Period films with music that didn't exist yet.

jjfad027jjfad027 1,594 Posts
edited February 2012 in Strut Central
It's sort of a peeve of mine. I can't remember what it was, but I was recently watching a movie that took place in the early 80's. At one point characters in the movie were dancing in a club to a song that was from late the late 80's. (pissed I can't remember what) I notice this from time to time with music in tv/film and it sort of bugs me. My friend notices the same thing with cars. Does anyone else catch this?

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  • JATXJATX 258 Posts
    Inglorious Basterds is the first thing that comes to mind. But I don't think it detracts from how great the film is.

  • mrmatthewmrmatthew 1,575 Posts
    jjfad027 said:
    It's sort of a peeve of mine. I can't remember what it was, but I was recently watching a movie that took place in the early 80's. At one point characters in the movie were dancing in a club to a song that was from late the late 80's. (pissed I can't remember what) I notice this from time to time with music in tv/film and it sort of bugs me. My friend notices the same thing with cars. Does anyone else catch this?
    Just started watching Mad Men..which has been super solid when it comes to keeping the music in line with the time-period.
    Except for an episode I just saw in the seconds season which featured a song by The Decembersists.
    That was a REAL MOOD killer for me.
    Hope that trend doesnt continue.

  • mrmatthewmrmatthew 1,575 Posts
    jjfad027 said:
    It's sort of a peeve of mine. I can't remember what it was, but I was recently watching a movie that took place in the early 80's. At one point characters in the movie were dancing in a club to a song that was from late the late 80's. (pissed I can't remember what) I notice this from time to time with music in tv/film and it sort of bugs me. My friend notices the same thing with cars. Does anyone else catch this?
    Just started watching Mad Men..which has been super solid when it comes to keeping the music in line with the time-period.
    Except for an episode I just saw in the seconds season which featured a song by The Decembersists.
    That was a REAL MOOD killer for me.
    Hope that trend doesnt continue.

  • unityunity 179 Posts
    Not like it's some masterpiece of american cinema or anything, but having "we will rock you" or some jock jam-y type jernt play during the jousting scenes in "A Knight's Tale" was off-putting. I stuck my nose up at it when I saw it in theaters in middle school (I sound young, I know).

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Last Days Of Disco

    Playing 70s Disco when Madonna was out = Fail.

  • I've Had The Time of My Life in Dirty Dancing. So terrible. What were they thinking?

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls rappin in the mid/late 70s still has me a little suspicious.

    R&B dudes were rappin but his cadence seemed a little ahead of itself.

  • I was thinking about Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. Playing post-punk and new wave in a film set in the 18th Century sounded like a bad idea, but it actually worked well in my opinion. It's no Barry Lyndon, but it worked well.

  • jjfad027jjfad027 1,594 Posts
    It's not that bad if it's the soundtrack meant for the audience, but if characters in the movie are supposed to be hearing it, and it's not chronologically accurate it heavily detracts/distracts from the realism IMO.

  • jjfad027jjfad027 1,594 Posts
    pinche double

  • FlomotionFlomotion 2,390 Posts
    A Knight's Tale. Queen didn't even have a record deal until the early 12th century. Sloppy fact checking. And don't get me started on Moulin Rouge...

  • erewhonerewhon 1,123 Posts
    batmon said:
    Last Days Of Disco

    Playing 70s Disco when Madonna was out = Fail.

    It's been along time since I've seen the movie, but wasn't it supposed to be set around 1980 (when Studio 54 closed)? Madonna wasn't really a factor until 1983.

  • Most egregious oversight I've encountered is the opening shot in Ray. Sometime in the early 60s a 45 is spinning, yet upon close-up reveals what is plainly an 80s Atlantic label on the record. It's the first scene in the movie and they can't even get that shit right?

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    erewhon said:
    batmon said:
    Last Days Of Disco

    Playing 70s Disco when Madonna was out = Fail.

    It's been along time since I've seen the movie, but wasn't it supposed to be set around 1980 (when Studio 54 closed)? Madonna wasn't really a factor until 1983.

    I have a heard time believing Madonna's Everybody in late '82 was in the same set as...

    I Love the Nightlife - 3:01 (Alicia Bridges)
    I'm Coming Out - 5:25 (Diana Ross)
    Got to Be Real - 3:45 (Cheryl Lynn)
    Good Times - 3:45 (Chic)
    He's the Greatest Dancer - 3:34 (Sister Sledge)
    I Don't Know If It's Right - 3:48 (Evelyn "Champagne" King)
    More, More, More, Pt. 1 - 3:02 (Andrea True Connection)
    Doctor's Orders - 3:31 (Carol Douglas)
    Everybody Dance - 3:31 (Chic)
    The Love I Lost - 6:25 (Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)
    Let's All Chant - 3:05 (Michael Zager Band)
    Got to Have Loving - 8:18 (Don Ray)
    Shame - 6:34 (Evelyn "Champagne" King)
    Knock on Wood - 3:52 (Amii Stewart)
    The Oogum Boogum Song - 2:34 (Brenton Wood)
    Love Train - 3:00 (O'Jays)
    I Love the Nightlife (Disco 'Round) - 3:13 (La India & Nuyorican Soul)

    If it is Studio 54 then 1980 is the cutoff point, but if its early 80s I still have a problem w/ the Solid Gold tracklisting.

    I though you'd hear way more Linn drum Disco in 80-83. Shit was synthed the fusk out by then.



    I really doubt a hip club is playing five year old classic disco when there was some much new shit out there in 1980.

    That like playing Jackson 5 Enjoy Yourself instead of Can You Feel It.

    The track listing is curated like some bad Classic Disco Aerobics Class.

  • jjfad027 said:
    It's sort of a peeve of mine. I can't remember what it was, but I was recently watching a movie that took place in the early 80's. At one point characters in the movie were dancing in a club to a song that was from late the late 80's. (pissed I can't remember what) I notice this from time to time with music in tv/film and it sort of bugs me. My friend notices the same thing with cars. Does anyone else catch this?

    I'm like that with Cooley High, which takes place in 1964. While I can accept a few stragglers from 1965-66 if the mood is right, there is one scene that bugs me.

    One character is at home with his parents and older relatives, so you hear the blues in the background, signifying Old Black People's Music. Okay. But if they had to go there, why'd they have to use a Luther Allison track from 1974? Couldn't they have just used a track from Amos Milburn's Motown LP from 1962? That way, they'd not only be keeping it in the Motown family, but also in the timeline.

    It's not that distracting - only a record collector would be concerned about something like this, and it's not like Allison's track had a disco rhythm or anything (from what I remember). Hearing it in the background, it could pass for a vintage blues record. But even though Allison was a current Motown artist himself at the time and could have used a little push, still...

  • And it's not quite the same thing, but in the movie Almost Famous, one of the characters mentions seeing a member of Bad Company by the hotel swimming pool.

    Movie takes place in 1973. Bad Company's first album didn't drop until 1974. I know, what's twelve months, right? But it still looks incorrect to me.

  • erewhonerewhon 1,123 Posts
    batmon said:
    erewhon said:
    batmon said:
    Last Days Of Disco

    Playing 70s Disco when Madonna was out = Fail.

    It's been along time since I've seen the movie, but wasn't it supposed to be set around 1980 (when Studio 54 closed)? Madonna wasn't really a factor until 1983.

    I have a heard time believing Madonna's Everybody in late '82 was in the same set as...

    I Love the Nightlife - 3:01 (Alicia Bridges)
    I'm Coming Out - 5:25 (Diana Ross)
    Got to Be Real - 3:45 (Cheryl Lynn)
    Good Times - 3:45 (Chic)
    He's the Greatest Dancer - 3:34 (Sister Sledge)
    I Don't Know If It's Right - 3:48 (Evelyn "Champagne" King)
    More, More, More, Pt. 1 - 3:02 (Andrea True Connection)
    Doctor's Orders - 3:31 (Carol Douglas)
    Everybody Dance - 3:31 (Chic)
    The Love I Lost - 6:25 (Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)
    Let's All Chant - 3:05 (Michael Zager Band)
    Got to Have Loving - 8:18 (Don Ray)
    Shame - 6:34 (Evelyn "Champagne" King)
    Knock on Wood - 3:52 (Amii Stewart)
    The Oogum Boogum Song - 2:34 (Brenton Wood)
    Love Train - 3:00 (O'Jays)
    I Love the Nightlife (Disco 'Round) - 3:13 (La India & Nuyorican Soul)

    If it is Studio 54 then 1980 is the cutoff point, but if its early 80s I still have a problem w/ the Solid Gold tracklisting.

    I though you'd hear way more Linn drum Disco in 80-83. Shit was synthed the fusk out by then.



    I really doubt a hip club is playing five year old classic disco when there was some much new shit out there in 1980.

    That like playing Jackson 5 Enjoy Yourself instead of Can You Feel It.

    The track listing is curated like some bad Classic Disco Aerobics Class.


    Like Madonna's career, "Can You Feel It" did not exist yet in 1980.

    I would give the filmmaker the benefit of the doubt here. The movie was a composite of his experience frequenting those glitzy (white) uptown clubs of that era. Perhaps the soundtrack is more '78 or '79 than '80, but the selections are certainly authentic to that scene. The movie is called "The Last Days of Disco", not "The Future of 80's Dance Music".

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    erewhon said:
    batmon said:
    erewhon said:
    batmon said:
    Last Days Of Disco

    Playing 70s Disco when Madonna was out = Fail.

    It's been along time since I've seen the movie, but wasn't it supposed to be set around 1980 (when Studio 54 closed)? Madonna wasn't really a factor until 1983.

    I have a heard time believing Madonna's Everybody in late '82 was in the same set as...

    I Love the Nightlife - 3:01 (Alicia Bridges)
    I'm Coming Out - 5:25 (Diana Ross)
    Got to Be Real - 3:45 (Cheryl Lynn)
    Good Times - 3:45 (Chic)
    He's the Greatest Dancer - 3:34 (Sister Sledge)
    I Don't Know If It's Right - 3:48 (Evelyn "Champagne" King)
    More, More, More, Pt. 1 - 3:02 (Andrea True Connection)
    Doctor's Orders - 3:31 (Carol Douglas)
    Everybody Dance - 3:31 (Chic)
    The Love I Lost - 6:25 (Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)
    Let's All Chant - 3:05 (Michael Zager Band)
    Got to Have Loving - 8:18 (Don Ray)
    Shame - 6:34 (Evelyn "Champagne" King)
    Knock on Wood - 3:52 (Amii Stewart)
    The Oogum Boogum Song - 2:34 (Brenton Wood)
    Love Train - 3:00 (O'Jays)
    I Love the Nightlife (Disco 'Round) - 3:13 (La India & Nuyorican Soul)

    If it is Studio 54 then 1980 is the cutoff point, but if its early 80s I still have a problem w/ the Solid Gold tracklisting.

    I though you'd hear way more Linn drum Disco in 80-83. Shit was synthed the fusk out by then.



    I really doubt a hip club is playing five year old classic disco when there was some much new shit out there in 1980.

    That like playing Jackson 5 Enjoy Yourself instead of Can You Feel It.

    The track listing is curated like some bad Classic Disco Aerobics Class.


    Like Madonna's career, "Can You Feel It" did not exist yet in 1980.

    I would give the filmmaker the benefit of the doubt here. The movie was a composite of his experience frequenting those glitzy (white) uptown clubs of that era. Perhaps the soundtrack is more '78 or '79 than '80, but the selections are certainly authentic to that scene. The movie is called "The Last Days of Disco", not "The Future of 80's Dance Music".

    Ill have to disgaree.

    like i said before what club where they going to where the music is from 76 if they were in 79?

    Can u feel it came out in 80. Werent these big house dj getting wax when it dropped?

    Im sorry but i cant wrap my head around some club gettin there main action from playing four year old shit.
    disco was not on its way out in 78. Off The Wall dropped in 79.

    I read this flick as a pre-Aids era joint. It wasnt the debauchery of 77. Way too slick...imo.
    81 82.....shit was already past the Philly sound disco by then.
    Early 80s too me means at least 84 tops.
    This whole bullshit almalgamation of Saturday Night Fever meets American Psycho NYC is way off to me.

    By the early 80s cats were callin it Club Music and they either were going to out of touch spots or dude just slapped together some easy recognizable nonsense.
    Shit ....81 is Blondies Rapture. New Wave Disco was in full bloom by then.
    Twentyome year olds in 80 wanted to hear The Ojays up in the club? How hip were these kids? Love Train is 72?????

  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    DCarfagna said:
    Most egregious oversight I've encountered is the opening shot in Ray. Sometime in the early 60s a 45 is spinning, yet upon close-up reveals what is plainly an 80s Atlantic label on the record. It's the first scene in the movie and they can't even get that shit right?
    i actually remember this annoying me too.
    and i think there was a similar thing recently, some other music movie set in the 50s or 60s & they gratuitously shot a 80s reissue 45 spinning.

  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    also Black Power Mixtape

  • dukeofdelridgedukeofdelridge urgent.monkey.mice 2,453 Posts
    The Sting is all sorts of messed up.
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