B5 1.1: "Midnight on the Firing Line"- Bar Song?

Are there any hardcore fans whom are able to identify (if noticed) the obscure song playing in the background during part of the bar scene at the end of the episode when Ivanova is listening to the election results and Ivanova and Talia start talking (around 38:00)? It sounds like an 80's up-tempo new wave rock song sung by a vaguely familiar male singer (although, frankly, they sound a lot alike) but I have been unable to discern enough of the lyrics or of the vocal style of the singer to determine who might be singing it. Some people I have talked to have surmised that it might have been an original song written and performed by the series composer, Christopher Franke (formerly of Tangerine Dream) but it is not known one way or another if this is the case. No song is referenced in any of the credits but then again there are a couple other vocal (background) songs during the series that are not explicitly credited either. If any die-hard fans are able to figure out what the song might be called, please let me know. I'd love to be able to download it if it is available. Thanks!

 

I remember in Season One they always played the same song over and over in the background. I always thought the lyrics were "Set me free / Let me be / Give me a bottle of / hot sweet cream" but that's probably wrong

 

Sounds about right to me. I always wondered why that song was left off the CD's. I haven't heard them all though, and the only one I actually own is the "Best of" one, so I could be wrong.

 

It isn't much to write home about though as a song is it?

On any given B5 CD there is much better stuff to put on.

 

Thanks for the feedback so far. The lyrics that I (I think) I heard were along the lines of "............she must (might?) be a chancer (dancer?), ............she won't be a stranger...."

The song sounds synth-pop along the lines of A Flock of Seagulls but none of their tunes seem to match (at least not the ones I've found on iTunes.

 

I'd imagine it is an original - B5 was very penny-pinching and song licensing would be expensive, not to mention counter-productive.

JMS probably wrote it - I know he did the couple that show up in season 3.

 

As far as I know, all of the music was composed by Christopher Franke and perfomed by him and/or his orchestra. The only exceptions I know of were a couple of songs in the episode "Walkabout" where the lyrics were written by JMS. They might have wanted to feature other music or performers from time to time but there was simply no money in the budget for that sort of thing.

Jan

 

JMS did the one where Sheridan gets beat up in a bar too - the riff is nicked from something.

 

I heard a rumor that that song was "nicked" from the Ralph Fiennes movie, "Strange Days" and that it was sung by Juliette Lewis.

 

What's your source for this? I'm pretty sure that it's incorrect. When JMS wrote the lyrics for the songs in "Walkabout," they appeared in the script. There's no mention of the song in "Face of the Enemy" except that there's a light strobe that goes with the music. In an interview with Mike Vejar, he mentions that they got the music in time for the shooting but again, no mention of JMS writing the lyrics.

Jan

 

And, indeed, JMS is not credited on the CD where that song appears.

 

I seem to recall the Lurkers Guide having a JMS quote about their creation of the song for "Face of the Enemy".

 

There's nothing there now that I can see and there's no mention of anything like that in the script book introduction for that episode.

Jan

 

I realize that it's probably unlikely- given the financial "straitjacket" that JMS had to deal with in regards to B5- that they licensed a popular song for the series, especially just to use as background music.
I also remember hearing that JMS wrote the songs sung in "Walkabout" (BTW does anybody know if those songs are on the soundtrack?).
I'm much less certain about the origin of the song used in "Face of the Enemy". I had just heard a rumor (I think on the internet) that it was from "Strange Days" (possibly a cover of the Doors song of the same name sung by Juliette Lewis) but who knows- not everything you read on the net is true, of course.
As for the song currently in question, I guess it was probably done by Christopher Franke but it just sounds so familiar(-ish) for some reason that I was thinking (hoping) that it was a real song that they just threw into that scene for background ambiance.

Ah well. I seem cursed with an affinity for obscure songs/music that I can never find anywhere on the internet (or elsewhere for that matter).

 

Well there is no similarity of any kind between "Strange Days" by the Doors and the song in the episode, that said there is a lot of stuff on the Internet about the song - even found somewhere you can download it!

http://musicofb5.thegreatmachine.org/the_face_of_the_enemy-bar.zip

 

Well I never honestly cared enough about the song to debate it with anyone - I just remember reading it somewhere.

 

Then it would be best to not state something as fact when you don't know, and especially not accuse a composer of plagiarism at the same time.

Jan

 

Dont be so high and mighty with me missy. Of all the things to get pissy about the terrible songs that turn up in B5 are hardly up there.

Chris Franke is a great composer - doesn't mean he hasn't nicked a few tunes, everyone has from Mozart and Wagner on down and any composer who says they have never borrowed as much as a melody is a damn liar.

 

I don't think asking that you back up an accusation of plagiarism with actual facts qualifies as being "high and mighty" and claiming it's true based purely on the assertion that "they all do it" just smacks of sniping purely for the sake of it.

 

that is a pretty awesome website, right up there with the Down Below Sound Archive!