When you base all your episode titles on song titles or lyrics, what do you do when you can’t find a song that fits? That was the challenge facing Gary Calamar, music supervisor of HBO‘s hit paranormal series “True Blood.” Just nothing seemed to fit the title of “Let’s Boot and Rally,” inspired by a memorable quote from the show’s main character Sookie Stackhouse herself.
The answer was soon obvious: write a new song! Considering “True Blood”‘s soundtracks have been nominated for two Grammys, Calamar was more than up to the challenge. And he had an unlikely but super talented trans generational team for the duo: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Iggy Pop and indie rocker Bethany Cosentino, frontwoman of the band Best Coast. True Blood Fan Source.com had previously reported the two would join forces on music for the hit tv show.
Pop’s team had let the True Blood management know that the rocker was a big fan of the show and would be interested in doing a song. For Calamar, working with Iggy Pop was a huge thrill and a chance to peek back at his own musical genesis, the point where he started to see the darker side of things.
“My first memories of Iggy and The Stooges was that I was a little scared of him. As a kid I started listening to bands like The Beatles and The Beach Boys and Iggy was a whole different animal. When he went solo and started working with David Bowie was when I got more familiar with him and his work. I’ve been a big fan ever since.” “For me to work with an artist like Iggy Pop is a dream come true.” He told CBS Local. “I have always dabbled in songwriting but never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that someone like Iggy would ever record a song of mine.”
As for Iggy’s duo partner Bethany Cosentino Calamar says,
“I am a big fan of Bethany and Best Coast. I knew she was local in LA and I had met her before and she was cool. I thought she would be perfect for the duet with Iggy and it would be great to have a veteran Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer sing together with a new up-and-comer who is on her way. I had thought of a few other possibilities but Bethany was the only person I had reached out to and fortunately she loved the idea.”
James Crombs, who co-wrote the song, also recorded the instrumentals. John Would produced and Amy Wood performed on the drums. Calamar himself also gave the percussion an extra hand.
“Me and my 10-year-old daughter Zoe added some hand claps.”
“Let’s Boot and Rally” is available for download on iTunes. The title comes from a popular term referring to when someone drinks themselves sick, throws up, and then goes right on partying. An apt title for an episode where Sookie pukes just moments away from resolving the sexual tension between her and sexy werewolf Alcide, and then finds out she must help her ex-loves, the vampires Bill and Eric, find the vampire ultra-baddie Russell Edginton
Source: 98.7 KLUV – “Iggy Pop and Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino “Boot And Rally” on “True Blood””
Image Credit: HBO, Inc.
