Jackie Shuman On The Music of SO LONG, LONESOME
Jackie Shuman is an award-winning music supervisor who specializes in pairing tastemaker bands with emerging directors and brands. Her work has garnered numerous accolades, including a 2010 award for "Best Soundtrack" at the Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles and invitations to speak at Billboard Film & TV Music Conference, South by Southwest and CMJ Music Marathon. Her credits include "I'm Obsessed With You" starring 'House of Cards'' Rachel Brosnahan and the upcoming "Shangri-La Suite" starring Ashley Greene and Ron Livingston.
On what initiated her interest in pursuing music as a career:
"I always loved singing along to whatever was on the radio as a kid. I could remember lyrics after the first time I heard a song. As a music-obsessed pre teen, I would make my parents drop me off at The Whiskey or The Roxy so I could see shows every weekend. And when I secured my first music industry job at 17 at Indie 103.1FM, that really sold it for me!"
On how she came to be involved with SO LONG, LONESOME:
"(Cameron and I) were both Emerson alumni! Emerson is the ultimate place to go to college if you’re looking to enter into a network of people who will help bring opportunities to you (and vice versa!) for a lifetime."
On the soundtrack’s varying musical styles and their connecting threads:
"The film is such a beautiful and complex love story with so many up’s and down’s. I wanted the songs to lyrically mirror much of the film’s content…so even though the sounds/musical genres varied from piece to piece, I think that original intention of keeping the lyrics tied very closely to the imagery helped tie a lot of it together."
On the most challenging aspect of licensing the music:
"We had virtually no money, so getting artists and managers to agree to the use of their songs because they personally liked or identified with the project was our best bet…but it was very very difficult! Bandcamp and other resources like that for independent musicians hadn’t been around for too long so it was hard getting access to smaller bands. A lot of people shut the door in our faces! They will remain nameless."
On her favorite track from the film:
"I think "Good as New" by Aiden Moore is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard in years…and it was written and performed by a childhood friend, so I love it even more. I also think that "Night Beds" by "Night Beds" was just absolute perfection for the scene it was in. That band ended up doing pretty well for themselves! I was ahead of the curve."
On winning the Best Soundtrack award at the 2010 DFFLA:
"Hearing that I had won the award was so validating…I have always loved music but this was one of my first ventures into music supervising, so getting that kind of recognition was huge for me. I only wished I could have been in LA for the ceremony, but I had moved to New York to work for RCA Records about a month prior."
On the film and its soundtrack five years later:
"I love the film and I think the music stands up very well to 2014. I’d do it all the same way!"
SO LONG, LONESOME is currently available for pre-order ahead of its May 20th release, only from Raccord!