Slayer Soundtrack Sunday ~ Bellylove

The song "Back to Freedom" is played on the Bronze stage by the group Bellylove in the Season Three opening episode called "Anne." While the song plays in the background, Xander says "Welcome to depressing night at the Bronze." Reason for his depression? Buffy has been forced to leave town after being wrongly accused of killing the alternate slayer Kendra, who was actually murdered by the vampire Drusilla at the end of Season Two. Left behind in Sunnydale, the Scooby Gang consisting of Xander, Oz, Willow and Cordelia are learning to kill vampires on their own, and they aren't too happy about it.

The song is somewhat prophetic because while Buffy is "free" in the sense of being on her own for the first time, she has discovered the tragic world of poverty-stricken runaways living on the edge of society. After she frees a group of homeless people being held forced to work as slaves by demons in the bowels of Los Angeles, she finds her way home again after having her name cleared, which means back to responsibility and school, but also the freedom of being a kid at home with Mom again.

Slayer Soundtrack Sunday ~ Band Candy

The episode "Band Candy," season 3, episode 6, has some hilarious moments as Buffy's Mother Joyce and Mr. Giles eat some magical chocolate candy and revert back to their teenage years, creating a Freaky Friday role-reversal situation for Buffy. Giles channels his inner-Spike as he seeks to impress the bad-boy crazed Joyce, and they make out (and more) while listening to old records. Soon they are joined by Principal Snyder, turned back into a teenage Geek by the candy, and he also wants to woo Joyce by doing some rockin' Tae Kwan Do maneuvers. It's all quite a bit of fun until they realize there are several small babies stolen from the local hospital by the Mayor and the Mr. Trick gang of vampires.

All the role reversals are great fun, and Buffy has to be the adult voice of reason for once.




Cream "Tales of Brave Ulysses"
One sad note - Giles listens to this song again in Season 5 "Forever" when Joyce dies.







Four Star Mary (Dingoes Ate My Baby) ~ Violent



The Kingsmen "Louie, Louie"



Christophe Beck (Soundtrack) "Sugar High"

Slayer Soundtrack Sunday ~ Homecoming

This week I've posted some of the songs from the episode "Homecoming," Season 3 - Episode 5.

More about the Episode Here

At the beginning of the episode, the song "Fall Into Loneliness" by Lori Carson plays at The Bronze as the gang discusses renting a limo for the Homecoming Dance. (Later, Buffy and Cordelia end up sharing the limo, which gets hijacked, putting them both in danger). In addition to Buffy, Lori Carson's music has been featured on Dawson's Creek, Melrose Place, Baywatch, CSI Miami and Roswell.



Next is "Jodi Foster" by Pinehurst Kids. This song plays while the kids are having their pictures taken for Homecoming.



The poignant song "How" by Lisa Loeb plays when Xander and Willow kiss. This is foreshadowing for what happens in "Lover's Walk" when Cordelia almost gets a spike through the heart after catching Xander and Willow kissing once again, leading to her final break-up with Xander. Lisa Loeb is best known for her song "Stay" which easily could have been a Buffy song.



Next is the song "Fire Escape" from the band Fastball that provides the background music as Buffy and Cordelia run their competing campaigns to be Homecoming Queen of the school. Fastball is a band from Texas that had a huge hit in 1999 with the song "The Way" from the Album "All the Pain Money Can Buy." The song used in Buffy, "Fire Escape" is also from that album.

I like the first few lines of this song because they fit Buffy's confusion over how to be a Slayer yet fit in with the highschool kids. It also captures the predicament of Xander, who feels he never measures up to Cordelia's standards, and poor Willow who is trying hard not to be jealous but can't fight her long-time feelings for Xander, in spite of her new relationship with Oz.

Well I don't wanna be President, Superman or Clark Kent,
I don't wanna walk 'round in their shoes
'Cause I don't know who's side I'm on
I don't know my right from wrong
I don't know where I'm going to
I don't know about you



The theme of "being yourself" is completely appropriate for this episode, since Buffy goes way out of her comfort zone trying to prove herself by being Homecoming Queen. Also, Cordelia proves that she isn't quite as shallow as she appears sometimes.

And the video starts out like an episode of Buffy, with a teenage girl making toast in the kitchen. The normalcy is juxtaposed with band members showing up as dead bodies - a true Buffy touch.

Finally there is a song by the band Four Star Mary, the real band behind Oz's fictional band "Dingoes Ate My Baby" plays the song "She Knows." Four Star Mary is an alternative rock band from California and their songs were used more than any other band in the Buffy series, thanks to Oz being featured at the Bronze so many times. Read More Here