‘Pulp Fiction’: The music that made the movie

If you’ve seen the film, “Pulp Fiction,” you know how many memorable scenes it has, and we’re sure you remember the fantastic soundtrack.

Critic Craig D. Lindsey does, and he’s written a revealing analysis of the “Pulp Fiction” soundtrack for “The A.V. Club.” Craig describes the triple platinum-selling song collection “as a cool, take-home companion piece, something to play in your car while you and your friends quote your favorite lines.”

Here at WPR’s “BETA,” we also love the movie and the soundtrack. So, we sat down with Lindsey to boogie to the music and talk about how it worked in the film.

The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Doug Gordon: When “Pulp Fiction” was released in 1994, what was the critical reaction to the film?

Craig D. Lindsey: It’s hard to explain how much this movie changed everything in terms of how people care about independent film. A lot of that, of course, is Miramax, and “Pulp Fiction” was right in the center of that. It was a widely acclaimed film.

DG: You mentioned in your article that when Quentin Tarantino chose the music for “Pulp Fiction,” there were similarities in style to his previous film, “Reservoir Dogs.” How so?

CL: In “Reservoir Dogs,” they are all listening to this radio station known as K Billy, the sounds of the ’70s. Steven Wright was the deejay. They played songs from the ’70s, like “I Got You” by Joe Tex.

The ’70s was a big time for Quentin, watching all those different films from the ’70s. It was like going hand-in-hand with the movies he grew up on. And, of course, this was the music he was listening to back then.

DG: You write that Tarantino sets the movie’s boisterous tone right at the jump. Tell us about the opening credits.

CL: The opening credits are just this bombastic sequence because it starts with the opening scene with Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer robbing the diner.

Then there’s the moment when the radio dial shifts, and we get into Kool & the Gang’s “Jungle Boogie,” which shows how the unpredictable nature of the music is what kind of music we will get. It will be this cross-cutting of surf music and retro sounds.

DG: That Dick Dale track is where the “Pulp Fiction” soundtrack starts to set itself apart from “Reservoir Dogs,” as you mentioned. Can you tell us how Tarantino used surf rock in the film?

CL: Yeah, he would listen to surf music and surf rock, and he would say, what does this have to do with surfing? He said that in many, many interviews. He thought it would be great music for what he would call a “Rock and Roll spaghetti Western.”

He used surf music mainly for this film. He said there was a big surf culture when he was growing up in Torrance. But, he said “surfers are jerks. I don’t like surfers. This movie is so good. It doesn’t deserve its audience, which are surfers.” I can’t help but think that he’s taking back surf music in his film to make it, in his opinion, cool finally. And not associated with a community he apparently does not respect.

DG: The music plays a massive part in the Vincent and Mia storyline. From a bit of flirting to a dance contest to a graphic and chaotic accidental drug overdose. Can you take us through that musical arc?

CL: This is a fascinating collection of music. When he does the sequence where he takes the heroine, there’s this woozy sequence where he’s driving, and there’s a rear projection. Then we go to Mia’s house. “Son of a Preacher Man” is playing and setting up this meeting between the two characters.

The Jack Rabbit Slims sequence is just a compendium of ’50s and ’60s. There is Ricky Nelson music, and we got some more surf tracks like Link Wray’s “Rumble.” The dance sequence where John Travolta and Uma Thurman dance to Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell.”

We return to Mia’s house, and she starts playing “Girl You’ll Be a Woman Soon,” which is a Neil Diamond song covered by Urge Overkill. Out of all the scenes and parts in that movie, this is one where music drives much of what you see.

DG: Yes, you’re quite right about that. “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green makes an unlikely appearance in a rather unromantic scene. But it works if you ask me. How did Tarantino pull that off?

CL: This is when we first meet Bruce Willis’ and Ving Rhames’ characters, and that song helps set up their whole story. The song’s title, “Let’s Stay Together,” foreshadows how these two men eventually become foes and are crashing into each other. They have to come together to get out of a particular situation. I felt it was a song that hints at what will happen later in the movie.

DG: It’s foreshadowing. Yeah, you’re right about that. Butch and Marsellus next run into each other, pun intended, in what is probably the film’s climactic scene. You mentioned a musical selection that was different from what was used. Can you tell us about that?

CL: They need another surf track for that whole scene where Marsellus is dragged into the back room, and Butch manages to escape but comes back to save Marsellus. The song was originally supposed to be “My Sharona” by The Knack. According to Tarantino, somebody in The Knack did not want that to happen. And it worked out for the best because the track they used was The Revels’ “Comanche.”

DG: Do you have a favorite scene in “Pulp Fiction” that you feel is made by the music?

CL: I wanted to see the film because I saw the trailer, and it had Kool & the Gang’s “Jungle Boogie,” which I thought was crazy. It was my first time hearing that song.

Once again, this crazy selection made me want to check out this film. As I said at the beginning, the opening scene announces how insane this film will be. That interested me in film, and I wanted to take it all in.