Viewers Share their Stories of Love, Loss, and Life Lessons through Song
New York, NY – May 5, 2002 – Falling in love to the sound of Creed; “Semi-Charmed Life” helps heal the loss of a brother to drugs; a bored small town kid is set free by Ozzie – these are the real stories of real viewers that are told on muchmusic usa’s new viewer-driven show, “Soundtrack to Your Life.” Premiering on May 17 at 8:30 PM ET, the new show asks the question “What music videos make up the soundtrack to your life?” Narrated by the viewer and filmed in a cinematic style, the new show looks into the hearts and minds of today’s young adults and demonstrates how music can impact the most memorable moments in people lives while helping people cope with life’s harsh realities.
lives while helping people cope with life’s realities.
“Music is at the core of our viewer’s lives – there is no other medium that is as powerful or emotional. Everyone remembers the song that was playing during their first kiss or the song that inspired a revelation during their darkest hour,” said Marc Juris, President of muchmusic usa. “Music is the universal language of today’s youth and teens want to talk about issues and share common stories. ‘Soundtrack to You Life‘ gives our viewers a voice, a sense of community and a forum to share their stories.”
“‘Soundtrack to Your Life‘ is compelling, emotional and real,” says Norm Schoenfeld, Vice President of Programming for muchmusic usa. “Its better than therapy – it is very cathartic. Everyone can relate to these stories and you will never listen to the same songs in the same way again.”
In the first episode, television viewers of Soundtrack to Your Life will hear the stories of six young adults talking about life, love, loss and of course, music:
Dara, age 17 – Third Eye Blind, “Semi-Charmed Life”
“When most people hear ‘Semi-Charmed Life’ they think oh, happy song. But in reality it’s a dark song, it’s about drugs. It’s about a guy who wants to get out, and I think that’s what my brother wanted. My brother overdosed when I was four. It was devastating. Hearing ‘Semi-Charmed’ Life was a big step in dealing with his death. Whenever I get down, it will just come on the radio, it’s like, wow, they planned that.”
Description: Dara is normal, college-bound senior, but she is still haunted by the death of her brother 12 years ago, who overdosed on crystal meth. Dara finds solace in music and feels a bond with the band Third Eye Blind, whose happy, upbeat-sounding songs mask the darker meanings behind their music. “Semi-Charmed Life” is actually about a man struggling with addiction to crystal meth.
Matt, age 16 – Ozzy Osbourne, “Gets Me Through”
“I love the video, it’s all about that rock star image, the women, the money. Ozzy’s ‘Gets Me Through’ helps to get me through this boring ass town. I can’t say ass can I?”
Description: “Welcome to Mamaroneck,” says Matt. “There ain’t a damn thing to do.” Matt is a suburban metal-head who wants to escape his boring suburban existence. Ozzy, the aging bat-chomping rock god, is Matt’s idol. Matt even has his own metal band called, appropriately enough, Downward Spiral. As Matt says, “We aren’t exactly misunderstood. But we exactly aren’t understood either.”
Hailley, age 16 – Creed, “With Arms Wide Open”
“The first second I hear ‘With Arms Wide Open,’ I really feel like my heart jump out of my throat and spins around my body, I get a tingling feeling all over my body, it’s really amazing how a song can be so powerful and meaningful to somebody.”
Hailley is the original romantic. On a Spring Break cruise with her parents she met her dream guy. They had their first kiss on a windswept deck as a shooting star fell from the sky. Creed’s “With Arms Wide Open” was playing as the soundtrack. But the vacation was quickly over. Now separated by 2,000 miles, all Hailley has to remember him by is the song.
Chris, 25 – Linkin Park, “In the End”
“He’s talking about exactly what I’m going through. Every time I hear it, I turn it up. I’m singing along with every word. You can feel the pain in his voice.”
Chris is going through a tough time. His wife just left him, and he is stuck in a no-where job. Linkin Park’s hard-edged song about love gone bad, “In the End,” is the story of Chris’ life. Every time he hears the driving guitar of the band’s hit single he feels all the pain all over again. Listening to the song helps him get out all the anger he feels. But Chris is not full of just rage. His marriage may have failed, but “in the end,” as he says, he would never have done it differently. He and his wife had a baby, and one-year-old Lyric is the joy of his life.
Jont