Movie music madness

I am a definite s-u-c-k-e-r for a good soundtrack. Set me loose in the soundtrack section of any music store and I will find a few gems to be sure. I love the way that music makes a movie poignant or funny or heartbreaking or memorable. Plus, it’s the way I always think of songs in my head anyway when I listen to them – picturing a moment, a situation, a conversation to go along with them as they unfold.

It’s like the way you wish life could be sometimes – you know, the perfect song to accompany every moment.

My friend Vangelis the Greek (my nickname, I don’t think he actually goes by that in day to day life) sent me a really neat email the other day, filled with his reflections on various movies and drawing my attention to some good forgotten soundtrack songs. I thought I would share them with you. He says:

“First, a song from a movie I saw as a teenager accidentally on television late at night. I will never forget the way that movie made me feel and the discussions I had the following day at school with my friends that also watched it…Pump Up the Volume. The soundtrack (buy here) also contains Pixies, Soundgarden, Sonic Youth…”

Everybody Knows (Leonard Cohen cover) – Concrete Blonde

MY NOTE: See, I had as big of a crush on Christian Slater as the next 11 year old girl back in 1990, but I was not yet, shall we say, “cool” in the musical arena when this soundtrack came out, as I was generally rockin’ out to oldies (cool in their own way), New Kids on the Block and gems like Michael W. Smith. Yeah, I’ll admit it. I was a late bloomer. Anyway, back to Vangelis:

“Another movie that I really like is Beautiful Girls. I will not send you the song they all sang at the bar (Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond) but the song with the same title as the movie. (Really cool soundtrack, buy it here):

Beautiful Girl – Pete Droge and The Sinners

Also, the Afghan Whigs appear in the movie and play live. You know Greg Dulli spent one summer here in Greece trying to find his Greek roots and where his relatives lived…

Anyway, another great movie and a fantastic soundtrack if you like swing music is Swing Kids. I think it comes from 1993 and in a parallel universe it would have won a thousand Oscars. Two songs from the soundtrack:

Bei Mir Bist Du Schon – Janis Siegel

Shout and Feel It – James Horner

Last, from the movie Pleasantville, a Beatles song from Fiona Apple – Across The Universe. Her voice is simply amazing, I have heard a lot of covers of this song but I think this is the best one ever. The soundtrack also includes Etta James, Buddy Holly and Elvis.”

Across The Universe – Fiona Apple

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Finally, one from Vangelis himself. It is not soundtrack-related, other than the fact that Vangelis compared him and his buddies to the guys in That Thing You Do when they first heard themselves on the radio in Greece (yelling, screaming, calling each other). It is in English (although I think I hear some traditional Greek instruments in the background?) and I think it is pretty good!

Wonderful World – Vangelis & His Band
(sorry, dude, you didn’t tell me the band name!)

I’m off to add some good stuff to my Netflix queue. I got Long, Hot Summer with Paul Newman in the mail yesterday so I get to do a little inappropriate salivating over the young & smoldering Paul Newman later today.

Junebug

So, I finally Netflixed Junebug (I just decided that “Netflixed” can be a verb), a film whose preview I saw a few months ago at Kimball’s, the coolest downtown artsy theater in Colorado because it serves up pints from the local brewery a few streets over, fresh Colorado goodness in a plastic cup.

That’s totally beside the point, but if you are ever in town and looking for a good ale, now you know.

Anyways. I really liked Junebug. As wholeheartedly as I support the concept, independent/artsy films are sometimes a mixed bag. You’ll go, dole out your bucks, and get something like Dancer in the Dark or Broken Flowers, both of which I distinctly did not like. But sometimes you get a quirky little gem like Junebug. It was a small film, nothing earth-shattering, but simple in its fleshed-out portrayals of interesting characters, and affecting in quiet ways.

One of the things I found most moving about the movie was actually the silences. Several times during the film the directors just showed a silent, ordinary room in the suburban house (where most of the movie takes place) for several long seconds. They’re not afraid to have a prolonged, silent view of the everyday ephemera, almost as if the house was waiting for the next scene, waiting for someone to come in and end the awkward silence. I loved it as an effect. The quiet rooms in the house were almost aching to be heard, the silence was deafening – which paralleled so many of the characters in the film; almost everyone seemed to have so much more to say than what they actually said.

Junebug also offers some superb acting performances. Amy Adams was a gem in this film, playing a pregnant and oft-ignored very young housewife, bright and overly-talkative, masking a consuming and desperate need to be heard and loved. She deserves the Oscar nomination she received for bringing depth to a character that could have just been played as a shallow and comic/tragic ditz.

Alessandro Nivola (love the way that name rolls off your tongue) is steadfast and kind in his role of older brother/husband/rescuer/good guy. He is kind of the glue that holds everyone together when he returns home to North Carolina from the Big City (Chicago) with his new wife. He convincingly shows the different layers to growing up and leaving your roots, but also keeping them as part of you. I was also surprised by his clear singing voice and the good job he did performing a hymn for the role at a church social.

It also features Benjamin McKenzie, best known for his sullen and brooding role as Ryan on The O.C. (so I’ve heard. I’ve never watched the show. Not even that one time). This role is not that much of a departure for him in terms of angst, but he rednecks-it up so that it took me about 20 minutes to recognize him. He convincingly plays a guy drowning inside, not sure how to reach out and be heard and understood by those who are supposed to be closest to him.

Little things in this movie spoke volumes for me. Amy Adams’ character loves meerkats (favorite animal, darkly comic moment as she explains this). She is married in the movie to Johnny (McKenzie). Watching his panicked and frustrated attempts to tape something for her that suddently comes on the TV about meerkats was surprisingly poignant. He doesn’t know how else to show her how he feels, he certainly doesn’t tell her. Also, the passionate sex between Nivola and his new wife on the air mattress while the rest of the house sleeps on the other side of very thin walls was also affecting in incising just how unhappy the others were. It is a bit hard to explain in writing, because these are such small and insignificant things, but it is masterful, quiet, and evocative on the screen.

The movie features an original score by Yo La Tengo, which I enjoyed, and revives a light-hearted ’70s pop song for its opening and closing credits. If you’ve seen the movie (or even if you haven’t), you might enjoy hearing this again:

“Harmour Love” – Syreeta

It would be good for a mixtape to listen to while you are practicing your backwards roller-skating at the roller rink. Sweatbands and legwarmers are, as always, completely optional.

Soundtrack for a monkey

Saw the preview for the new Curious George movie last night. Will Ferrell does the voice of the Man With The Yellow Hat, which means I will see it because Ferrell could make me crack up while reading the back of my cereal box.

Anyway, Jack Johnson is writing some songs for the flick, which seems like a nice pairing. Jack Johnson is a fairly new dad so I think he will have a unique viewpoint on non-sucky kids music. Here is a link to a video clip previewing some songs (you have to click play on the video once the page opens). The soundtrack will be released February 7, 2006.

Mad Hot Ballroom

Following hot on the heels of 2002′s Spellbound (a documentary about kids competing in the National Spelling Bee) comes Mad Hot Ballroom, the most enjoyable movie I have seen this year.

This is an ebullient look at fifth graders in the New York City public school system learning ballroom dancing for a city-wide competition. Imagine yourself in the fifth grade. Now imagine yourself having to touch (and look in the eyes of! and smile!) someone from your class of the opposite sex for a ten-week session. It brought back so many memories of what that age was like, and it was just a really good-hearted film. So go Netflix it.

You’ll also find that it has a swinging soundtrack, too. Salsa, swing, merengue, tango, and jazz. You’ll be humming all night. Here is one of the best tracks:

“Fever” – Peggy Lee (mp3)

BONUS LAUGH: I saw this cross-posted on some other blogs and just tried to read it while drinking my coffee and almost sprayed coffee on my computer, I laughed so hard.
http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit/. My favorite is the heiroglyphics.