(1)It is the job of Jonathan King, music supervisor for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to find appropriate `source music', that is pre-existing popular songs, to feature on the show. To quote King: "I get a script and think, what would this character listen to in this particular instance? I figure out the subtext" (Ostrow H01). Sometimes creator, Joss Whedon, and the other scriptwriters have a say. According to King: "[they will] attempt to steer me in the right direction by way of cryptic editorial notes" (Francis 2002, p.219). (2)The titles of songs featured on Buffy can be located on various Internet fan sites. The close examination of the lyrics to some of these songs reveals contextual links with the on-going storyline. Based on the viewer's familiarity with the over-arching narrative and twists in character development one will find commentaries, even foreshadowings, in song lyrics. Furthermore, familiarity with themes explored in popular music culture itself will lend deeper layers of meaning. For example Buffy's friend Willow, unaware of her future gay leanings, is seen in the episode `Doomed' (4.11) `grooving' to Echobelly's `Mouth Almighty', a song about a lesbian rock band living the wild life. (3)This use of `source' music to provide a subtle commentary in Buffy is proof of Whedon's long-term narrative arch: his plan to create an audio-visual epic on the `postmodernist teenage Zeitgeist' that would rival the scope and breadth of a great 19th century novel. Within this postmodernist text `source' music generates multiple meanings.

VCR/monitor, CD player