TY - JOUR
T1 - Creeping decay: cult soundtracks, residual media, and digital technologies
AU - Sexton, Jamie
PY - 2015/1
Y1 - 2015/1
N2 - This paper explores the recent resurgence in the collecting of cult film soundtracks, in particular films stemming from the late 1960s to the early 1980s and often linked to horror and other modes of exploitation cinema. I consider this phenomenon as an important component of cult film fandom, but one which has largely been overlooked in cult cinema research because it is often considered as belonging to popular music, as opposed to film, research. As films can become cultified in many different ways and across different media, I look into how areas of music culture can both be inspired by, as well as influence, aspects of film culture. The paper also addresses the importance of ‘residual’ technologies within cult film/music cultures, noting in particular the preference for vinyl records as well as VHS tapes in certain cult fan communities, and explores the appeal that such ‘old media’ retain within an increasingly digital mediascape.
AB - This paper explores the recent resurgence in the collecting of cult film soundtracks, in particular films stemming from the late 1960s to the early 1980s and often linked to horror and other modes of exploitation cinema. I consider this phenomenon as an important component of cult film fandom, but one which has largely been overlooked in cult cinema research because it is often considered as belonging to popular music, as opposed to film, research. As films can become cultified in many different ways and across different media, I look into how areas of music culture can both be inspired by, as well as influence, aspects of film culture. The paper also addresses the importance of ‘residual’ technologies within cult film/music cultures, noting in particular the preference for vinyl records as well as VHS tapes in certain cult fan communities, and explores the appeal that such ‘old media’ retain within an increasingly digital mediascape.
KW - analogue and digital technologies
KW - cult film
KW - cult soundtracks
KW - residual media
U2 - 10.1080/17400309.2014.985024
DO - 10.1080/17400309.2014.985024
M3 - Article
VL - 13
SP - 12
EP - 30
JO - New Review of Film and Television Studies
JF - New Review of Film and Television Studies
SN - 1740-0309
IS - 1
ER -