History Main / AMFMCharacterization

Sometimes you can figure out everything you need to know about someone as soon as you get into their car. Their taste in music, especially when it's out of the ordinary, can tell you more about a character than a monologue or flashback ever could. A little well-placed Mozart or Chopin lends an outwardly simple-minded individual a bit of mystery and depth. Someone listening to Music/TheBeatles, even though it's 2237, and they're on UsefulNotes/{{Mars}}? Safe to say they're a bit old-fashioned. And if they listen to '80s rock, they may become a victim of Music/{{ACDC}} [[{{Pun}} Characterization]]...

Sometimes you can figure out everything you need to know about someone as soon as you get into their car. Their taste in music, especially when it's out of the ordinary, can tell you more about a character than a monologue or flashback ever could. A little well-placed Mozart or Chopin lends an outwardly simple-minded individual a bit of mystery and depth. Someone listening to Music/TheBeatles, even though it's 2237, and they're on UsefulNotes/{{Mars}}? Safe to say they're a bit old-fashioned. And if they listen to '80s rock, they may become a victim of Music/{{ACDC}} Characterization...

* ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks'': Finn is a fan of rock, reflecting his unserious attitude, while the responsible Piper, [[CarRadioDispute in contrast to him]], enjoys much lighter fare.

* ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks'': Finn is a fan of rock, reflecting his unserious attitude, while the responsible Piper, in contrast to him, enjoys much lighter fare.

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** In the episode "Heavy Metal Queen," Spike gets into the ship belonging to space trucker VT. He is quickly assaulted by the heavy metal on the radio, specifically, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfz5O4tzf-A "LIVE in Baghdad."]]
** In the film ''Knockin' on Heaven's Door'', while in her ship, Faye cycles through several radio stations, eventually settling on the one playing the pop song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43q9QiwW3I "(Cosmic Dare) Pretty With A Pistol."]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AGoofyMovie''. Early on, Max and Goofy have a "Dueling Banjos" moment over the radio between Goofy's 'High Hopes' and Max's acid rock. Not only does this show a lot about each character, it highlights the generation gap between them, all without saying an actual word.

** ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', when he hacks the Quinjet's PA System before flying in to confront Loki in Germany. No matter where he goes, he has to create a spectacle. In a more subtle example, he wears a Music/BlackSabbath shirt for the rest of the film.
** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'': At the beginning of the movie, Peter Quill's on a dead world and enters a ruin that wouldn't seem out of place for an AdventurerArchaeologist... and then he turns on an old Walkman and starts dancing through the place to "Come and Get Your Love" without a care in the world, even kicking away some of the local vermin. Peter's Walkman and mixtape of classic pop songs are reminders of Earth, and specifically his mother, who had died from cancer the night he was abducted. The sequence is also used to demonstrate Peter's (and by proxy, the movie's) irreverence, and the movie's trailer used "Hooked on a Feeling" to set the same tone.

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* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' Carla is a fan of Elvie Presley, enough to visit Graceland a decade anniversary after his death.

** During [[Series/JessicaJones2015 Jessica Jones]]' teenage years, she was a fan of rock bands such as Music/{{Nirvana}}, Music/RedHotChiliPeppers, Music/GreenDay, Music/NineInchNails and Music/JanesAddiction, and, judging by some of her shirts, is also a fan of Music/TheRollingStones and Music/{{Interpol}}.

Compare {{Leitmotif}}, where a specific tune is used to signify a character. Compare and contrast MockingMusic, when the song on the radio is a little too relevant to the character's troubles. See also EstablishingCharacterMusic.

Compare {{Leitmotif}}, where a specific tune is used to signify a character. Compare and contrast Main/MockingMusic, when the song on the radio is a little too relevant to the character's troubles. See also EstablishingCharacterMusic.

** ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', when he hacks the Quinjet's PA System before flying in to confront Loki in Germany. No matter where he goes, he has to create a spectacle. In a more subtle example, he wears a Music/BlackSabbath shirt after that.
** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'': At the beginning of the movie, Peter Quill's on a dead world and enters a ruin that wouldn't seem out of place for an AdventurerArchaeologist... and then he turns on an old Walkman and starts dancing through the place to "Come and Get Your Love" without a care in the world, even kicking away some of the local vermin. The movie's trailer used "Hooked on a Feeling" to give the same sense of irreverence. Peter's Walkman and mixtape of classic pop songs are reminders of Earth, and specifically his mother, who had died from cancer the night he was abducted.
** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' continues it, turning "Brandy" by Looking Glass into an ExpositoryThemeTune for Meredith Quill's affair with Ego the Living Planet. [[spoiler: Ego, of course, misses the point that the song's about ''Brandy'', not the sailor]]. Rocket has also mellowed out a bit since the first film, represented by how he's developed a taste for Peter's music; he creates something when he, Yondu, and Groot decide to ruin some mutineers, and Rocket elects to do it to the tune of "Come a Little Bit Closer" by Jay and the Americans.

* ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'': Shotaro fashions himself a HardboiledDetective, but frequently undermines himself and winds up what the other characters call "half-boiled"; one of the ways this happens is that he not only listens to {{Idol Singer}}s but sings along.
** In ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'', [[TheHero Gentaro]] likes [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enka enka,]] a kind of sentimental ballad music. [[DiscoDan He's a teenager but a bit old fashioned]], as he was [[RaisedByGrandparents raised by his grandfather.]]

** Lisa is generally depicted as being a fan of {{Jazz}} and {{Blues}} (her saxophone playing is also one of the most memorable things about her character), with an exception in the episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS32E19PanicOnTheStreetsOfSpringfield "Panic on the Streets of Springfield"]] where she got really into an {{expy}} of Music/{{Morrissey}}.

** Then, he actually [[MagicMusic weaponises it]], with the aid of a {{Magitek}} structure that functions as "an amp the size of the Empire State." It's sufficiently powerful that, properly used, a litany of songs chosen almost exclusively to annoy the shit out of the ArcVillain can stabilise the planet.

** During [[Series/JessicaJones2015 Jessica Jones]]' teenage years, she was a fan of rock bands such as Music/{{Nirvana}}, Music/RedHotChiliPeppers, Music/GreenDay, Music/NineInchNails and Music/JanesAddiction.

** [[Series/IronFist2017 Danny Rand]] is a fan of hip hop music, including Music/DrDre, Music/{{Outkast}}, Camp Lo, Killah Priest, The Cool Kids and Anderson Paak.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' introduces us to our main character Miles by showing him jamming (and flubbing the lyrics) to “[[EstablishingCharacterMusic Sunflower]]” by Music/PostMalone and Swae Lee, a breezy hip hop/pop tune, while working on some art. [[CallBack Later on in the film]] Miles tries singing a few bars of the song when Peter B. is teaching him how to use his powers, and [[spoiler: it’s the accompaniment to the last shot of the movie as well.]]

* ''Film/ReservoirDogs''. The pairing of Mr. Blonde's TorturePorn with 'Stuck in the Middle With You' by Stealers Wheel helps to showcase how seriously he doesn't take the situation.

* Series/TheOfficeUS has Dwight's classic rock fixation, especially the way he hypes himself up before a challenging situation. "Kickstart My Heart" seems to be a favourite.

** Kahn Souphanousinphone is a huge fan of 70s and 80s pop music. One episode, "Pour Some Sugar On Kahn", is all about this as he gets involved in karaoke.

* The second season of ''Series/{{Millennium}}'' saw Frank Black's character being fleshed out through details like his love of Music/BobbyDarin.

** Kahn Souphanousinphone, is a huge fan of 70s and 80s pop music. One episode, "Pour Some Sugar On Kahn", is all about this as he gets involved in karaoke.