{"id":2368,"date":"2020-02-25T17:40:06","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T22:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/parsons\/?p=2368"},"modified":"2021-03-12T17:05:19","modified_gmt":"2021-03-12T22:05:19","slug":"arachnophonia-dirty-dancing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/parsons\/2020\/02\/arachnophonia-dirty-dancing\/","title":{"rendered":"Arachnophonia: Dirty Dancing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note:<\/strong> Arachnophonia<\/a> is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library<\/a>\u2018s collection.<\/p>\n

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question<\/a> or to additional relevant<\/a> information from<\/a> around the web<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s installment of Arachnophonia<\/a> is by student worker Gabriela (class of 2020) and features the original soundtrack album for the 1987 film Dirty Dancing<\/strong><\/a>. Thanks, Gabi!<\/em><\/p>\n

Dirty Dancing<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Dirty<\/p>\n

With the 92nd Academy Awards freshly behind us, I\u2019ve been thinking about my favorite film soundtracks. For me, a driving factor of what makes a movie memorable or great is its music –either score, soundtrack, or both. I love when I hear a song that I recognize during a scene, which I can dance or sing along to in my seat. On the other hand, I also love when movies introduce me to music. The only reason I loved the songs \u201cHungry Eyes\u201d<\/a> and \u201cBe My Baby\u201d<\/a> so much as a kid was because of the movie Dirty Dancing<\/a><\/em>. <\/p>\n

\"Dirty<\/p>\n

My parents showed me Dirty Dancing<\/em> at a young age, probably because I was a dancer whose first childhood dream was to be a Broadway star, and it instantly became one of my favorite movies. The soundtrack, which features songs spanning multiple decades<\/a>, made an already wholesome and fun movie even more enjoyable. Even as a child, I could feel the nostalgia that it portrayed, as it features 50\u2019s and 60\u2019s pop hits like \u201cLove is Strange\u201d<\/a> and \u201cStay\u201d<\/a> that instantly transport the viewer to a summer in 1963. Naturally, a distinctly 80s sound is also incorporated in songs like \u201cShe\u2019s Like the Wind\u201d<\/a> sung by lead actor Patrick Swayze<\/a> himself, a man of apparently many talents. And of course, many of these songs are used in dance scenes, following Baby and Johnny\u2019s journey from frustrating rehearsals to final performance. <\/p>\n

\"Dirty<\/p>\n

There are many iconic movie scenes that will be forever associated with their respective songs, or vice versa. Think: \u201c(Don\u2019t You) Forget About Me\u201d<\/a> with Judd Nelson\u2019s fist in the air at the end of The Breakfast Club<\/a><\/em>, or \u201cGirl You\u2019ll Be a Woman Soon\u201d<\/a> in Uma Thurman\u2019s apartment in Pulp Fiction<\/a><\/em>. But undoubtedly one of the most commonly known and referenced music\/movie scene pairings is \u201c(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life\u201d<\/a> from the final dance scene in Dirty Dancing<\/em> –with extra emphasis on the achievement of Baby\u2019s lift that happens right as the song climaxes. This is the kind of flawless, emotional moment that makes the right fusion of a scene and a song selection one of my favorite aspects of film. It\u2019s also one of the many moments that made the Dirty Dancing<\/em> soundtrack<\/a> go multi-platinum<\/a>.<\/p>\n