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Tuesday, September 17, 2013



Option #2
Soundtrack to Freniere
            In the opening scene of Freniere, there is lots going on. New Orleans is a bustling city, there are people “in their different tribal garb…And then there were the Indians, who covered the levee on summer days selling herbs and crafted wares. And drifting through all, through this medley of languages and colors, were the people of the port, the sailors of ships, who came in great waves…” (Rice 349). While imagining this busy scene, I can’t help but think of M.I.A.’s Boyz. The fast beat of this song seems to match the hustle and bustle of what was going on in New Orleans, and the foreign sound to the song brings out the diversity in the scene.
            As the narrator and Lestat follow Freniere and the Spanish Creole on horseback, Fight Song by The Republic Tigers resonates throughout the forest where the duel begins. The song starts off with a beat strong enough for the horseback riding entrance and transitions into a rhythm that can mirror the emotion of a duel. Not only is there a duel between Freniere and the Spanish Creole, but the narrator is also fighting with Lestat, which is why Fight Song perfectly recognizes both battles. Alas, the narrator can no longer keep up with Lestat and the narrator explains, “Then I saw him. Freniere lay sprawled over the knobbed roots of a cypress, his boots deep in the murky water, and Lestat was still bent over him, one hand on the hand of Freniere that still held the foil” (Rice 354). The Funeral by Band of Horses could play in the background of this sight where the antagonist has won and it seems as though the narrator and Freniere’s sisters have lost. The melancholy emotion of this song goes well with the story at this particular point.
            As the narrator approaches Freniere’s sisters, Is There a Ghost by Band of Horses would be a good song to play at this point especially since the sisters actually think they see a ghost. “Babette finally took a candelabrum from a side table, lit the candles and, scorning everyone’s fear, ventured out onto the cold gallery alone to see what was there, her sisters hovering in the door like great, black birds, one of them crying that the brother was dead and she had indeed seen his ghost” (Rice 355). The tune even has a sort of eerie rhythm like the sisters felt when they were unsure of what they had just seen. Even while the vampire is talking to Babette, the song would still be good to play since Babette never really knows what she saw.
            At the end of the story when Babette takes over the plantation, Viva La Vida by Coldplay would be great since it has lyrics like “people couldn’t believe what I’d become,” when the story talks about how she was the scandal of the neighborhood since she ran the plantation. Viva La Vida also has sort of praising and uplifting lyrics and what Babette accomplishes is very praiseworthy. All in all, the music to Freniere can have a wide range of genres but this can bring an interesting light to the story.

Anne Rice. “Freniere.” American Gothic Tales. Ed. Joyce Carol Oates. New York: The Penguin  Group. 349-357. Print.

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