Richard Linklater’s 1993 film titled Dazed and Confused uses a soundtrack that accurately represents the characters in the film personally as well as the 70s decade as a whole. Prior to filming, Linklater assigned each character a favorite album which implies his strong emphasis on the role music plays in this film. David Wooderson, one of the film’s main characters, is best identified by the song that is played during the film’s ending scene. The song, Slow Ride by Foghat, was a 70s rock and roll hit that has sexual connotations but can also be interpreted in a more chaste light. Throughout the film, Wooderson fits the category of a man who is stuck in high school. The ex-football star hangs around town showing continued interest in high school girls, marijuana, alcohol, and cars. Wooderson seems to be content with his status, only working because it’s nice to keep “a little change in [his] pocket”. Wooderson encompasses the song Slow Ride and fits the song’s chill lyrics but rock and roll core. As a character Wooderson’s continued interest in girls and sexual remarks make it clear that he would resonate with the focus this song places on an attraction to a particular woman. In the film, Slow Ride plays after Wooderson utters his famous quote, “the older you get the more rules they’re gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin’ man, L-I-V-I-N”. Slow Ride is the epitome of Wooderson’s rebelliousness as a character and it is arguably his favorite song. This is enforced during the films closing scene, when an aerial (or birds eye) shot of Wooderson and Pink is shown with Slow Ride blaring from the car’s stereo. The final image of Wooderson left for the audience is him smoking, singing along passionately to this song. Through the song Slow Ride, Wooderson is able to take it “easy” through life, just continuing to live doing what he wants.
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