This isn’t how you resurrect a genre.
Who else thinks James Franco makes a better soap actor than an Oscar host?
Stick to General Hospital, hot stuff.
Discovering Music Through Soap Opera, Volume 3: Lil’ Wayne, “Shooter”
If ever a song matched the modus operandi of General Hospital, it would be a song called “Shooter.” But this song is not awesome just because it’s relevant, it’s awesome because it is Lil’ Wayne. It’s awesome because it’s Lil’ Wayne on a soap opera. Aside from Snoop Dogg dropping in on One Life to Live here and there, my desire to see two faves interact and intersect—hip-hop and soap opera—is rarely satiated. This montage might be a bit too cool for GH, but I credit this scene for finally convincing me to give Lil’ Wayne a listen beyond “Lollipop.” And for that, the song—and this montage—hold a special soapy place in my heart.
My heart is all aflutter! Rebecca Herbst could be staying at GH!
UPDATE: It’s true! I must go and Photoshop my feelings!
A whole scholarly tome exploring the character of soap operas and the cultural context that shaped them over the years? I can’t wait to put on my wool sweater and argyle socks and curl up with this book! I’ve been waiting to satiate my need for serious daytime drama criticism since I had to start reconciling my soap loyalty and my collegiate, scholarly interests.
Discovering Music through Soaps: Volume 2
As noted previously, GH went through a trip-hop phase in 2002/2003 and, likewise, so did I. I saw this scene, the conclusion of Luis Alcazar’s trial during Brenda’s 2002 return to General Hospital, and never looked back. Soaps - and GH in particular - would do well to incorporate some more songs like Massive Attack’s “Dissolved Girl” into its dramatic scenes. Have you ever seen a soap montage more awesome?
No, really, I love soap montages. If you have an awesome one - link me up!
Discovering Music Through Soaps: Volume 1
This scene, Liz and Ric’s first love scene, aired when I was 16 or 17 and it had a transformative effect on me. Yes, it was steamy and dreamy (side note: again, I ask, how can General Hospital afford to lose Rebecca Herbst’s eyes? That is some serious eye acting going on between her and Ric.), but more importantly I had been introduced to Portishead’s “Glory Box” - a song that has been on every mix CD I have ever made. This scene also woke me up from my NSYNC haze and began a long trip-hop phase in my music evolution.
Soaps get a lot of hate for their music, but cheers to GH for choosing this gem. Now, please kick the Rie Sinclair habit - what a downgrade.
