PHOEBE BRIDGERS NEVER EMAILED ME BACK! (Finding royalty-free music)

So, last night, I checked my email one last time for a response from Mr. Darin Harmon, Phoebe Bridgers' representative from Blue Raincoat Music. (I emailed him for copyright information about using Motion Sickness in Unpacking here.) Again, I found none. So, I put on my big boy glasses and searched for an alternative.

At first, I'd considered producing my own music for the Unpacking opening. I quickly discarded that, however. I was pretty specific about the vibe that I wanted, and I knew that not only did I not have time to fully mix and master something, I'd also have to play instruments that I only play adjacent versions of, and do not own. Although it would've been possible for me to borrow an electric guitar and use the drum set in my school's band room, especially since I'm one of two percussion section leaders in my school's band program, I knew that finding a time to record in the band room undisturbed with the busy schedule of spring concert band season would be nearly impossible, let alone time to edit the recording; and, at that, I am fairly mediocre if not clueless at playing the drum set. So, I knew I'd have to find something else.

Through word of mouth in my class, I knew that some of my classmates had found royalty-free music for their own productions through the YouTube Audio Library. Given their impressive audio categorization system (mood, instrument, and length were the first I saw), I was able to quickly find a few playlist options that I could just flick through. I opened up the Electric Guitar playlist first. There was a lot of up-tempo, upbeat rock music, which I'd expected given the common association of the electric guitar with "dad rock" music. But I was looking for something moodier and more intimate; so when I first heard Isolated by Kevin MacLeod, the close tension of the melody's intervals combined with the bass strings of the guitar forming a bit more of a beat and some texture really appealed to me, as did the mellow tone of the main instrument. I also liked how exposed it was; although I wish there was some combination of guitar and drum set to support a development of the main melodic motif, I think the first 10 seconds or so will do just fine as the song Charlie is listening to in the very first shot of Unpacking. However, I'm also not opposed to using it until after the credits.

My next challenge, I think, is going to be figuring out how to download this (safely) from the web. Then, I'll see you in Day 2 of editing as I wrangle with adding and removing audio.

Yours always,

Clover Fields

Sources:

YouTube Audio Library - YouTube. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/@AudioLibraryEN

Macaroon 5 | YouTube Audio Library. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx8ls-Y-Keg&list=PL93uzrz9f1_RBdYVSY9QTSUo4faT6WRRX

Isolated | YouTube Audio Library. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1mtJ4YirEw&list=PL4izmozqWz0EEouurt7hrpHmfOGLKS4JH&index=1

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