

And I had to be like, “By the way, I don’t have any money.” One of them was religious and didn’t like the idea of using their song to a scene where somebody’s ear gets cut off. I didn’t even have the job and I was on the phone begging and pleading Stealers Wheel members Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty to let us use it. He knew every song he wanted but he was told he couldn’t have them, like Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle With You” for Reservoir Dogs. In the case of Quentin Tarantino, I got to put in my two cents on Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Like, tell me what you’re looking for, I’m going to get it for you. It’s a creative business, but it’s business. Is being a music supervisor way more business-focused than people assume? I figure I’ll hear all the pop stuff anyway, but I’m not really into pop, and I don’t think people are hiring me on projects because I’m going to bring them a pop song. When people just send me general submissions, I usually listen to the more obscure stuff.

Now, I’m really appreciating the daily mixes on Spotify, even though I always prided myself on being that person who digs through crates. If I liked the artwork, if somebody told me about the band, if it was from a different country, I would always pick up whatever cassette was on the shelf. I could go into Tower Records with an expense account. Karyn Rachtman: Back in the day, I was a hoarder. Pitchfork: When you’re not actively working on a movie, do you look for songs to put on the back burner for future soundtracks? Rachtman, who now runs her own music supervision firm, Mind Your Music, and lives in New Zealand, called Pitchfork to talk about career hangups, convincing musicians to participate in scandalous scenes, and one unforgettable dream meeting. Over the last 30 years, Karyn Rachtman has brought her taste and business savvy to some of the most iconic soundtracks of all time: Clueless, Pulp Fiction, Reality Bites, Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, and Boogie Nights, just to name a few. “I’m a Casting Director for Music”: A Conversation With Karyn Rachtman So to kick things off, let’s talk to one of cinema’s most accomplished music supervisors. These are the people who find songs and secure their usage in films, which means they likely played a huge role in shaping your music taste today. Among them, music supervisors are an essential and undersung part of process. Though directors are often given sole credit for a movie’s soundtrack, many people help bring music to the big screen. (We're excluding musicals from both lists, as they feel like a different category entirely.) These are usually multi-artist compilation albums, and almost always include songs with vocals and lyrics. Stay tuned for the best original scores list later in the week. Today, we discuss soundtracks, which we’re defining as collections of songs that have been used in films. In looking at the greatest movie music of all time, Pitchfork is publishing two separate lists this week: best soundtracks and best original scores. When sound and vision meet, transcendence ensues. It’s impossible to do. Throughout film history, songs have added glory to struggle, majesty to landscapes, depth to heroes and villains alike.
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Or Super Fly without Curtis Mayfield’s haunted croon. Or Pulp Fiction without Dick Dale’s cataclysmic surf-rock guitar. What would the movies be without music? Imagine Do the Right Thing without Radio Raheem’s blaring boombox.
