like Suddenly Last Summer by The Motels, Cruel Summer by Bananarama, The Metro by Berlin, and even I Wanna Be A Cowboy by Boys Don’t Cry. When was the last time you heard that one?
There are also a bunch of newer songs by the likes of St. Vincent, Charlotte Gainsbourg, MGMT, Beach House and Ghostland Observatory. Overall, it is a super fun list and it captures the Drive vibe that ends too soon when the credits roll.
Are you a fan of Drive? Are you also a fan of the music featured in the film? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. If there is a band, album or playlist that you feel captures the Drive Vibe, please share below. I’d love to check it out.