Ed Sheeran vs GOT vs Twin Peaks
The whole of the internet seems to have been consumed by Ed Sheeran’s cameo appearance Game of Thrones in episode 1 of season 7. I’m late to the discussion, but thought I would put forward a couple of my thoughts about this incredibly divisive topic.
I think ultimately Ed Sheeran and everyone associated with making the decision for the appearance will come to regret it. The director has come out in Sheeran’s defence, but the internet has other ideas and has very long memories when it comes to things like this. Instead of talking about the episode, this small segment has unfortunately been the main talking point.
Objectively speaking, there was absolutely nothing wrong with Sheeran’s performance. He definitely has the Game of Thrones look and if you didn’t know him as one of the most successful current day popstars, I’m sure you wouldn’t have thought twice about it.
Game of Thrones is one of the most talked about shows and has a huge number of obsessed fans. I would consider myself to be more of a casual watcher — even after seven seasons, I can still barely remember the names of most of the characters.
I’m not even a big fan of the fantasy genre, but seeing Ed Sheeran pop up in the middle of the episode was such a huge distraction from the Game of Throne’s world. It had all the markings of being blatant product placement. Sheeran wasn’t just playing a soldier, but a soldier that sings! You almost expect to find that it’s available to purchase on iTunes.
It got me thinking about a recent example of musicians in TV shows that I think is done really well. David Lynch is one of my favourite directors and his use of music in his films and TV shows is very unique.
In the latest season of Twin Peaks, he has full performances of bands at the end of every episode. They are not playing characters or trying to be anything other than themselves. They are not there to add to the storyline, it’s like the performances are just a texture. It’s such an interesting use, I don’t think that anyone other than Lynch could get away with it.
There’s nothing hidden or distracting about it — I feel that it’s just Lynch’s way of showing some music that he really loves that is there to communicate a feeling. It’s one of my favourite parts of this new series.
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