VMP Magazine
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Revenge of the Synth
In a scene from 2016 awards-season darling La La Land, aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone) unexpectedly runs into struggling jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) at a party and realizes he’s been comically reduced to playing in a 1980s cover band. She requests A Flock of Seagulls’ new wave classic “I Ran,” much to his obvious discomfort. Later, when Sebastian confronts Mia, he protests, “But requesting “I Ran” from a serious musician – it’s too far.” It’s a deftly comic scene, but it raises a larger question: what, precisely, makes “serious musicians” spurn ’80s pop’s characteristically synth-driven sound?
