The Music of the Universe

As a follow up to my last post, Writing Without Guest Stars, another thing that makes writing a book different from the TV show is the music. Unless they are published in audiobook format, no music. It's like writing the show with a main character missing.

Once I discovered Chuck (on Netflix) I’d watch an episode or two after work. So, there I was in my living room watching Chuck and inviting my wife and kids to join me. It was great to find a family friendly show that we could all watch together. My oldest teenage daughter would watch a little if she were in the room but I’d usually get the teenage eye roll and she’d head to her bedroom. Classic. Then one day she was in the room long enough to hear some of the music, they were songs she knew from indie bands she really liked, songs she had on her iPod. She could tell that whoever chose the music for the show knew what they were doing. They had great taste and had their finger on the pulse of what was popular and current in the indie music scene. She went out of her way to tell me what good music it was. It's not easy for a dad to earn a little street cred in the eyes of his teenage daughter but that day it actually happened.

As a huge Chuck fan, of course I have the soundtrack written by Tim Jones, if I’m ever having trouble getting into the right headspace to write my season 6 Chuck episodes, I listen to the soundtrack starting with A Question and a Spy.

No discussion about the music of Chuck would be complete without mentioning Jeffster. Here is their legendary 2009 ComicCon performance. If you’ve never seen it, follow the link. It's nothing short of absolutely amazing, I wish I had been in the room.

If you’re wondering how the producers of Chuck managed to capture the indie music scene so perfectly during that period, wonder no more. Alexandra Patsavas was the music supervisor for Chuck on 64 of the 91 episodes. She had previously worked with Josh Schwartz on The O.C. from 2003 - 2007, and at the time Chuck was on the air, she was working with him on both Chuck and Gossip Girl which also ran from 2007 - 2012, so to say they had a long history of successfully working together would be an understatement.

The music for The O.C. was universally recognized as one of the stand out parts of the show, just like Chuck. In this Josh Schwartz interview given in 2007 Mr. Schwartz said his favorite part of the show is “working with Alex and finding music.” In an interview given in 2012 to TVGuide Chris Fedak says “One of my favorite memories over the years is sitting with Josh at his computer and going through iTunes, selecting songs for the Jeffster performances…” For me it was interesting to learn how involved Josh Schwartz was in picking the music. Either Alexandra fed Josh ideas or Josh had ideas he would run past Alexandra, in all instances I’ve read it’s always described as “very collaborative”. Given the output of that collaboration it’s clear they worked great together.

The thing I love most about the music of Chuck, is that it wasn’t just background music while the story happened. The music was an integral part of the storytelling, it makes a scene funnier, more romantic, more heartbreaking, and more memorable. Tim Jones’s scores transport me back into the world of Chuck before I write a single word. Years later, I can sit down to write one of my Season 6 episodes, press play on A Question and a Spy, and suddenly I’m back there, in that little universe that Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak created. 

I’m right back with Chuck, Sarah, Casey, Morgan. 

I think that’s the real magic of the music. It doesn’t just accompany the Chuck universe. Even after all these years, it can bring that universe back to life—and for a few moments, it feels as though it never left.