Motorheads... Why?

Dear showrunners of Motorheads,

Why?

Why did you choose the strangest, most jarring songs for your show?

Was it intentional? Were you paid to do it? Are you happy with yourselves?

Sincerely,

A concerned viewer

Don't Judge Me... TikTok Had Me Convinced

I will admit, if there is any show that sounds remotely cringy or angsty, I will be on it. I was an avid watcher of shows like Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, The Summer I Turned Pretty, you name it. The Buccaneers came on and I was curled up on the couch, shovelling fistfuls of popcorn, bright-eyed and ready to make the show my next personality trait. Confused by the plot, sure, but a fan, nonetheless.

I mean, come on, sometimes you need a little bit of teenage angst and romance. I remember my high school days, curled up in bed, chatting with friends about the latest episode of The Vampire Diaries trying to determine which triangle is better: Stephan or Damon? The stakes were high, then. The drama palpable and perfectly untouchable. It was a vibe.

For some reason, this summer, TikTok made it a mission to bombard me with as many of those steamy relationship montages as possible. 'Best friends to lovers,' yelled the captions. A romance you won't forget. Add that to the fact that I recently relocated next to an automobile repair shop, it felt like fate succumbing to the high school version of me, pining after the next leather-jacket clad bad-boy brooding in the corner.

You guys, I was not ready for Motorheads.

It's not like I had a high bar; going into these shows, I never assume it's going to give me more than what it tells me it is. So, when I tell you that this show surpassed cringe and levelled up to what the f*ck's going on, trust me, it did.

However, not for the reasons that you might think.

The Issue With Music

The problem with needle-drops is that you can't really miss them. Especially when it is being blared on top of montage after montage. For me, music is such an important part of determining whether a show or movie makes it or breaks it.

I mean, think about the instrumental covers in Bridgerton, honestly, anything by Kris Bowers. The music sets the tone; I felt the yearning between Simon and Daphne because "We Could Form an Attachment" lingered in the background; the music forged the friendship between the two far before it settled on screen. I listened to "To Wait" by Bowers on repeat because I could feel the unspoken yearning between Antony and Kate within each wavering note.

Similarly, Taylor Swift playing in the background behind Belly and her friends in The Summer I Turned Pretty added a level of nostalgia and excitement that made the summer all that more special. "Snow on the Beach," is the perfect choice for the moment between Belly and Conrad in season two. Suddenly, yet another flashback of them sitting at the beach doing nothing feels so much more interesting— and it's not only because I love Taylor Swift. It was because the music fit the moment; it enhanced it, beautified it so that a moment of silence passing between two characters felt intimate and resound.

That's the power of music; it can define a piece for what it is. For me, Inception hits the spot every single time because of Hans Zimmer's "Time." The melody physically holds the movie together, reminds us of Cobb's pain, the endlessness of it. It carries over each passing second like a wave, working like a memory itself as it weaves through our brains.

Motorheads, on the other hand, chose a completely alternative tactic. I don't know whether it was intentional or not, but it did feel like a psychological trick, because none of the music fit.

A Show That is Perfectly About Nothing

Motorheads is exactly what you think it'd be about. It's a teenage soapy drama about a bunch of high school motorheads, or car enthusiasts, in a town that is revved up about all things auto. Now, the plot is already crazy — siblings Caitlyn and Zac return to their mom's hometown to live with their uncle Logan. We get a hint of a dark past with Caitlyn and Zac's father, a racer who disappeared after a bank robbery went wrong, and then a lot of immediate exposition about the town's obsession with cars. We're then introduced to the main love interest, Curtis, a semi-loner who loves building engines. A perfect match for Caitlyn, who we discover, is obsessed with recreating her father's car.

As Curtis and Caitlyn get closer and closer, the narrative unravels a whole bunch of secrets that could change all their lives. Also, is Caitlyn's father alive after all this time?

If the plot doesn't already sound jarring and forced, let me tell you, the show really is. But, it's still fun. Sometimes you just need to turn off your brain and indulge in the drama as it is spoon-fed to you, and Motorheads is skilled at doing so.

My Issue With Motorheads

The only thing I can say about this show with real certainty is that it is consistent. From indulging in the most dramatic and random side plots, to including long montages of driving in cars and obnoxiously revving engines at each other, the show takes itself as seriously as it can in the best way.

That is, until you start listening to the music.

It is clear from the first episode that popularity won over cohesion; huge hits like "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone, "Get Him Back!" by Olivia Rodrigo wrench viewers in and out of the story. The show wanted familiarity to maintain its viewers, at the cost of sense-making, and as a result, everything feels jagged.

The issue with choosing songs that you think your audience will know is that it alters the mood of the scene. In the first episode, for instance, when Caitlyn is walking towards her new school, Rodrigo's song changes the effect of it; instead of the scene being about a girl attending the first day at her new school, the song makes the moment feel as though Caitlyn's been at this school for ages and recently had a breakthrough in her identity or something. When she enters school, viewers must depend on expositional dialogue to really get a sense of what we should be feeling.

Not that it's all bad. There are some scenes where it works, but it's a game of roulette with this show.

In hindsight, choosing jarring songs might arguably be a good tactic to get viewers to keep watching. I mean, it worked on me. Lulls in the show, where I was about to pick up my phone, were shattered by the most random soundtrack choices in the background. Suddenly, my attention was piqued. I was back in it again.

Yet, intentional or not, it was weird, and there are two specific moments where the music choices got real weird.

#1. Episode 4: The Brother Bonding Moment

So, we get yet another flashback to Christian and Logan when they were younger. We learn that Logan actually played a huge role in Christian's racing career; in fact, Logan was the one who taught him how to drive. The montage begins: young Logan teaches barely fourteen-year-old Christian how to drive a manual; the car lurches, time passes by, Christian improves, and eventually becomes the best racer in town. Logan watches proudly.

In other circumstances, this might have been a very heartwarming montage. It has everything you need: warm colours of summer, slow-motion smiles, the simple joy of watching someone fall in love with what they're good at.

Except, then you hear the music.

You can't really ignore it, even if you want to. Even if you try to. Not only did they blast the song so loud that it splattered horrendously in the foreground, but I also happened to be watching it with subtitles on, which truly only made matters worse.

Yes, out of all the songs in the world, they chose Mr. Brightside by the Killers.

What once began as a brotherly bonding moment, very quickly derailed into something else. I mean it. The vibes shifted. The lyrics "... But she's touching his / chest now / he takes off her dress now" danced at the bottom of my screen as the brothers smiled at each other. A whole new connotation unintentionally built behind the moment, and suddenly I couldn't look at either brother in the eye.

I didn't think my reaction would be so visceral, but it was. I felt awkward watching the screen. The music warped the moment, making it so much creepier. Add on the fact that Logan looks so much older than baby Christian that, at one point, it started giving Lolita. And, nobody wants to be giving Lolita.

I couldn't figure out the reasoning behind it, and it gnawed at my brain all night long. Was it on purpose? Was this an attempt to make the show feel less serious?

It is most obvious that the song was chosen because it was comparatively fast and kind of gritty? But, it wasn't funny, nor did it change the tone for the rest of the show because they returned to the original agnsty, small-town drama vibes, immediately after this scene. Someone should have listened to it. Someone should have noticed that the lyrics were confoundingly sexual.

And, yet, just when I thought, no, it couldn't possibly have been intentional, they did it again.

#2. Episode 4: Curtis and Zac go on a Ride

Zac and Curtis are having a bad day, so they decide to skip school together. As they walk towards Curtis' motorcycle, the conversation goes like this:

Zac: "So what am I supposed to hold onto?

Curtis: "Me. Just don't make it weird."

Zac: "Bruh, I am not holding onto you like the chick from Top Gun."

Curtis: "You just made it weird."

The song Miles on It by Kane Brown and Marshmello begins to play. Curtis kicks the lever and Zac wraps his arms around him.

Considering the initial dialogue, this song choice felt intentional. However, I still couldn't tell you what effect the scene supposed to elicit. Was it supposed to be funny? Watching it, I felt, yet again, confused mostly. The music felt like a trick; it didn't juxtapose the moment, it cut through it awkwardly.

Was this supposed to be a wholesome bonding scene between the two of them? Is this a hint that maybe one of them might be feeling something more? Or is this just a roadie thing, some nonsense fun between two friends?

Whatever it was, the cost of choosing this song over anything else was that it muddled the tone of the show. I couldn't tell what it was trying to be.

What happens if we change the music?

Okay, so hear me out, but I came up with a list that I think might work better.

#1. Brother Bonding Flashback

Top Contender

Alternative Playlist

#2. Zac and Curtis Go For a Ride

Top Song Contender:

Alternative Choices

Can you think of a better song? Let me know in the comments!