Meet the Guys Who Make "The Hills" Rock

Are your choices based more on lyrics or music?
JC: I know my desire for the company at large and for our shows at large is that the lyrics not completely describe the actions people are seeing, but that it just be evocative of the tone of that moment.
JE: It's a combination. You gotta have the right mood musically along with the perfect lyrics. Then you have television magic!

What are some of the standout music scenes for you?
JC: A lot of our music on the show really has got some emotional quality that is unifying. I think there are certain songs that we've used in the show that remind me of certain moments and have become very iconic in that way. A Fine Frenzy's "Almost Lover" and Audrina are inextricably tied because of the scene where Justin Bobby is obviously kind of cheating on her and they have this falling out in the parking lot and that's the song that tells that story.

Is there a directive that the music is meant to evoke a certain emotion when we see Lauren or when we see Heidi?
JC: No, I think it's pretty organic. It's about the scene. And sometimes what you think is going to work just doesn't. It's either too on the nose or cheesy or doesn't ring true. And there's some songs that you think couldn't possibly work together and then once you put it to the picture, you create this third thing. You marry the image and sound together.
JE: The music in this series can be considered a character, as if it were a narrator. I think that's a rare opportunity to use music in that way, not just playing in the background as wallpaper, but actually telling the story as if it were the narrator.

So if the music is a character, is it Team Lauren or Team Heidi?
JE: That is a funny question. But I can't answer it.