Exit Music is a sister series to Motion Picture Soundtrack. Yeah, they’re both named after Radiohead songs. So what? You wanna fight about it? As long as you’re less than 5′2″, 120 lbs, and don’t know any martial arts, you’re on.

It’s often said that you only get one chance to make a first impression. It’s certainly true for films. In many movie reviews, the opening sequence is treated with a certain kind of reverence – it sets the tone for the remainder of your experience. It can succeed spectacularly, as in Boogie Nights, treating us to a sprawling masterpiece that introduces the characters and setting and kickstarts the plot all at once. It can hypnotize us, like in Apocalypse Now, where we see a vibrant green jungle lazily explode into fire. Or it can be a disaster, such as in Fox’s newly debuted Sarah Connor Chronicles, where guns appear out of thin air, the dream-sequence conceit is painfully obvious, and disinterested conversations fill a roomful of viewers after fewer than fifteen seconds have gone by. When presenting a product, a filmmaker needs to deliver a good first impression. Failure to do risks losing the respect of your audience before your story has even begun. But what about last impressions? If you make a sufficiently bad one, it may be the last impression you ever get to make.

In films, the song that is chosen to cover the final credits is often one of the most overlooked aspects of the soundtrack. For movies that succeed, it allows the viewer the chance to relax in their seats, pat their bellies in contentment, and gnaw on the bones of the feast they’ve just enjoyed. For movies that fail, it offers one last shot at redemption. (more…)