FEATURE:
little c, Big C
PHOTO CREDIT: Meo Fernando/Pexels
Turning Concept Albums Into Cinema
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TWO of the most dreaded words …
IN THIS PHOTO: Even though Beyoncé's 2016 career-best Lemonade was presented as a visual album, it has not been turned into a film or drama series/PHOTO CREDIT: Parkwood Entertainment (via Vanity Fair)
in the musical lexicon is ‘concept album’! Maybe not so cursed and cringeworthy these days, there was a time when you’d get Prog bands putting out some cosmic, mythical suite of songs that went on for hours – or at least it seemed like it! There have been some really intelligent and original concept albums made through the years. Maybe not even a whole album. Consider the second side of Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love (1985), The Ninth Wave. I have pitched that it should be made into a short film with Saoirse Ronan as the protagonist. This thought about concept albums being turned into films or a T.V. series is because I have just written about The Who’s 1973 concept album, Quadrophenia. I always though that the album came out to soundtrack the film! The film didn’t come out until 1979. It is obvious listening to Quadrophenia that it would be a remarkable film (and it is!)., I have been thinking about other concept albums and the fact that none/few have been brought to life for the screen. Next year is twenty since The Streets released their phenomenal second album, A Grand Don’t Come for Free (there was a short made about the album, but is pretty basic and lo-fi!). The album is about a protagonist who loses a grand and then tries to get it back. It sounds simple and straightforward on the page; when you hear the album unfold, there are so many details and twists. At a time when we have visual albums and artists like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé put out short films, why not take it a step further and make albums into films?! In Beyoncé’s case, an album like Lemonade would either be a great short of a full film. Maybe not strictly a concept album, it does have unifying themes. In terms of Lemonade’s themes:
“Melina Matsoukas, the director of the "Formation" music video, said that Beyoncé explained to her the concept behind Lemonade, stating: "She wanted to show the historical impact of slavery on black love, and what it has done to the black family, and black men and women—how we're almost socialized not to be together." Beyoncé wrote on this in a 2018 Vogue article about the "generational curses" in her family, explaining that she comes "from a lineage of broken male-female relationships, abuse of power, and mistrust", including a slave owner who married a slave. Beyoncé continues, writing "Only when I saw that clearly was I able to resolve those conflicts in my own relationship. Connecting to the past and knowing our history makes us both bruised and beautiful."
This theme is repeated throughout Lemonade, with Beyoncé's grief, trauma and struggle being connected to that of her family's ancestors. The sixth track "Daddy Lessons" acts as a turning point for the album, with Beyoncé linking Jay-Z cheating on her with her father Mathew Knowles cheating on her mother Tina. Towards the end of Lemonade, Beyoncé reveals the meaning behind the album title, showing Jay-Z's grandmother Hattie White saying "I had my ups and downs, but I always find the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, but I made lemonade", and describing her own grandmother, Agnez Deréon, as an "alchemist" who "spun gold out of this hard life" with the instructions to overcome these challenges passed down through generations like a lemonade recipe”.
Maybe the concept albums of the 1970s would seem aged and not translate well to the big screen. Apart from Quadrophenia, I cannot think of too many concept albums that have become films. Again, I am aware of short films and music videos. In a way, that is the artist visually telling the story of that album – though it is fragmented and not a continuous thread. I think that a full narrative played out on screen would not only be wonderful as a standalone film: it would invest new listeners in a classic album and, thus, provide that twin gift. It is expensive to make films. Translating an album and a concept into a cohesive and popular film is a hard task. There are great concept albums that either big for a first-time film or a revision on an older one – and, as I say, not many concept albums have been brought to cinemas or the small screen. Rolling Stone and their countdown of the best concept albums ever. Of the ones they name that would look great as a film, I think The Avalanches’ Since I Left You, Halsey’s If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power (though that was made into a film and brought to IMAX), Marvin Gaye’s What's Going On, Sly and the Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On, Green Day’s American Idiot, and (their number one choice) Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city. They could all have these magnificent and memorable films made about them! Whether an album has a loose concept or is strict to a storyline and characters, you’d be surprised how many there are out there! I was not aware of how many albums from the past five years or so are technically concept albums. I think the reputation of that dreaded c-word has altered. No longer about fantasy, science fiction and something pretentious and never-ending, they can be political, personal or something wholly original and captivating.
There are other lists regarding the best concept albums. Udiscovermusic. gave us their suggestions. Of the ones they list, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon and David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars seem to be classic albums that could have modern films made about them. Both have very interesting concepts. NME selected some mad and memorable concept albums that we need to listen to. There are ones on there that have not been made into films but probably should be. My personal pick is Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois. We do not even have to look at albums from years back: there are so many quite new albums that have concepts that would be terrific on film. Of course, like any film, that risk could backfire. Not all albums that have interesting concepts are going to resonate on the screen and translate well! I just feel that Quadrophenia seemed like a natural film when the album came out in 1973. It was only a matter of time before that was realised. Whether it is a Beyoncé modern classic, or a great album from nearly twenty years back, there is scope to bring some amazing concept albums to the screen. With more artists doing concept albums and tying them to short films, it would be nice to see that taken a step further. Visual albums are great, though the point of a film is to have plot and dialogue connecting the songs. Film and music are such natural bedfellows…so why have we not seen that many concept albums turned into films or T.V. dramas?! I think that bringing some wonderful concept albums to the screen would be…
HUGELY appreciated and applauded.