“Saturday Afternoons in 1963”, Rickie Lee Jones (“Paternity") — By this early season one episode, viewers have but a slight sense that there is something more to House than a snarky, cynical jerk. But the final scene of this episode reveals House as someone who can be wistful and even nostalgic as he watches a lacrosse game (or is it simply a vivid memory evoked on the sidelines of an empty field?) “So hold on to your special place /something to keep it in/and stay inside this foolish grave/though any day your secret's/then again years may go by/years may go by.” Jones’ melancholy lyrics ring true, giving us a new prism through which to view the complex House.
“Silent Night” (“Damned if You Do”) — “You can’t be angry at God and not believe in him,” accuses this week’s patient, a nun, arguing with him about God’s existence. We’ve gotten clues here and there over the years that House’s religious views are more complex than he lets on (so what else is new?). Over the final scenes of this early episode, House plays a starkly beautiful rendition of “Silent Night” (Hugh Laurie is credited with the arrangement). House sits alone, as he so often does, sipping a whiskey and reflecting. Perhaps he plays the song, grateful for the quiet and calm that Christmas eve brings to him, a man who is so private and guarded that it is a relief to be simply left alone. Whatever his connection to it, the song clearly means something to him, and Laurie and the producers have given us this lovely gift of hearing and watching House play piano.
“Baba O’Reilly”, The Who (“Control”) — This selection is included because it provides us with an all-too-rare peek at House truly and simply having fun. He has lied to the transplant committee and saved the life of a young woman by so doing. As the song plays loudly through his iPod, House plays along with it on “air” piano and drums, completely into the music and the moment. And then enters into House’s inner sanctum the new evil billionaire chairman of the board Vogler, who comes in to introduce himself to the rebellious Dr. House, abruptly ending the moment of bliss.
“Some Devil”, Dave Matthews (“Love Hurts”) — “It’s been a long time since he’s opened up to anybody. I’m afraid if he opens up and gets hurt, there won’t be a next time.” Wilson explains House’s unexpected fragility to Cameron before their one (and only) date. But Cameron lays it on the line to House, wanting to know plainly how he feels about her. But (of course) House deflects, telling her that the only reason she’s interested is that he is damaged and she thinks she can fix him.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Barbara Barnett
testing? (I've gotten a couple of emails this morning with people having a hard time posting)
2 - L.Lilly
Barbara, I imagine this article was as enjoyable to research as it was to read. I loved remembering each scene through your descriptions. You have me seriously thinking of ditching my work for the rest of the day and watching my old House DVDs instead!
Thank you.
3 - Barbara Barnett
It was fun to research, L.Lilly! And incredibly difficult to pare down to a reasonable number of tracks! There are so many more moments I could have added, but alas...
I realized when I finished, that there were so many of the series very serious and emotional moments,and far fewer fun and lighthearted moments I'd included. But then again, maybe that's the point (for me at least), as the music is so often a guide to the series' emotional story.
4 - Buds
Great selection! All amazing songs, and the scene descriptions just bring these wonderful moments to life. Thanks BB, looks like I'm going to be spending the next few days watching (at least) these episodes again.
5 - Betty
While the article was enjoyable, I don't care for personal attacks on any of the characters, and I detect quite a bias against Stacy. If you don't like her, fine - it's better to say nothing than to be petty.
6 - Barbara Barnett
Hey Betty--
Wow. I wasn't attacking a character (I loved the Stacy/House arc--she brought out some wonderful things about him!) Not sure which selection you're referring to. Please enlighten.
I really have no bias against any of the characters. There are characters I like better than others, and that absolutely varies with time.
7 - Pat
An interesting look at the music used on House. I enjoyed reading it.
One song that always seemed to hit the feelings to me was None of Us Are Free over the montage of House, Wilson and Cameron at the end of Spin. The words are "if one of us is chained, none of us is free." House was chained by his feelings to Stacy and as a result Wilson was tied to him trying to make sure that he didn't get hurt, and Cameron was tied because House wasn't free to decide about her because he was still chained to Stacy even though she was married to someone else.
I thought the Jeff Buckley version of Hallelujah was a better choice than the original Leonard Cohen version. The added lyrics of "You saw her bathing on the roof,
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya,
And she tied you to her kitchen chair,
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah ...Maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya" seems to fit them perfectly.
House wasn't alone as he watched the bloodstained carpet unrolled in Lines in the Sand, Cameron was standing beside him.
8 - Barbara Barnett
"None of Us is Free" is a good selection too. I thought it fit the end of Spin really well. (Although I wasn't crazy about the episode). I thought about including it and it got cut from my list (which was getting to be unmanageable).
I loved how they used Hallelujah. it just fit so incredibly well. Thanks for quoting more of the song. I realize that Cameron joined House at the threshold of the main office, but I imagine that he had been standing there for quite some time. Her words regarding House and change resonated throughout seasons two and three.
9 - sue
The music in this show is truly a character, just like House or Wilson. When I watch episodes, I can hear the song in my head before it starts.
I never really paid much attention to the lyrics. The mood set by the music reflects the mood and the tone of the story and does advance it in a way the dialogue can't.
My favorite is the piece Hugh plays during All In. Of all the music he has performed, he played that with the most feeling and sensitivity. I have rerun that part of the episode several times just to hear it again.
The scene at the end of Paternity is interesting, because it shows a side of House we have only seen once. House expressed an interest in the life of a patient outside the hospital. It is a part of House we know is there, but he is reluctant to show. TPTB seem to have retreated from allowing House to show any interest outwardly for anything other than the disease and the puzzle. He always says he doesn't care about what happens to the patient other than diagnosing and treating the disease.
Another part of the music on the show is the background music that sets the mood and raises or lowers the intensity of what is happening. It is easy not to pay attention to it, because we are not supposed to notice it is there. It appears and disappears appropriately, and it does exactly what it is supposed to do. This music is well-composed and and arranged, and fits into the show perfectly. It reflects Hugh and how he plays House like a glove. It reflects the humor and the drama in the show.
I call House MD "a perfect storm." No matter what aspect of it you analyze (except for the new team), it excels. Put everything together, and you have the best show ever. It is in a class by itself. The more I watch Hugh play House, the more I appreciate how great he is. The stars in the heavens must have been aligned perfectly to have Hugh and House MD brought together. Imagine House MD without Hugh. Imagine if the world never got to see Hugh play House?
10 - sdemar
Barbara, I forgot about Jeff Buckley version of Hallelujah. That is one of my favorite songs and it was beautifully done by the late Mr Buckley.
I love your description of the scene to the song choice. It brought it all back to me.
For 3 seasons, I hardly noticed the music except to note that I enjoyed what they played. Now I look forward to the music they choose. I believe the musical selection is handled by Katie Jacobs with assistance from Hugh. I would say they do an awesome job.
Thanks for the fabulous read.
11 - Elizabeth
Barbara--
Thanks for another great read. I love your selections, especially "Baba O'Riley" (although, since it was shown in "Control" I have liked it less, just because it's playing when House first meets Vogler--which just shows how obsessed I am with this show :P). The music in House is really amazing, especially when we get to hear Hugh Laurie play. I keep waiting to hear the Rolling Stones' "Sister Morphine," maybe during a scene in which House is the patient? Anyway, keep writing these reviews. They really give me something to look forward to during this long, House-free summer!
12 - Barbara Barnett
Thanks guys, for your kind comments. That moment, Sue, when House plays the "Hymn to Freedom" is such a release for him after the long and exhausting (emotionally and physically--and medically) night, it's perfect. House sitting at that piano in the tux just feeling the music. "All In" is one of my favorite episodes of season 2. I agree that Jon Erlich's underscore does what it needs to do and is practically invisible (as any good score should be).
There are so many other selections I could have named...but alas :)
Elizabeth--"Sister Morphine." Hmm. Yeah, I think that one's a possibility for some future scene when House is in dire straits--or just simply wants to finally end it all. Scary thought, eh?
13 - Susanne
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful Barbara.
You're articles are a joy to read and the music of House is what I tend to enjoy the most. I have got every single song ever played on House and I absolutely love it. It was like walking down memory lane and I love your description on stacey arc and I absolutely agree with you and the fact that HL played it so flawlessly made my heart break into two for him. Bless that man!!!
HL is absolutely brilliant in every way and I would like to see him play the piano more too in season 5.
Beautiful Choices. Love it!!
14 - Heidi G.
Thank you for that article!
I’ve never seen a show where it’s been put so much effort to the music part! Not only for the episode as a whole but also to the characters. They take the trouble to find the right piece, right song, that matches the theme of the episode and fits the characters. That’s amazing!
It’s a shame though, that Hugh Laurie "musician and appreciative of music that he is- is missing all effort and brilliant work. Since all the music part is done in post production, and he’s only seen bits of the episodes, he’s missing it. That’s something he’d have appreciated. I couldn’t agree more with Sue when she said; Music is another character in the show.
Something else, there are 12 songs in the original soundtrack and I know there is at least 1 song that hasn’t been played in the show “Dear God” Sarah McLachlan and I’m guessing also, “God, Please Let Me Go Back” by Josh Rouse, but I'm not sure. After reading this, I have to wonder why they chose to have 1 or 2 songs that were not in the show when there were many many more great selections from it. Yeah, you don’t know, it´s just that.. it makes me wonder.
15 - Barbara Barnett
Thanks for your kind comments, Susanne and Heidi!
I, too, would love to see more piano-playing House this coming season.
Heidi--HL's probably got enough on his plate with playing the character! He's probably so exhausted at day's end, he just wants to sleep! But I think KJ's done a great job with picking musical selections. I do know (or have heard) that HL does have a hand in picking the selections that he, himself plays. Of course that only stands to reason. Except in Half-Wit, when Jon Erlich wrote the House-composed piece. But I know that "I don't like Mondays" for example was HL's choices (DS said it on the commentary to the episode).
As to those two mystery tracks on the CD, I have no idea why they selected those above songs actually used in the show. Maybe copyright issues, etc.
16 - waylandsmithy
Barbara; thanks as always for your article.I too wondered about the inclusion of 'Dear God'and it may simply be about copyright issues on other songs but it seems to me that while House apparently vehemently discounts religion, his actions (as so often with this character)make this much less certain. I think it was in the first Chrismas episode that Sister (can't remember her name-the one with the copper IUD) said that you can't be angry with God without believing in him. The Lyrics to 'Dear God' perfectly convey this contradiction.
17 - Heidi G.
He's probably so exhausted at day's end, he just wants to sleep!
LOL! I think it has nothing to do with being tired and wanting to sleep and everything to do with his self-consciousness at watching and listening to himself, as he's often said in many interviews. However, if he had helped choosing some of his songs, I guess it's just as well.
18 - Barbara Barnett
My pleasure, Waylandsmithy!
You comments echo mine in the article. Yes, House knows a lot about a lot of things, but his knowledge of religion seems more in-depth than simply knowing a language. House is an inveterate learner--a perpetual student of everything (and that's one reason he resonates with me so strongly). But I do think he's constantly searching for and testing his theory that God doesn't exist. Hence his "He knows where to find me" comment to Wilson in "House vs. God." It was delivered without sarcasm or snarkiness. It was a pretty honest-sounding statement and a challenge.
I don't know if I'm making sense, but...
19 - waylandsmithy
Ooops, yes! I quite missed your reference in the 'Damned If You Do' segment.Please excuse on the grounds of senile rather than senior moment. Either that or the constant rain here is rotting my brain.
You are certainly making sense to me. House is by his own account 'the most curious man in the world' and always looking for 'meaning'.
20 - bliffle
At the moment I'm relishing an episode of the old English series "Jeeves and Wooster" with our friend Hugh Laurie and his comedic sidekick Stephen Fry. It appeared on the local PBS outlet without being in the TV guide. I'm DVRing it.
It's terrific! You can see where Laurie sharpened his repartee skills and facial inflections. Great fun. More fun, really, than House. I wish it would come back on TV in some form, or even on DVD. It's great adult fun.
Here's a synopsis from Wikipedia for those not familiar with the famous Wodehouse books or the TV series:
"screened on the ITV network from 1990 to 1993. It starred Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster, a jovial but empty-headed young gentleman, and Stephen Fry as Jeeves, his improbably well-informed and talented valet. The stories are set in England and the United States in pre-World War II 20th century (there are aspects of the Edwardian era, 1920s and 1930s).
Wooster is a well-to-do bachelor, a minor aristocrat and a member of the idle rich. He and his friends are aided in all manner of societal adventures by the indispensable "gentleman's gentleman" Jeeves."
21 - Barbara Barnett
Bliffle: Jeeves and Wooster is on DVD, but did you mean a new version?
What a terrific series that was, great fun, very stylized, wonderful music. And of course the brilliant Hugh Laurie.
22 - Orange450
Barbara, thanks for this great article!
I'm very grateful to the show for introducing me to a long list of songs that I probably wouldn't have heard otherwise. I also love House's eclectic taste in music, and the perspectives that his choices - what he listens to and what he plays - give us on what he's thinking or feeling at the moment. Being that House and I are very close in age, I also have an extensive vinyl collection (including many 78s) that I listen to regularly, although my turntable isn't nearly as expensive as his :-)
There are two additional verses of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (not in Jeff Buckley's cover) that for some reason always remind me of House when I hear them:
"You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name,
but if I did, well really what's it to ya.
Theres a blaze of light in every word
it doesn't matter which you heard
the holy or the broken Hallelujah.
Hallelujah..
I did my best, it wasn't much,
but I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch,
I told the truth, I didn't come to fool ya.
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the the lord of song
with nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.."
For me, they sort of sum him up. Not in a religious sense - although I agree with you that his views on God and religion are possibly more complex than he lets on.
I'm also very grateful to the show for being the impetus of an absorbing hobby - playing piano along with the recordings of some of the songs. Much more fun than playing alone, and as close to being in a rock band as I'll ever get. I started with Hallelujah, and went on from there. I'm surprised that House doesn't do it too. It was lots of fun to watch him play air cane with The Who - but there's no reason he couldn't play along with his recordings, too - it seems like the kind of thing he would do, but maybe wouldn't want anyone to see him doing.
23 - Barbara Barnett
I've always thought of House as a disillusioned idealist (or a disillusioned romantic). To me, that's the definition of the type of cynic House represents. Those Leonard Cohen lyrics express that really, really well to me.
Like you, I have a huge vinyl collection (and a pretty good stereo system--but certainly not like House's Sota turntable!). Being a singer, I really appreciate the music and the musicianship displayed in House.
Thanks for insights!
Barbara
24 - cadeira
Dearest Barbara, words seem to fail when I try to express how much I love your articles. So sad I didn´t notice you published it before (I try to follow on LJ.)
The music of House has such a huge influence on me - it makes me love the show more than any other show before. I have all the songs ever featured in the episodes and even the previews/promos ("Sympathy for the Devil" by the Stones or "Love me Dead" by Ludo for the Season 5 promo) on repeat.
It´s sometimes eerie how good some songs fit to the episodes and I really like your collection and interpretation - most of my favorites are in it, too. Although the "Teardrop" version by Jose Gonzalez in the last episode has kind topped everything for me. "Feathers on my breath"... that´s how they checked apparent death in bygone days... *sigh*
Rickie Lee Jones lyrics actually are "Now you stay inside this foolish grin ..." So, grin stead of grave; even more ironically fitting for House is both, this melancholy character but he has this childish and cheeky side which as must not be forgotten he´s most famous for with the common viewer.
Have you read this article on the use of Puccini´s opera in Autopsy? I haven´t looked whether you´ve already interpreted/revisited that episode... The link leads to a very insightful analysis that shows how much there really is in one episode and why random clinic patients like the guy circumsizing himself with a carpet knife tie in with the overall topic; and how we only can make these interpretations through the music given to us.
In no other show I´ve seen music accomplish such an extent of foreshadowing and offering various but distinct angles for analysis to the viewer. (Not counted of course the first episode of the Soprano´s seconds season but The Sopranos--that´s a whole different story. I´m convinced House is definitely in that league.)
I´m also a fan of fanmixes and have done one myself in which I show that nearly every (only one exception) title of the season four episodes can be traced back to a song with the exact title and very fitting lyrics.
Thank you again for your insightful articles!
25 - ionut
hei, do you know that song, at the and of ep 19, in season 2? House vs. God what`s the name of taht song? it seems quite old :) thanks