Andrew Largeman: “What are you listening to?”
Sam: “The Shins. You know them?”
Andrew Largeman: “No.”
Sam: “You gotta hear this one song–it’ll change your life, I swear.”
It’s been almost two years since Natalie Portman’s Sam infamously gushed about the Shins in Garden State. If her name-dropping wasn’t enough of a plug, writer/director/star Zach Braff’s Largeman proceeded to put on the headphones and crank up the volume so the audience could hear what he was listening to. (Boy, his ears must’ve hurt!) Decent song, but alas our lives remained unchanged. Point is, while the line remains disturbingly indulgent–it would’ve been more subtle had Braff broken character and yelled, “Ladies and gentleman, my favorite indie band right now…the Shins!” as a curtain fell and the band played a live set–it was, and is, a sign of the times. Music in movies is no longer barely audible; it is a co-star. Furthermore, a song is an important component to a scene, and a soundtrack is a lucrative component to a movie.
Of course, music has long been a staple in movies, but its edgier and more conspicuous existence seems relatively new. It’s hard to precisely pinpoint this turn, but some see the early ‘90s and Quentin Tarantino as a time and pioneer. Surely songs existed in pre-Tarantino movies, but never were they so gaudy or appropriate for their context–never were they so damn cool! And if that was in fact the so-called turning point, it wasn’t just one Tarantino flick that proved integral.
What might’ve begun with Reservoir Dogs–in which Tarantino ironically played a jovial “Stuck in the Middle with You” to punctuate Michael Madsen’s merciless sadism–culminated with Pulp Fiction, which remains a benchmark in the evolution of soundtracks and usage of music in films. And in between, Tarantino co-wrote True Romance and Natural Born Killers, both of which were unsurprisingly esteemed for their music savvy.
Two more recent pieces of evidence help to prove the trend continues and is perhaps more bankable now than ever. Sample A: The songs nominated for Oscars® this year helped transform great scenes into memorable ones. “In the Deep,” from Crash, and “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” the Oscar® winner from Hustle and Flow, couldn’t have struck more different nerves, but they struck nerves nonetheless, enhancing their respective films and truly resonating with audiences. (Dolly Parton’s “Travelin’ Thru” had a different but no less profound effect in Transamerica.)
And let’s not forget Sample B: The soundtrack for February’s Curious George debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart upon release. Which isn’t really so “curious” when it’s considered that the music biz’ golden boy Jack Johnson (“and friends”) performed the songs. Then there’s the recent Block Party, thrown by Dave Chappelle, which gleefully defies categorization: a film based around live music performances–even capturing the Fugees’ reunion!–that can seamlessly be recycled and marketed as your everyday hip-hop/R&B concert CD (or iTunes download). The evidence goes on and on.
Indeed, the 21st Century movie–and the late 20th–transcends the mere score of yore, when John Williams, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer and others could be penciled in for lush, apropos tracks and subsequent Oscar nods. (Though, it should be noted, none of them has any trouble finding work these days.) More and more, studios are greenlighting bigger budgets and names for soundtracks. For instance, lost in the madness of last year’s Wedding Crashers was a soundtrack that performed pretty well thanks to emerging alternative rock bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Jimmy Eat World and Rilo Kiley.
More recently, the soundtrack for Walk the Line sold nicely despite–or because of–stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon’s renditions of Johnny Cash and June Carter numbers. And speaking of rock ‘n roll icons, Bob Dylan and Lou Reed have allowed for the occasional usage of their tunes in movies. Dylan, who seems to have eased his stance on “selling out” of late, lent multiple tracks to last year’s low-budget North Country (a setting in his native Minnesota offers a possible explanation). The biggest shocker of all, however, came when Reed sang and spoke in 2001’s disastrous Prozac Nation. Let’s hope it wasn’t in exchange for a cut of the film’s box-office take!
But enough soundtrack hodgepodge–here are some of the best of today’s auteurs when it comes to the art of music placement. If they’re not serving as music supervisors on their own films, you can be sure their input is given to assure the music is in line with the film’s tone. And we conclude with picks for the best of the “neo”-soundtracks.
THE BEST:
1. Wes Anderson: Seu Jorge singing David Bowie songs in Portuguese throughout The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was a bit too much of a wink to Anderson’s faithful, but he did manage to throw in the Stooges’ “Search and Destroy”–too revered (or costly) for most directors to touch–to make amends. Anderson deftly mixes meat-and-potatoes punk with almost-passé indie, and Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh has scored all of his films. If that’s not enough, he somehow pulled off a Rolling Stones song in his rookie effort, Bottle Rocket. Rookie effort…as in almost no budget!
2. Jim Jarmusch: The songs he picks sound the way a David Lynch movie looks: totally desolate and out-there. In last year’s Broken Flowers, we cringed when Bill Murray’s character stuck in a mix CD, a musically affluent director’s dream and an unsuspecting audience’s nightmare. But Jarmusch chose a sublime, unpretentious mix. Of course, we unconditionally trust a guy who in Coffee and Cigarettes brought out the actors in Iggy Pop, Tom Waits and the White Stripes’ Jack White!
3. Quentin Tarantino: The aforementioned patriarch of the neo-soundtrack, Tarantino was bumped down a couple when he delegated music duties on the Kill Bill flicks primarily to Wu-Tang Clan’s The RZA (though the end product was no less perfect). Still, we bow to the man. In the past, Tarantino has, unlike anyone else, made uncompromising soundtracks irresistible to even fans of the Top 40 Countdown. His brand of rockabilly and tunes from your parents’ day–assuming they were hip–is at once cool and scene-stealing.
UP-AND-COMERS:
1. Sofia Coppola: She showed such great taste in Lost in Translation, for which she used My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields as the composer. And being married to (now ex-husband) Spike Jonze probably didn’t hurt her ear for the good stuff, either.
2. Darren Aronofsky: While not exactly a newcomer, Aronofsky has released only two feature films, (Pi and Requiem for a Dream), and their soundtracks, equal parts techno, strings and harrowing, are just as brilliant. The highlight has been the Kronos Quartet in Requiem. (Look out–and listen–for his third, October’s The Fountain.)
3. Noah Baumbach: If his directorial debut The Squid and the Whale was any indication, great things lie ahead for Baumbach–and we’re just talking about his music selections! The retro soundtrack stayed within the film’s parameters, and the running Pink Floyd joke was hilarious without being exclusive to music snobs. Here’s to many more collaborations with our favorite, Wes Anderson (producer on Squid and co-writer of Steve Zissou)!
TOP NEO*-SOUNDTRACKS (*since 1990):
1. Pulp Fiction: Quentin Tarantino’s soundtrack is a big reason why his film is a seminal masterpiece.
2. The Royal Tenenbaums: Straightaway punk/indie has never sounded this good…without being extremely pretentious.
3. Natural Born Killers: One of the neo-soundtrack forefathers; as nasty and disparate as the minds behind the film, Oliver Stone and Tarantino.
4. Singles: Before grunge died with Kurt Cobain, Cameron Crowe offered this sampling of the best of the Pacific Northwest, with a side of punk.
5. 24 Hour Party People: The movie centers on the huge music scene that arose in Manchester, England; the soundtrack gives us the music without the sordid “scene.”
6. Grosse Pointe Blank: Some of the best “the” bands (Clash, Jam, Specials, Pixies, Cure, Pogues) blended perfectly with the underused Violent Femmes.
7. Lost in Translation: The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey” made Sofia Coppola’s ending unforgettable, but the other tunes weren’t too shabby.
8. Good Will Hunting: Half of the songs are throwaways; the other half are some of Elliott Smith’s best, most haunting.
9. Trainspotting: Many people’s first exposure to Iggy’s “Lust for Life.” (He’s since capitalized on that.) Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” was the highlight, however.
10. (tie) Hustle and Flow and 8 Mile: “It’s Hard Out There for a Pimp” and “Lose Yourself.” Need we say more? Fine–both songs took home Oscar bling.
But Let’s Not Forget: Almost Famous; Broken Flowers; Cold Mountain; Hedwig and the Angry Inch; High Fidelity; Igby Goes Down; Jackie Brown; Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and 2; Magnolia; O Brother, Where Art Thou?; Requiem for a Dream; Reservoir Dogs; Rushmore.
