Welshrogue

In 1984 Miami Vice appeared on our TV screens. Pastel coloured suits and fast cars, gun battles and fast boats, drug runners and fast women. It wasn’t like anything I had ever seen before, it was vastly different from Hill Street Blues, Starsky and Hutch, and all those other cop shows that had come before. Yes, it was a buddy show, but it also had a good
supporting cast. Yes, it had Ferraris but at the time, I was probably more of a Lambo fan. I did have the poster of the white Countach on my bedroom wall.

Two things made Miami Vice stand out to me. One was how it looked, and that was thanks to Michael Mann. The other was the music, original music by Jan Hammer, and the various songs that would be used during the show, often in place of dialogue.

The look of the show was different. At the time I had no idea at all about Miami, probably including where it was. After all I was only 14 when I first saw the show and living in the damp cold of Wales! Miami is a striking place to look at. Art deco gone slightly insane! The buildings themselves are fantastic to look at with the varied designs and colours. What caught my eye was how it was filmed, often at night and how everything looked right. Lots of night shots made the show more real to my mind than one where you just see daylight during an episode.

Most people can recall the moment during the pilot episode where Crockett and Tubbs are driving through Miami at night. This moment is special for two reasons, one of which I will mention in a minute. Long shots over the hood of the car, close ups of a back wheel, and in car shots all work wonderfully. Who hasn’t driven at night though a city that seems deserted? If you are driving a normally busy place and there are few if any other vehicles around, it does feel different. Especially at night, when its warm. There is no other feel.

Car chases were common place in Miami Vice, and quite rightly to my mind because where else would they happen? I couldn’t imagine a car chase down the main streets of Cardiff, Wales. It had to happen in the US and Miami Vice represented a large part of my knowledge about the US at that time. I knew that Hill Street Blues was in a busy city but didn’t seem to have that many chases. Starsky and Hutch did but even then, they didn’t excite my boyhood senses the way they did in Miami Vice.

Michael Mann who was the executive producer of the show, has since made a big screen version of Miami Vice and also Collateral, both bring up the feel of the Miami Vice show. Long shots at night, driving through cities. Perhaps its just me but the imagery of this stays with me for a long time.

The other part of Miami Vice that made such an impact on me was the music and perhaps the way the music was used. I was 14 years old, and without much knowledge of reality (some things have not changed) so I believed that this was how life should be. Music that suited the moment, and pop songs that I already knew, used in ways that increased my liking of them expediently. So much so that I made three mix tapes of music that I believed was suited perfectly to night time listening.

There were two parts to the music of Miami Vice, the first being the original music of Jan Hammer. Yes, most folk remember the theme tune to Miami Vice, the bombastic opening, the ‘keytar’ that Hammer used to play but to me, the best music was the moody music you would hear when there was very little dialogue and the music was being used to carry a moment or scene. I bought the Miami Vice album, and it had four Hammer tunes (can’t touch that!) of which, one was the theme tune and three were instrumentals
that had been used in episodes.
I should state right now that I love rock music, soul, especially Stax Volt, guitar instrumentals and even show tunes but I have a big love for synth music. Jan Hammer created music that to my inexperienced ear sounded a lot like Tangerine Dream. Moody, emotional, and yet often understated. In fairness I should point out that I also own the soundtrack for Risky Business which contains several Tangerine Dream tracks as well as the soundtrack to Thief which was created by Tangerine Dream. The movie Thief was also directed by Michael Mann! Coincidence or not?
But back to the Hammer. Different styles of music suited different episodes and Hammer created them all. A late night talk show feel, a Colombian feel, a haunting melody that seemed to hang in the air during a poignant moment. It all fitted into the bigger picture of Miami Vice and helped it be something special. I also bought Escape From Television, Jan Hammers album filled with tracks for Miami Vice and still enjoy listening to it. The style of music resonates with me, so much so that I believe it was Jan Hammers music that first pointed me in the direction of trying to create music. I have several guitars that I can played badly but I record most of my music with a large keyboard connected to a computer.

The other part of the Miami Vice music was songs by artists I had heard of. Earlier I had mentioned that classic scene of Crockett and Tubbs driving at night. One of the reasons why this scene is so memorable is that there is barely any dialogue, but there is Phil Collins ‘In The Air Tonight’ being played, filling in with the emotions and atmosphere. With
the actors looking serious, and images of the car driving though the city, it was utterly perfect use of a song that I had liked at the time but not to any great extent. In fact, other than this scene the only time I can really remember being in love with this song is for the Cadbury’s commercial where there is a Gorilla playing drums to this song.

Several artists had guest roles in the show, often coinciding with one of their songs appearing in the episode. It seemed to be a bit of a pay off but I don’t remember ever watching an episode and feeling that a song didn’t fit into place and do the job I felt it had been written for. Often a song that I was already aware of, would be used in an episode and I
would appreciate the song more than before because of how it had been used. In a way, it felt as if these songs were being explained by their use in the show.

I can spend years without watching an episode or even thinking about it, but every now and again, I remember, and I smile. Miami Vice still inspires me to create music, listen to music and to wear pastel suits, no socks and drive around at night with sunglasses on. Ok, maybe only two out of three then!

Tags: Escape From Television, Hill Street Blues, Jan Hammer, Miami, Miami Vice, Michael Mann, Starsky & Hutch, Tangerine Dream

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