Subversive sounds of ‘The O.C.’
Will there be trouble for Seth and Anna?
Just how crazy is Oliver?
And what was that song during the makeout scene?
Fans of the Fox TV series “The O.C.” are asking that last kind of question as much as the first two. At least that’s the thinking at Warner Bros. Records, which has formed an alliance with Fox -- not just to release the standard tie-in soundtrack album, but an ongoing series of CDs to promote the show as a place to discover cool, unknown music.
Given the show’s status as the successor to “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Dawson’s Creek” in the line of teen soap operas, it would be natural to expect it to feature current hot bands and sounds -- Good Charlotte, Avril Lavigne, and such. Instead, it taps the tastes of the show’s creative team, and even cast members, to go off the beaten track and highlight relative unknowns such as Spoon, Belle & Sebastian and Alexi Mur- doch.
“People I know in the business with kids, 15-year-olds, 16-year-olds, have been saying, ‘My daughter called me about this band,’ ” says Tom Whalley, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records. “I’d ask, ‘Where’d your daughter find out about that?’ And they’d tell me, ‘On “The O.C.” ’ “
Series executive producer McG says that’s exactly the idea he and show creator Josh Schwartz had from the start.
“I always thought the show was elegantly subversive and that’s the function of music as a character,” says McG, who grew up in Newport Beach with the members of Sugar Ray and was a music producer and video director before becoming a top movie director with the two “Charlie’s Angels” films on his resume. “When people watch the show and think it’s a teen soap opera on Fox, and then they hear a track by Belle & Sebastian or Joseph Arthur, they might think, ‘Hey, there’s more going on here.’ ”
To Whalley, it’s an opportunity to transcend the normal thinking of music tie-ins and build “The O.C.” as a brand name for a sense of musical taste.
“When I started to look into the show’s music and get a sense of what the culture of it was, how the music fit in,” Whalley says, “we came up with the idea [not to] look at it as a soundtrack, but as a sampler of the kind of music that’s on the show that kids can use as a tool to discover new artists, cutting-edge artists.”
The plan at this point is to release a volume every few months, a la the “Now That’s What I Call Music” compilation series. The first is due in late March and features the show’s theme, “California” by Phantom Planet, along with songs by Arthur, South, Jem, Spoon, Jet, Doves, Turin Brakes, the Dandy Warhols and a pairing of Finley Quaye and William Orbit -- only a few of which are on major labels -- plus unsigned L.A. acts Murdoch and the 88.
McG says Murdoch’s lilting acoustic song, “Orange Sky,” for example, was brought in by Schwarz after he saw the singer-songwriter open a show in L.A. last spring and bought his self-released EP on the spot. The song was used in a key scene of a recent episode, which Murdoch manager Lynn Grossman says led to a huge surge of hits on the artist’s website and a boost in EP sales.
One thing conspicuously missing from the CD roster is any Warner Bros. act at all.
“That’s a pretty gutsy move on their behalf,” says McG.
Straight to the recording studio
Jai RODRIGUEZ, the “culture vulture” of Bravo’s “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” makeover show, is aiming high when asked who he’d like to duet with him.
“Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez,” he says.
It’s not mere fantasy. Rodriguez is using the recognition he’s gotten from the show as a platform to make an album -- and to harbor serious thoughts of hooking high-profile guests, though he hasn’t asked either of those.
The album is no mere lark. He’s a seasoned performer who appeared in the role of Angel in “Rent” for a year on Broadway and in musical theater and club performances before being cast in “Queer Eye.”
“What’s cool is I have this momentum because of ‘Queer Eye,’ ” he says. “But being known for doing makeovers is not something I ever planned. Honestly, I’d rather have been on ‘American Idol’ than ‘Queer Eye.’ ”
During breaks from the show’s grueling production schedule, Rodriguez is working on original material with the production team known as Jack, and plans to shop for a label deal in the next few months, with June as a target release date. He describes the material as being influenced by a range of pop musicians, from Stevie Wonder to Justin Timberlake.
As for Lopez and Beyonce, he’s waiting to get the album nearly done before deciding on whether guests would be appropriate.
“I’m really anxious to work with Jennifer,” he says. “I’ve met her several times and felt a great energy. We’re both from New York and Puerto Rican and have the same vibe. And Beyonce -- there’s that whole R&B; part of me.”
Small faces
* The well of “lost” Woody Guthrie songs is far from dry. Eliza Gilkyson has teamed with Patty Griffin, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Iris DeMent to sing “Peace Call,” a song Gilkyson found in an out-of-print Guthrie songbook while on the Woody Guthrie Tribute Tour last summer. Written in the ‘50s (but with a 1963 copyright), the song is a peace anthem that had never been recorded. This version, which will be on her new album, “Land of Milk and Honey,” due March 23 from Red House Records, was made with the blessing of Guthrie’s daughter, Nora, who notes that the singer “got inside something special on this song.”
* Los Lobos has been joined by guests Elvis Costello, Cafe Tacuba, Tom Waits, Ruben Blades, Mitchell Froom, Bobby Womack, Mavis Staples, Richard Thompson, Garth Hudson and Quetzal’s Martha Gonzales on its upcoming album, “The Ride.” The new studio collection is due May 4 from Hollywood Records.
* Robert Smith of the Cure, Will Oldham (Bonnie “Prince” Billy) and David Sylvian provide vocals on the new album by Tweaker, the alias for former Nine Inch Nails programmer-drummer Chris Vrenna. The album, due April 20 from Waxploitation Records and iMusic, marks a strong step forward for Tweaker, with song structures taking precedence over the electronics of his past work.