Who are the main musical artists you listened to during your formative years? What music tastes have you developed most recently on the job?
[…] Now, I try to be aware of as wide a spectrum of music as possible. I work on many shows set in specific time periods, such as Pose, The Americans, and American Crime Story or that use music from all over the map like Claws, so I’m constantly going down rabbit holes of different times, locations, and genres. Everything from 1970’s Chilean music to late 1980’s house music or early 1980’s dark wave. The research is half the fun. Conversely, shows like Claws, 9-1-1, and the forthcoming series, Reverie on NBC use a good amount of contemporary music, so I’m always keeping my ear out for new music that fits the sound of those. More often than not, my music tastes wind up being shaped by whatever shows I’m listening for at the moment. I guess maybe I’m a “method" music supervisor?
American Crime Story: Versace focuses on the tragic assassination of the iconic Italian fashion designer, Gianni Versace. The show features a scintillating blend of ornate classical music, late 80’s/early 90’s nightclub favorites by Lisa Stansfield and La Bouche, and a dash of jazz. What was the inspiration behind these selections and was it intentional for the music to play such a dominant and telling role in the storytelling?
Ryan Murphy is a huge music fan so music is important to the storytelling in all of his shows. The overall sound of the show is truly his vision and from there, all of us – producers, editors, etc. – collaborate to serve that. In the case of Versace, there were two key tenets that guided the process.
First, on all of the period set shows, authenticity is extremely important. If a scene is set in Fall 1992, we take care not to use songs released after that point. For The People vs. O.J. Simpson, it was very focused on events within a few year span. This season, we are jumping around in time. We travel to 1987 and 1990, 1997 and 1992 (and some years in between). To some degree, we had to show that in the song selections.
Equally, if not more importantly, this season is much more of a “deep dive” into character than the O.J. season. Ryan, along with executive producer, Alexis Martin Woodall sought to approach the music through the lens of Andrew Cunanan, the killer, and his experience of life. Where would go and what music would he be exposed to? What would have been listening to as a child? We thought about what was playing in clubs at that time. We wanted to be accurate as to what was popular back then and put people in the shoes of a younger gay man in California. The fact that most of the songs are highly recognizable also provides a point of connection with the character – a position you may not want to find yourself in with a serial killer. The buoyant “Easy Lover” by Phil Collins and Philip Bailey plays as Andrew dances while a wealthy older man is in bed nearly suffocating.
In a cameo, Aimee Mann performs “Drive” by The Cars. It was for a moment where David Madson, who we know gets murdered shortly thereafter, decides not to escape in order to comfort a crying Andrew. Even the songs in the clubs like “Be My Lover” by La Bouche or “A Little Bit of Ecstasy” by Jocelyn Enriquez were selected with Andrew’s psyche in mind. Every moment of, “Oh, I love that song!” is immediately followed by, “Oh man, am I relating to this guy?” That’s one of the main questions the show asks: What role did we as a society play in allowing this bright young man with so much potential to murder an icon?
From the start of your career in music supervision until now, what has been your most challenging and game-changing experience working on a film or television show?
[… ]The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story was also a game changer for me. The season was starting as PJ was transitioning into Warner Bros. Records and right off the bat, there were on camera performances. The Aimee Mann appearance mentioned earlier in episode four. Then there was an on-camera polka band in episode five and of course, tons of needle drops in all the episodes. In an apprenticeship industry, there really comes a time to spread your wings. I remember P.J. telling me, “This is what needs to happen. This is your time to level up.” He was 100% right.
Amanda Krieg Thomas
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