When you hear the perfect song start playing at the perfect moment in Grey's Anatomy, Mad Men, Gossip Girl or Twilight, you probably have Alexandra Patsavas to thank. As a Hollywood music supervisor, Patsavas works, as she puts it, to "find the right musical point of view for the project."
Patsavas talks to Steve Inskeep about some of her favorite films — with great soundtracks.
The Music Man
(1962) Morton DaCosta, director
Based on the Broadway musical, The Music Man doesn't have music sneaking up behind the action; the music is the action. Harold Hill (Robert Preston) arrives in Iowa to, well, cheat everyone, but falls in love with the librarian. Chaos ensues.
Patsavas says it's a beautiful, heartfelt movie. "The songs have stuck with me my entire life," she says. "I can still sing along." (And does! Click the "listen" link at the top of the page to hear Patsavas sing "76 Trombones" with Steve Inskeep.)
Pretty In Pink
(1986) Howard Deutch, director
"Pretty In Pink" was actually the name of a song by The Psychedelic Furs years before John Hughes wrote the film. The movie came out in 1986 — the year Patsavas graduated from high school. Starring Molly Ringwald as a high school girl from the wrong side of the tracks who falls for the preppy guy, Pretty In Pink is a classic story of teenage growing pains.
"Behind all the drama was a song called 'If You Leave,' " Patsavas says. "You can't hear that song without thinking about what happens [in the film]. That's the best thing that could happen as a supervisor, to find that exact right song."
Sexy Beast
(2000) Jonathan Glazer, director
The film opens with "Peaches" by The Stranglers, which Patsavas describes as "an amazing, evocative song." She says she loves the way the music makes the movie feel.
Retired gangster Gary "Gal" Dove" (Ray Winstone) is trying to stay out of trouble when Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) shows up to recruit him for a heist.
"Oh, Sexy Beast. What a shocker that movie is," Patsavas says. "There's something about the movie that I just think is perfect."
Free To Be ... You And Me
(1970s TV show) Bill Davis, Len Steckler, Fred Wolf, directors
Free To Be ... You and Me started out as a record album and then became an illustrated songbook for kids. "I sang along, I read along," Patsavas recalls. Free To Be ... You and Me went on to become a beloved 1970s children's television show.
"I'd love nothing more than to redo it and have current bands from the 2010s re-create some of these songs," Patsavas says.
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