The Music of Life Lessons
By Clarke Paty
Like film, music also tells a story. Although the music in Life Lessons fits the mood and seems to add more of an 80s rock and roll vibe, director Martin Scorsese has also carefully explained the entire plot of the fim through the lyrics in a few short songs. He has used the stories told through the lyrics in multiple 80s rock bands (as well as from the opera Turandot) to add elements of story that most people would never realize. After researching all the songs used in Life Lessons and how they relate to the specific scene they are used in, it is abundantly clear that no song was picked at random. Each and every piece of music used in the film was handpicked not only because of general 80s vibe, but because they all relate to the story that Life Lessons is trying to convey.
The general indication told through the lyrics in “A Whiter Shade of Pale” is a snapshot of a drunken sexual exploit gone askew. Even though we cant tell all that from the beginning three minutes of the film, his lack of living and absence of determination give off a transparent understanding that something from his life is lost. Then we meet her, Paulette, his assistant and former lover, when he goes to pick her up from the airport. “A Whiter Shade of Pale” begins to play a second time. The intense build up in tension during their conversation at the airport, makes it obvious that they both feel differently about one another. It is clear that Dobie still has feelings for her while she has moved on.
When they reach his apartment and she moves into the upstairs room, “A Whiter Shade of Pale” begins to play a third time. Dobie tells her that he is in love with her and in this scene, she tries to explain to him that she wants nothing to do with him anymore sexually. She explains that she is staying only because she needs a mentor and lessons in how to become a more skilled artist. He lies by making it clear that he feels the same and once he has convinced her to stay, “A Whiter Shade of Pale” fades out and stops playing. Later, Dobie returns to her room a second time while she is asleep and “A Whiter Shade of Pale” begins to play a fourth time. While he is having a fantasy/flashback of them together, she tells him that she doesn't love him, the song ends.
During an interview for Lyrics of the Week, Keith Reid, the co-writer of the song “A Whiter Shade of Pale”, says “It’s like a jigsaw where you’ve got one piece, then you make up all the others to fit in. I was trying to conjure a mood as much as tell a straightforward, girl-leaves-boy story. With the ceiling flying away and room humming harder, I wanted to paint an image of a scene.” Paulette being that one missing piece from Lionel Dobies complex incomplete puzzle, and providing the straightforward story of girl-leaves-boy. He starts out by himself, unmotivated and undetermined. As the film unwinds, Paulet comes into play, giving him that sense of motivation and determination to finish his last collection of works. Towards the end of the film when Paulet leaves him for good, he attends his art show by himself, where he meets his new muse and “A Whiter Shade of Pale” begins to play again for the fifth time.
Cream’s “Politician” also plays an important part in telling the story throughout the film. The song is introduced while Dobie is painting and Paulet is asleep. The original meaning for the song explained by the band Cream, was all about Stalinism, which is defined as the method of rule and totalitarianism. Totalitarianism restricts individual opposition and exercises an enormously high degree of control over private life. Lionel Dobie directly relates to this idea of totalitarianism by wanting complete control over Paulette’s decisions. He wants her to stay with him and the more she tries to get away, he uses his power of manipulation to convince her to stay. Totalitarianism is also defined as an extreme and complete form of authoritarianism, which is a strong and complete central power. He wants to have that power over her life so that he feels in control. While she is with him, he feels like he has that power and we know he feels that way every time he begins to paint because he feels in control.
Later, when Dobie looks at Paulette's work, “Night Time Is The Right Time” by Ray Charles begins to play. The songs original inspiration came from Robert Johnson's “Love in Vain”, a song about a man on a train trip who only wants to be with the love of his life who later leaves him behind. “Night Time Is The Right Time” is about a man who wants the same, only to be with the women he loves (night and day) for her to just leave him behind in the end (again directly relating to the story of Life Lessons).
When Paulette is on the phone with her mom, she begins to shout at Dobie to turn the music down but gets caught up in watching him paint. “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan begins to play. Bob Dylan explains that the song was originally not a song at all, it was supposed to be just 10 straight honest pages of hatred for somebody else but in the end, it wasn't hatred, it was telling someone something they didn't know, telling them that they were lucky. He says that revenge is a better word to describe the song because of when he read the lyric, “how does it feel to be on your own?” at the piano in a slow motion pace. When Paulette is left standing speechless at Dobies masterpiece, it is Dobies revenge on Paulette's feelings of hatred towards him. She is left shellshocked at the beauty that can come from what she thinks of as a “piece of shit” Lionel Dobie.
After the birthday party, when Dobie comes home and hears Paulette and Ruben upstairs, “Conquistador” by Procol Harum begins to play. The lyrics speak to a conquistador, at whose obvious decay and at the signs of desiccation and desolation, he at first jeers. In time however, he is regretful of his mockery because the conquistador to whom he was speaking to, was unsuccessful in that he did not conquer, he only died. Lionel Dobie did not “conquer” Paulette, she was swept off her feet by Ruben, a younger newer artist. Upon realizing that he had lost to Ruben, he begins to paint furiously.
Later at the loft, Dobie sits and stares at Paulette's darkened room and “Nessun Dorma” (“None Shall Sleep”) from the opera, Turandot, begins to play. Turandot is a Persian word meaning “the daughter of Turan”, Turan being a region of central Asia or formally known as the Persian Empire. In 1710, the French scholar François Pétis de La Croix published a small book of tales combining different Asian literary themes. His most famous was about the Mongolian princess Khutulun. In a later adaptation, however, she bore the title Turandot, meaning "Turkish Daughter", the daughter of Kaidu. In the story, instead of challenging her suitors in a wrestling match, Pétis de La Croix had her confront them with three riddles and instead of wagering horses, the suitors had to forfeit their lives if they failed to answer correctly. The song “Nessun Dorma”, comes after one of the suitors, Calaf, has correctly answered the three riddles. Nonetheless, the princess recoils at the thought of marriage to him. Calaf decides to come up with a compromise: if she can guess his name by dawn, she can execute him but however if she guesses incorrectly, she has to marry him. He kneels before her and the “Nessun Dorma” theme makes its first appearance. Although Dobie is not at risk to be executed, he has lost the love of his life and his missing puzzle piece. The song elaborates on the notion that he will get no sleep because of what she has done. In his mind, Paulette is the princess and he is the suitor but she is refusing to accept the fact that he answered the riddle correctly. The next morning when Ruben asks for coffee, Dobie walks back to his masterpiece and “Nessun Dorma” begins to play again. Ruben stares at the painting and is mesmerized. Dobie smiles and begins to add more to the work of art. He believes that she has guessed his name correctly and that they are destined to be together since she has not already left with Ruben.
That night, when Paulette and Dobie are at the after party for the Blind Alley performance, Transvision Vamps “Sex Kick” begins to play. The band was most popular in the late 80s for their pop/punk sound. James, the lead singer and focal point of the group was well known for her attracted media attention gained through her sexually charged and rebellious image. In the scene, Paulette is focused on her ex while Dobie stands off to the side. Dobie then convinces her to go up to her ex and talk to him. When she tries to get his attention, he pays her no mind and she storms out of the party. Although this scene does not directly correlate to the story behind the song “Sex Kick”, her angry tone and “fuck you” attitude give off the impression that she is rebellious and in need of attention.
Like any good movie or film, any good song tells a story. In Life Lessons, from the opening scene where “A Whiter Shade of Pale” begins to play, just from that one song alone, the entire movie plot is hinted at. Throughout the entire film, each different song used relates to the story and helps strengthen the plot in some way. Each song tells a different version of the story that Life Lessons is trying to convey and each song brings its own special meaning to the film.
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