‘The Walking Dead’ And ‘Easy Street’: The Story Behind The Pairing
When fans tuned in for the third episode of Season 7 of The Walking Dead they weren’t quite sure what to expect. The season started with a brutal episode that included the ultra-violent killing of fan favorites Glenn and Abraham. That was followed by a very tame second episode that introduced us to King Ezekiel and The Kingdom. It was a chance to catch our breath and become a little more grounded, but it left us wondering what the next episode would bring. It seems we’re back to shows that are closer to what we’ve come to expect from The Walking Dead – the scare/creep factor without the gore. One unexpected result of last week’s show was the surge in popularity of a song featured in the opening scenes – “Easy Street.” Walking Dead fans everywhere have been walking around with the song stuck in their heads all week. It was an odd choice given the content of the scenes in which it was played. Many have wondered about the reason that song was chosen. Whose idea was it and why?
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“Easy Street” was written by Jim Bianco, who says that from the moment the request to use the song came in from The Walking Dead he knew it would be used in some satirical manner. Comicbook quotes him as saying the following.
“With such an upbeat, obnoxiously pop-y hook and positive lyrics, there’s no way to sync it with a zombie apocalypse without sarcasm and satire. So we were expecting that.”
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Maybe TWD wanted to lighten things up a bit in what was actually a very dark episode (although we are talking about the zombie apocalypse here, which is pretty freaking dark in itself). It seems to have managed to do that. But when you consider that Dwight actually played the song repeatedly during the first days of Daryl’s captivity, it’s kind of cruel too. He knows Daryl has hit rock bottom. He’s trying to break him and get him to kneel to Negan. He wants to push him to the edge and then give him a little push right over it. The lighthearted, upbeat song stands in stark contrast to Daryl’s dire situation. Even Jim Bianco saw and related to the contrast.
“But I have to say, when “EASY STREET” came on and Daryl, the biggest bada** on TV, was laying there being tortured and eating dog food sandwiches, even I hated the song for a minute!”
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But why did folks from The Walking Dead even reach out to Bianco? Music Supervisor Gabe Hilfer explains.
“The origin of this song in The Walking Dead came from [showrunner] Scott [Gimple] wanting to play the juxtaposition of a very happy, feel good, child-like song over and over in a torture-like manor. It can get tricky finding a song which fits the desired aesthetic, while making sure the songwriter and performer are okay with the content of the scene. After searching long and hard, we came across “Easy Street” and it fit the bill perfectly. Once Scott heard it, he agreed and the rest is history!”
So we have Hilfer and Gimple to thank for the upbeat song used to torture one of our favorite Walking Dead characters getting stuck in our heads for almost a week now. Thanks guys.
[Featured Image by AMC]
