June 29, 2009

In your love, my salvation lies

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On Friday afternoon while a summer rainstorm poured outside, I played a bit of hooky and sat inside the gorgeous Mayan Theater in Denver, taking in a matinee of the new Sam Mendes/John Krasinski/Dave Eggers supernova Away We Go. I was reeled in and my insides were prodded about by this humble little film. I laughed an immense amount (this is a fabulous film) but also walked out with a head full of messy, braided thoughts to hash over with my partner in afternoon-work-ditching crime.

Solitary Scottish songwriter Alexi Murdoch scores a wistful yet pointed soundtrack to the journey of our young couple into unknown landscapes. Slowburning and smoky, his original songs stand alongside ones by George Harrison, Bob Dylan, The Stranglers, and a particularly devastating placement of the Velvet Underground’s “Oh! Sweet Nuthin.” The music was as much a part of the lifeblood to the film as the characters.

All My Days – Alexi Murdoch

and over the closing credits:

Orange Sky – Alexi Murdoch

(is it just me or is this just one of the best songs? Oh, I so want to dream tonight of orange skies and salvation)

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Alexi has a new limited-edition EP available now called Towards The Sun, and you can (and should) stream the full soundtrack here.

11 Comments

  • Probably my favorite film of the year. And is it just me, or is Murdoch’s music being used in a few too many films and TV shows?

    Side A Track 1 — June 30, 2009 @ 7:46 am

  • Thank you for your comments about the film…New York Magazine has been trashing it for about a month for reasons I can’t discern, so it’s nice to read about a like-minded viewer.

    Christine — June 30, 2009 @ 7:51 am

  • This was the perfect music for first thing in the morning. Thanks for sharing!

    Ashton Likes — June 30, 2009 @ 7:59 am

  • I was thinking recently that Alexi Murdoch was way over due for a new album. I love his first. Thanks for the heads up about the EP.

    Claire — June 30, 2009 @ 8:20 am

  • I first heard of Alexi Murdoch and Orange Sky off another soundtrack, The O.C. (joke if you will, but it’s a good soundtrack). Feel the need for a hooky day to go catch this movie too! Thanks.

    aims — June 30, 2009 @ 9:02 am

  • Great film, there’s an earnest quality to Krasinski that really sells it.

    RE: New York Magazine’s comments on the film – consider the source, which is naught but a one-sided rag written by wankers with unhappy childhoods.

    Justin — June 30, 2009 @ 6:36 pm

  • I am LOVING Alexi these days – part Nick Drake throwback, part self-help/discovery… great music for driving long distances and pondering the meaning of your own life!

    Heather — July 1, 2009 @ 10:39 am

  • orange sky is one of the best songs. it is forever rotated through my more ‘introspective’ playlists (if you will). it never tires to move me, i never tire of it.

    christy — July 4, 2009 @ 6:02 pm

  • [...] at I am Fuel… was also charmed by the movie and some excerpts from the soundtrack [...]

    Baby Got Books » Away We Go — July 6, 2009 @ 5:16 am

  • It’s been a while since I went looking for it online, but the last time I saw Alexi Murdoch’s name was when I scoured the ‘Net for the full track of his song at the end of GONE BABY GONE, “Through The Dark”. I think I’d give a pinky finger for the whole thing, and I can’t believe he’s not released it yet. Bums me out a bit, it’s so hauntingly beautiful…

    Shane — July 12, 2009 @ 10:36 am

  • It’s nearly 3 years after you posted this, and it’s strange that I came across it doing a Google search for something completely unrelated. Thank you for posting this. It took me back to when I first saw ‘Away We Go’ in theater, also on a rainy summer day but in Michigan. It was a beautiful, soul-lifting day…the kind where you are glad to be alive and inspired by everything you absorb. Thank you for reminding me.

    Amy — May 4, 2012 @ 8:23 am

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Bio Pic Name: Heather Browne
Location: Colorado, originally by way of California
Giving context to the torrent since 2005.

"I love the relationship that anyone has with music: because there's something in us that is beyond the reach of words, something that eludes and defies our best attempts to spit it out. It's the best part of us, probably, the richest and strangest part..."
—Nick Hornby, Songbook
"Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel."
—Hunter S. Thompson

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