Dean Jason King quoted by TIME Magazine

USC Thornton Dean Jason King was quoted in a TIME Magazine article where he discussed the significance of the song “Les Fleurs” by Minnie Riperton. The song appears on the soundtrack of the new Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black. King explained how Riperton’s lyrics, composition and vocals combine to make “Les Fleurs” the perfect backing track for the love story in the film.

“There’s a lot of sudden dynamic and tonal shifts in volume and arrangement in the song,” King said. “It has this quiet pastoral opening like dew on the grass or a flower opening, a beautiful kind of exuberant sound that you could say is analogous to young love—it’s fresh, it’s budding, it’s unspoiled. And then all of a sudden, the chorus comes in and it’s bold, it’s grandiose, it’s full throttle, it’s almost like Carmina Burana, it almost sounds out of context! These tonal and dynamic shifts and musical arrangements are a perfect analog for the tonal shifts in 21st century filmmaking,” he said. “The music telegraphs that the film is going to go from seeming simplicity and romance to high drama or maybe even tragedy.”

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Photo by Laylah Amatullah Barrayn