Westworld: A Collaborative Class Blog

While watching “The Original,” I noticed that there were particular elements about the audio choices used in the episode.  The one that captured my interest the most was the use of a rendition of “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones as Hector Escaton’s entrance music.  To us the viewer, the song in this specific instance has a unique subversion of common tropes in a Western-style program and captures the overall tone of the show.  The Rolling Stones’ rock anthem draws upon an image of rebellion that was primarily associated to late 20^th century teens and rock stars.  This parallels Escaton’s intro due to gunslinger’s being some of the closest in association with the concept of rebellion in American popular culture.  But song takes this concept a step further with how the piece is created.

Ramin Djawadi’s “Paint It Black” differs from The Rolling Stones’ version in that attempts to use no vocals at all and instead be an instrumental piece.  The instrumentation of said piece gives the song a uniquely dated feel that makes it fit in with the scene and the era being presented.  However, this song could have been a completely original piece and it would not have drawn attention to the instrumentation in this way.  The reasoning behind this usage could be argued to help emulate the show’s overall theme: current innovation masquerading as old.  Escaton and many of the beings he interacts with are the latest in robotics used to create a simulation of the Wild West.  Every tuff of rugged beard on his face was meticulous placed there to hide something more akin to the Terminator than John Wayne.  “Paint It Black” is also used in this way.  All the instrumentation is present cover up the fact that the song is nothing more than a cover.