Let The Music Play

Music just ain't what it used to be. At least according to Clint Eastwood, who lamented the lost art of movie scoring during a keynote speech at the second annual Hollywood Reporter/Billboard Film and TV Music Conference this week. "The music part of it is leaving," he told the audience of today's film industry. "It's becoming more visual. I grew up in the '40s, and when I look at today, I think I was lucky to be in that era. There were some wonderful musical innovations at the time." Eastwood, who regularly scores his own films, criticised filmmakers for being preoccupied with showy visuals at the expense of films' soundtracks and hoping that style alone will see the movie industry through its current difficulties. He went on to show little sympathy for those who neglect scores and rather populate their films with catchy songs in its place. "Sometimes it looks like they're looking for a hit record," he said. "They think, 'If the movie tanks, maybe we can at least get a hit record out of it." Don't let it be said that Eastwood's stuck in the past, however, the legendary filmmaker went on to declare his appreciation of modern rap music. Except for lyrics of the "your mother is a bitch" sort, that is.