Buffy, Ballads, and Bad Guys Who Sing

December 15, 2010
Anyone familiar with the cult television favorites created by writer Joss Whedon knows how important music is in his shows. The essays in this collection focus entirely on the music in Whedons television shows and web musical, analyzing the way music complements and enhances the narrative. Jacqueline Bach traces out various musical arcs over the course of Buffy the Vampire Slayers run, such as the way the music of Sarah McLachlan is used to reflect Buffys complex feelings about her friends and her relation to them in several pivotal instances. Elizabeth A. Clendinnings chapter centers on the vampire Spike, revealing how, even though he was first introduced as a villain in Buffy, Spikes musical knowledge and references link him much more closely with humanity than the other nemeses on the show. Stanley C. Pelkeys essay explores the music of Whedons futuristic space western Firefly, which blends exotic Asian music with folk-country music meant to represent the characters personalities and stations in life. For the many fans devoted to Whedons work, this will be an enlightening read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)