In the late 70s, New York was not remotely similar to what it is today. Then, it was split, aggressive and broken city whose citizens were on their knees, lacking any perspective. Netflix show The Get Down depicts group of kids who try to rise above the ashes of Bronx and create something that would rule the world for decades and become music phenomenon. For the moment, they are armed with verbal sagacity, spray cans, improvised dance moves and angst against authority.
Director Baz Luhrman (Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby, Romeo+Juliet) took his job seriously. Plans for the series were developing for ten years, and the production of one episode costs approximately 16 million dollars. Allegedly, Netflix invested 190 million dollars in production of The Get Down, making it one of the most expensive shows of all time. Besides Luhrman’s mastermind, the project is supported by Nas and Grandmaster Flash who organized workshops for actor to teach them how to behave like they were living in the 70s.
From situations from the block to gay arts scene of SoHo and political scandals of Manhattan, The Get Down presents mythological drama about the way in which hip-hop emerged from this crazy context. Unfortunately, the official soundtrack could not include all the genius performances from the show. Throughout the first season, over 150 songs were featured on the show, mostly soul jazz, rock, r’n’b, funk and early hip hop.
Soundtrack is a mixture of disco classics and original compositions. Original songs offer a retrospective of the protagonists’ stories. Sadly, even impressive names on the record did not make it possible to stand alone. Many good songs are ruined by monologues of the characters. My favorite is Miguel’s Cadillac, the songs that turns disco rhythm into something bigger with its ethereal transitions and hypnotic outro.
Donna Summer, Jaden Smith, Janelle Monae, Kamasi Washington and co., did not manage to make this soundtrack worthy of its show. Christina Aguilera’s song Telepathy , a lackluster generic tune, sounds like a B-side from her Back To Basics album.
It is rare for a soundtrack to outshine the show, and that is fine. The Get Down is certainly going to end up in the history books of pop culture, and it will win the hearts of the audience, but the official soundtrack will definitely not be the reason for it.
