Soundtrack Dissonance/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: The soundtrack doesn't fit the rest of the scene.

  • Straight: A chiptune boss music plays when a family is eating a dinner at a table.
  • Exaggerated: Real Life footage of a concentration camp is shown where the prisoners are being cut alive. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" plays in the background.
  • Downplayed: A Lady Gaga remix plays while Annie and Barry are shopping in Abercrombie and Fitch. A true techno song[1] would be more appropriate, but it's good enough.
  • Justified: The background music is played in-universe.
  • Inverted: A soundtrack fits perfectly with the rest of the scene.
    • Alternately, the music that's playing goes with everything.
  • Subverted: An Arabian-themed song is playing while the setting is in an Amazon jungle. Then it turns out that the jungle was just a backdrop in an Arabian theatre.
  • Double Subverted: A later scene appears where someone dies to the song Yellow Submarine.
  • Parodied: "Walking on Sunshine" plays while Chris gets stabbed.
  • Zig Zagged: Smells Like Teen Spirit plays while Dana and Eddie are slow dancing. Then it turns out Fran was playing it on her Ipod and snarking outside the dance. Then What A Wonderful World plays while Dana dies from a drunk driving incident, to showcase how teens are morons. Then it turns out Dana was actually a Complete Monster Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Alpha Bitch, and her death...
  • Averted: No music is playing.
  • Enforced: "We can't have just 10 minutes of blood and Gorn! We need pretty music, too!
  • Lampshaded: "This part could use better music."
  • Invoked: Fran plays Happy Together on her Ipod while examining how Mr. Stern teaches, to Foil what a Jerkass he is and how happy the music is.
  • Exploited: Gina knows Fran plays music that is opposite to whatever is happening, so she askes Fran to share her Ipod with her, to make her feel less sad when bad things happen.
  • Defied: Ed steals Gina's Ipod.
    • Alternatively, Mr. Stern takes her Ipod away from her.
  • Discussed: "All these diasters are set to Yakkety Sax!"
  • Conversed: Gina's Ipod plays rather...strange music for this place.
  • Played For Drama: A man is walking down the sunny street. A very melancholic song with Heartbeat Soundtrack is playing in the background.

Dodge the bullets on the way back to Soundtrack Dissonance as "Mary had a Little Lamb" on toy piano plays in the background.



  1. Think Armin Van Buuren.