Trope of the Week: Award Bait Song

Had a very, very lazy Saturday. Pretty much sat around all day, playing video games, watching television and doing a lot of nothing during the day. I managed to pry the television away from my daughter in the middle of the afternoon and watched some football but I caught a glimpse of something on one of the HBOs from my formative years: "The Three Musketeers." Now this is the Charlie Sheen/Keifer Sutherland/Chris O'Donnell version. Y'know, the one where they all have amazing hair and where Charlie Sheen plays the pious Aramus and as cheesy as it is...I LOVE this movie. No, really and I could go on for pages and pages why I love it, but let me focus on the Trope of the Week:

Trope of the Week #2: Award Bait Song

Take it in, read, prepare to discuss...I'll wait.

Now those of us that like our movies the way we like our books (big and epic) fully expect one of these to be tacked on to the end of the major motion picture we just shelled out money to see. Usually it involves Celine Dion, Bryan Adams (the patron saint of this trope), Barbara Streisand, Sting or Whitney Houston and it winds up as some kind of motif in the score of the film (Titanic beats you over the head with this!). Anyway, watching the Musketeers this weekend, I stayed for the credits? Why? Here's why:



It's Bryan Adams, Sting AND Rod Bloody Stewart...in the same song. This is my THESIS MAN!!!! Seriously. Enjoy the cheesy goodness, revel in it.

What does this have to do with writing?

I'm not sure. I just think it's fun.

Look, there are many of us that love listening to music when we write. Sure, we all cut our teeth on scores and soundtracks, but you can only listen to "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings" so many times, as a fantasy writer, before you need something new. Why not play around with these ballads? Especially when writing those all important relationship scenes that we either pay too much attention to or not enough to. How about some good old rock and roll for those actions scenes? The scene in "Old School" where they play the opening bars of "Master of Puppets" is so successful and is a minor example.

The other question is this: if they were to make a movie/tv show about your book, who would you want to sing the award bait song? I think my answer is fairly obvious: Bryan Adams. If I were to pick someone contemporary (seriously, when did the 90s stop being contemporary, damn you for getting old I guess), I'd say maybe Adele. If I wanted to go outside the box a little, can you go wrong with Tori Amos?

What do you think? What are yours?