At the beginning of many episodes of the hit television show “Lost,” a Godlike voice over says in a baritone “Previously on ‘Lost.'”
Previously On Lost, with Brown Chicken Brown Cow
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That’s followed by a quick clip montage of old footage, designed to catch the viewer up to the forthcoming episode. Not that it is actually possible to get a casual fan up to speed considering the complexities of the oftentimes bizarre show on ABC, but it’s a nice sentiment.
And it’s that voice over that was the inspiration for the New York-based band Previously On Lost. POL is the brainchild of New York resident Adam Schatz and Jeff Curtin, a D.C. native. The music has been described as “recap rock.” The songs are essentially synopses of episodes or character descriptions, all focused on the ABC show “Lost.”
“It’s the mystery,” Curtin said during a recent phone interview, on the appeal of the show. The musician added that he and Schatz also enjoy “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “The Muppet Show.” “They always do a great job keeping you wondering and keeping the show alive.”
The duo first had an idea to do a rock musical-type project centered on “Lost,” but instead decided to recap individual episodes and write songs about characters. Starting in February of 2008, POL recorded a song for each episode of season four. The band since has added a few more tunes, and Curtin estimates that they have about 20 in their catalog. Titles include “The Ballad of Sayid,” “Be My Constant” and “The Island Won’t Let You Die.”
For those unfamiliar with the story of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 , the Others, the Donkey Wheel that made the island skip through time and the apparent current battle between good and evil, a listen to “Lost in Two Minutes” may help. Maybe.
The live show features an eight-piece band, and the stage is decked out in an island theme. Some people dress up for the show, and Curtin is careful not to confuse a Jack Shephard with a Daniel Faraday, lest he receives a fan’s wrath.
The pair’s favorite character is the physicist Faraday, but they haven’t written a song centered on him.
“We couldn’t do him justice,” Curtin said.
“Lost” itself is winding down. There are two more episodes in the six-season series remaining — Tuesday night, and then an all-night extravaganza on Sunday.
“Every season has it’s up and downs,” Curtin said. “I think they do a good job of keeping fans happy.”
Both Curtin and Schatz have other musical projects — Curtin is in Small Black, and his partner has Landlady. The former isn’t quite sure what will become of POL once the series wraps up.
“We’re treating the show like a Y2K of television,” Curtin said. “It’s going to be an end of the world party. We’ll wake up the next morning and pick up the pieces.”
And how does he think or want the story of Jack, Locke, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley et al to wrap up?
“We don’t speculate about that,” Curtin said. “I’ll be happy if something totally absurd happens. I don’t need a clean wrapup. I’ll be disappointed if I could anticipate the ending.”
