Nostalgia and soundtracks

Now that we are under attack once more (the IRA? Really?) I think its definitely time for some Cold War nostalgic soundtracking. After all you can't escape the reality into a bright new future anymore so its better to go retro. OK I know that The International is in a contemporary setting and that things like the Bourne Identity have a yearning for a complicated but essentially straightforward narrative: the grey men in suits might win but at least things don't fundamentally change. Sinister corporate maneuvers on the one hand are sweetened by the reassuring lack of revolution.



Or perhaps we can swing over to some future nostalgia? Firefly has really had some considerable heft in terms of its dialogue - influence does not necessarily stem from volume of episodes. For instance the soundtrack to recently released PC/Mac game Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty has definite thematic elements of the space-cowboy subgenre of sci-fi. Wistful and soulful fiddles, a solo bass and ...industrial grinding synth? Hmm. Definitely a melding which works better in some tracks than others although below is a good example of the Terran soundtracking - meant to embody the freedom that comes with being a cowpoke on a starship.



Ah romance. Perhaps through action we can get to our nostalgic roots more conveniently. The betrayal by a lover is perhaps one of the most well mined portions of human experience - it has happened to the vast majority of adults, albeit usually not in a life or death situation. Most of the time it is fairly banal and dull. It is after all a commonplace experience. Yet to imagine ourselves as heroes, as heroic in some capacity is fundamentally important for many people. To couple that betrayal with loss and a vindicating death? Genius. Argue amongst yourself whether it carries on a longstanding misogynistic tradition or not, this delicate and haunting piece of soundtrack still carries a cresting swell of emotion within it that manages to feel utterly appropriate to the world it is created for.



So three very different examples of nostalgia. One which we want to feel, one which we have all felt and one that we reinterpret the past with. Freedom, pain and revision. Sounds like your GCSEs but maybe nostalgia is our minds way of telling us there is still something round the corner, something more we can accomplish than just sitting at home waiting for life to get into our living rooms.