HBO's new series, True Blood, shows a lot of promise so far, and not just because of the white-hot chemistry between Anna Paquin and her vampire boyfriend, played by Stephen Moyer. For one thing, the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic thanks to music supervisor Gary Calamar (Dexter, Varsity Blues, Brothers and Sisters). Nathan Barr, too, deserves a lot of credit for his moody score work on cello; it's somber and strong and heavy, like the old black walnut tree at the end of the road.
(Ok, so there's no old black walnut tree at the end of the road, but it's nice imagery, right?)
This baleful score also serves as the perfect counterpoint to numerous licensed tracks, which favor a wickedly playful strain of Southern rock but also frequently draw from a rich tradition of Southern female vocalists along the lines of Cat Power, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams as well as Christian hymns.
The result is a hugely dimensional soundtrack, one that reflects both the rich cultural heritage and the complex present of the region and also helps to make the show so evocative and real.The last episode, "Cold Ground," contained a particularly graceful chain of selections, beginning with the strains of the Dixie Chicks' gorgeous "Lullaby" spilling out over a wrap-around porch at night, where it linked seamlessly in the next scene to an acapella rendition of "Softly and Tenderly, Jesus is Calling," during a funeral.
It's shortly after that one of the series' most beautiful music moments comes: the show's main character, Sookie (played by Paquin) is sitting alone at the kitchen table, carefully eating her grandmother's last pecan pie, and as she does, she begins to cry for the first time over her grandmother's death, after days of shock and numbness. In the ballad that plays while she does this, the Irish roots of bluegrass music are unmistakable.
In the sweet light of the valley
When the sun falls on the vine
I shall lay down all of my troubles
I'll lay down this heart of mine
Sookie doesn't stop seeking comfort there though. In the next scene she literally runs into the arms of the vampire to whom she's been drawn for months, and it's such a credible pay-off to a long, and relatively chaste courtship between the two of them, one that would have culminated in sex anyway, but which practically explodes with passion for Sookie's want of reassurance in that moment--a relief from grief that easily overtakes her fear and virginity both.
It's a scene that precisely captures the relationship between death and sex, and no finer music could have been chosen than "Half of You" by Cat Power, a song containing all the languid sensuality of Louisiana itself. You can practically smell the Jack Daniels on Chan Marshall's breath as she sings it, and it's though it represents the near-oblivion she nearly achieved a couple years back, it is the sound of the desire for absence of self, so it's perfect.
Way to be truly dark True Blood. We're hooked.
Ed. note: Intrepid reader John W. did some research and found the following info about the pecan pie song:
...it was composed for the show, by Nathan Barr and Lisbeth Scott (who seem to have worked together on a few films in the past). And the single is available as an mp3 download for a dollar on CD Baby, which is splendid: http://cdbaby.com/cd/
There's also, apparently, an acoustic version on Kosmic music, but the site is a terrifying clutter of new age nonsense that doesn't accept Paypal or Google. So I gave up on that.
I'm really stunned by the job they did with the song. I'd easily believe it was decades old. And thank goodness, a new episode tonight!
Thanks so much John!
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