Song, by Toad

Count me in for ‘Pulp Fiction.’

If (& a big one at that) I have the time I’ll shoot you over some words on Tom Waits songs used (badly & ingeniously) in movies.

DC

Are we looking for original movie soundtracks or compilations based on exisiting songs?

Or is it not that sort of fancy-dress party? (i.e. turn up looking like a bit of a cock and you’ll fit right in…)

Would love to do Natural Born Killers.

Ed

Excellent work, lads. Dylan, I am not going to be doing any one particular movie I don’t think. I might find something about movie soundtracks as a whole that I want to go on about. Go for it – the more diverse the better if you ask me.

And go on DC – pweeeeease! You know deep down you really want to. It doesn’t have to be any longer than one of your more enthusiastic comments.

The Inheritance – the traditional Scottish music ties in perfectly with this film by young Scottish director Charlie Belleville. Whilst the film itself is a wonderful thing for Scottish film – I think it emphasises how key music is in film.

If you want to write it Euan, that would be superb.

Can’t wait to read the Pulp Fiction and Natural Born Killers posts…both excellent soundtracks. I’ve been thinking of doing one about Juno over at my own blog, but would be happy to do it as a guest post if you want to count me in for that? Alternatively (or also), I wrote a long and detailed post in December about the Stealing Beauty soundtrack if you want to swipe that? )

I am happy with either of those – which would you prefer?

Actually, Juno is the hot soundtrack of the moment isn’t it? That would be ace. It’s about time we caught up with the fashions around here!

I was wondering why I felt so rough and dog-tired today.

Evidently I was pissed and posting utter arse on here at half-past-one in the morning!

I always liked Grosse Pointe Blank. One of my favourite films – and it uses its excellent ’80s-centric soundtrack to add depth and colour to both the plot and the mood of the movie.

That, my son, is a comment not a post. Get off your arse and write a post and email it to me with some mp3s. Either proper analysis or a cunning observation or a nice personal story. Stop hiding in the comments section ya great poof.

There’s a fantastic soundtrack to the film Chelsea Walls by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco….I should leave a post rather than comment though – once I get out of work tonight perhaps if my brain’s not frazzled. Oh, and it was good to meet you last night.

Juno scares me.

The profliferation of ‘hip’ indie acoustic folk soundtracks to hip, tragi-comic indie films (think Garden State, Eternal Sunshine, Everything is Illuminated, amongst many many others) is, in my opinion, getting out of control.

I know there are cutltural shifts (generally, these days, given the access to the internet & the availability of technology that houses far more information/music than most people have ever either wanted to listen to or have the time in the day to focus on with any real sincerity) in terms of what people listen to (would we have been listening to Kate Nash 5 years ago? I really don’t think so).

It’s hit the adverts, also. Have you noticed how the execs ahve all finished their KT Tunstall phase & moved onto more, erm, experimental, less accessible but still as delightfully non-mainstream as you’ll get (isn’t folk/acoustic stuff supposed to be that way, anyway?).

This started, I would say, in the States about 10 months ago (usual suspects: car ads, some foodstuffs, lifestyle choice products, etc); it will be interesting to see what it’s like some 3 months since I was last there.

Anyway, Juno — things like this risk the soundtrack taking over from the point of the movie (gone are the days of Apocalypse Now & the perfect movie-meld of sound + vision).

I’m sure it’s a fine film (not seen it yet as I can’t get past all the blogs telling me how fucking deliciously ‘their life right now’ the soundtrack is) but phenom’s like this make me question whether studio execs etc. are simply being cynical in the chase for the dollar & specifically compiling quirky, indie-rooted soundtracks.

I mean, sheesh, Juno has had so much publicity granted FOC by the musi-bloggers, no? It would be a hard & fast idiot to ignore that kind of effect on the general public.

DC

Shall I just copy and paste that into a full-on post for you DC? Might spare you the time of writing your Tom Waits thingie if you’re pushed.

Heh. Just realised I’d kinda done a s/t post without realising it — it was supposed to have been a shaking fist towards the frenzied band-wagonning Juno appreciation blog-o-sphere, but turned into a general pooh poohing.

I wouldn’t cut&paste the above, though, as it contains the standard unfinished sentences, bad spelling/typos & directionless point meandering.

Let me see what I can do about Mr. Waits.

DC

I’ve thought and thought, and I’m finally forced to admit that I’ve got nothing even remotely interesting to say about movie soundtracks. I don’t really care for them, and never buy them, except when they work well as stand-alone pieces of music, such as Florian Fricke’s old scores for Werner Herzog films or the Boxhead Ensemble’s Niagara Falls piece. See? Not at all interesting. Even to me. So to hell with it.

It’s not mandatory, mate. There’ll be others.

Oh, just wondered -what about Paris, Texas by Ry Cooder, or can we only do one each? Ed

Aargh…my computer has been on a bit of a go slow these past few days, so only just getting around to responding here. But Drunk Country, I agree with you in a lot of ways. The soundtrack is great, but is definitely self-consciously indie-cool. The film is ok…pretty good, but not really worthy of quite so many rave reviews…and often the music does not quite fit in. As you say, it’s almost like the film was a vehicle for the music…and it was definitely clever marketing-wise. Whilst the music chosen fits with the general ‘theme’ of the film, often it just feels ‘plonked in’ when you are watching.

It’s good as a stand along album though.

I can, of course, say all these things when I get around to writing the post! Do we have a deadline Matthew? I’ve got a bit of a backlog at the moment, so might not get to it until next week.

And Paris, Texas is a great soundtrack too! My, sounds like you’re going to get some great posts out of this!

Oh and, p.s., you would NEVER catch me listening to Kate Nash!

I, of course, meant ’stand alonE’ and not ’stand alonG’…oops!

Do whatever you please, Ed. I’d be more than happy to include it.

And I reckon I’ll start posting them by the end of next week some time – does sound okay, Divinyl?

It’s the problem with usurping someone’s art. If you have a song, with words in it, you end up twisting the meaning of what they are trying to say, as it is highly unlikely anyone wrote a song about the exact situation and set of feeling/circumstances described in the film So you either twist someone’s words, or go abstract and take a song whose words don’t quite fit but which works. Leonard Cohen for example didn’t write Hallelujah about a big green Ogre shacking up with a princess. And thus the song, I always feel stood out too far in Shrek. The audience is removed from the ‘moment’ (Oh God, I wrote that didn’t I!) as they think to themselves “Oh, that’s that Leonard Cohen song”.

The Big Chill (greatest of all sound tracks) just took songs that fit the mood, that the characters might well be listening to at the time, and hence every song in that film belongs right there. Someone analysed the mood, characters and found music to fit. Doesn’t seem hard when you think about it like that. So it shouldn’t be hard for Juno. However try thinking of it like this: We need a song that the characters might listen to, fits the mood and will sell on a sound track with the generation watching the film. Ah. Toad has covered the effect of marketing people on art so I’ll spare you.

Then consider classical in film. Bought the Lord of the Rings soundtrack? Quite good. Sounds odd out of context though. I feel Amelie works well stand alone, but my brother disagreed. With some force. In both case the feelings and situation of the film, define the feelings of the song. Sorry Toad, I do still really like Amelie though. And there’s stuff like Rob Roy (I don’t know why I own it. Sorry. I really am). By itself it’s just endless bagpipes and reels. Worked in the film. Not at all out of it.

Sorry, went on a bit there.

Yup, sounds good Matthew.

Ben…I agree, Amelie is still good as a soundtrack outside of the film. Sod your brother! ;o)

Without leaving a full analysis or the sort, I would just like to ask, out of pure curiousity: is anyone but me listening to the soundtrack to Until the End of the World?

I’m a big fan of the Before Sunrise/Before Sunset joint soundtrack, as well as Michael Andrews’ score for Me and You and Everyone We Know.

Committments me up. Although I’m trying to write things for about 6 different places at the moment and everything’s going a bit pear shaped, but the fucker started writing itself in my head at the weekend so I guess I have to get it down.

This reminds me of high school, when teachers got sick of teaching, so to get a bit of a break they’d ask each person in class to teach a lesson so that two weeks of classtime would be used up.

Surprised no one mentioned Garden State, though.

Splendid Crash, that one sounds excellent. Benj – is this another one where I could copy and paste your entire comment?

China, no-one has mentioned Garden State because the Shins are bloody awful. Would make an interesting post just for that reason.

Crash, Commitments is a superb soundtrack, but it was a film about good music. Gives them a leg up I feel. They still excelled though.

Matthew, I’m not sure I thought enough about it to be a fully published thing, but go ahead if you think.

Was there a deadline for this?

I had been planning to watch the movie and “make notes” over the weekend, but my brain had to leave town on urgent business and the receptionist was just taking messages, so no significant intellectual activity of any sort got done. (It appears there are automated systems in place to take care of routine tasks, as I’ve survived the weekend intact and don’t seem to be ravenously hungry or desperate for a pee).

China – I mentioned Garden State, albeit in passing & as part of as broad swipe at the crassness of non-purpose (other than the fistful of bucks) product placement.

Ben – entirely agree with you. & Amelie is a grand piece of music, soundtrack or no. I’d say the same of Straight Story, purely for comparison sake (on a similar musical vein bent).

Mr. T., when is this darn deadline? I’ve Vegas to & destroy in the next week…

DC

Well I’ll start posting them by the end of next week. Crash has sent me one already, so that’s a start, and I have one to write myself. So, end of next week okay for everyone? Get your fingers out you lazy cunts.

[...] post with a bit more detail here.  And a big thanks to those who have already sent their stuff [...]

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll have time to write something new for your soundtrack project. But you are welcome to re-post my reviews of the Sweet Hereafter, Once, or I’m Your Man. And of course, there is always Bat Boy The Musical.

Bah, Muruch. No worries I think I’ll be okay with what I’ve got actually. But it would be really nice to have you play too the next time I do something like this.