Win yourself a nice little soundtrack from Sofia Coppola's new one
Sofia Coppola has a superb ear for movie soundtracking, as she revealed to everyone notably with Lost in Translation in 2003. Her newest project is the Marie-Antoinette biopic/dramatization starring Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Asia Argento and Molly Shannon. Take a look at the songs on the soundtrack; I think you'll agree that even if the verdict is mixed on how well she reinvents this old story, the soundtrack certainly is daring and interesting.
CONTEST: Thanks to the promo folks, I've got a nice little soundtrack double disc set to give away to the person who can leave me a comment about who assembles the best movie soundtracks and why. Specific examples, people. This is a passion of mine. I look forward to hearing what you think, and will completely arbitrarily pick the one I like best. Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you, and the contest ends October 20th (when the movie comes out). OH! And you also get a movie poster, pin, and nail polish (paging Jared Leto).Marie-Antoinette Soundtrack
DISC 1
01. "Hong Kong Garden" - Siouxsie & The Banshees
02. "Aphrodisiac" - Bow Wow Wow
03. "What Ever Happened" - The Strokes
04. "Pulling Our Weight" - The Radio Dept.
05. "Ceremony" - New Order
06. "Natural's Not In It" - Gang of Four
07. "I Want Candy (Kevin Shields Remix)" - Bow Wow Wow
08. "Kings Of The Wild Frontier" - Adam & The Ants
09. "Concerto in G" - Antonio Vivaldi / Reitzell
10. "The Melody Of A Fallen Tree" - Windsor For The Derby
11. "I Don't Like It Like This" - The Radio Dept.
12. "Plainsong" - The Cure
DISC 2
01. "Intro Versailles" - Reitzell / Beggs
02. "Jynweythek Ylow" - Aphex Twin
03. "Opus 17" - Dustin O'Halloran
04. "Il Secondo Giorno (Instrumental)" - Air
05. "Keen On Boys" - The Radio Dept.
06. "Opus 23" - Dustin O'Halloran
07. "Les Baricades Misterieuses"* - Francois Couperin / Reitzell
08. "Fools Rush In (Kevin Shields Remix)" - Bow Wow Wow
09. "Avril 14th" - Aphex Twin
10. "K. 213" - Domenico Scarlatti / Reitzell
11. "Tommib Help Buss" - Squarepusher
12. "Tristes Apprets.." - Jean Philippe Rameau / W. Christie
13. "Opus 36"- Dustin O'Halloran
14. "All Cats Are Grey" - The Cure
Take a peep at the trailer:
Labels: contests
posted by heather @ 3:58 PM
41 comments
41 Comments:
Wes Anderson. Reason? Rushmore. If more of a reason is needed, then I don't think that this is Heather reading this because she understands true class.
It's a close tie for me between Cameron Crowe and Martion Scorsese. Cameron has such a unique vision that he makes the music almost essential and in some cases, the music is more important than the characters. Can anyone not forget the scene stealing John Cusack in "Say Anything"? What about the love letter to Seattle "Singles"? His least interesting soundtrack, "Jerry Maguire" made me re-think "Secret Garden" and realize that this was not a throwaway song, but a gorgeous love song that goes far deeper than I ever thought and then to close the film with "Shelter Frm The Storm" (an unreleased alternate no less) was perfect as they walked off into the sunset, not so much to a happy ending, but with the feeling that the journey ahead would be a good one. "Almost Famous" and "Vanilla Sky" exposed me to songs and artists I knew little of and yet with their cinematic companions, they gave the songs new dimensions. I never appreciated Radiohead until Cam used it brilliantly in a early morning wake up scene. Then for "Elizabethtown", Cam painted a canvas with largely unknown acts proving how much incredible music there is out there that we are unaware of. Not only that, but he found re-introduced me to a forgotten gem in "It;ll All Work Out" by Tom Petty. Instead of being buried on a forgettable TP album, it became a focal point early in the film...and more importantly a song that gives me not only hope, but comfort during tough times. No other filmmaker evokes such strong emotions from me other than Cameron Crowe...and his stories and characters are just the tip of the iceberg as it's the songs with which his colors his palette with that make his films great. -Tony K Chicago, IL
Why thank you 'anonymous'. I am nothing if not classy, and flattery will get you everywhere.
And Tony, I LOVE your comment. I feel the same way. Tough act to follow, who's next?
John Hughes, because twenty years later people are still talking about them. He introduced an entire generation to some memorable music.
Hughes Soundtracks
I would have to say Zach Braff and his Garden State soundtrack... Perfect from beginning to end... perfect mix of old and new songs...
Perhaps not the hippest choice, but no movie and its soundtrack meshed better than T-Bone Burnett's assembled musicians on "O Brother Where Art Thou" .. more than almost any other nonmusical movie, I just can't see "O Brother" existing without all that great old-time music, especially "Man of Constant Sorrow" and that fantastic "Oh Death" by Dr. Ralph Stanley .. P.S. .. I've seen Marie Antoinette, and the soundtrack is definitely the best thing about the flick, which is average at best but still interesting
Tarantino is a master. I don't think I'll ever hear the song
"Stuck In The Middle With You" and not immediately think of Reservoir Dogs. Dick Dale doing "Miserlou" instantly recalls Pulp Fiction. The 5.6.7.8's doing "Woo Hoo" is Kill Bill. He's so good the songs become almost inseparable from the movies.
I'm so glad people are excited about the soundtrack to Marie Antoinette! I posted the trailer on my blog ages ago because, well: how much cooler could a movie trailer be to a person who came of age in the 80s? But the question: I've always loved Hal Hartley's self-composed movie music. And in his own weird way, David Lynch never does half bad when he wants to create a certain mood or reaction with music. I mean, can anybody listen to that version of "Crying" from Mulholland Drive and not do just that?? Even without knowing a word of Spanish, I blubbered like a baby both times I saw the movie. So. Yeah.
Cameron Crowe makes soundtracks that are both mix tapes and fit the film. Zach Braff might have made one of the trendier soundtracks in the last few years (Garden State), but you can't argue with it being great...and Last Kiss ain't too shabby either (he produced it). There have been other great soundtracks, but no one has developed a track record like Crowe.
What song is it playing during the trailer?
the song playing during the trailer is new order's "age of consent"
the garden state soundtrack induces vomiting.
i dont know who the best is...but i can tell you who the best isnt - the person who did this one. bow wow wow? really?
I was too late to put C.Crowe (Singles my favorite sountrack ever) and I was next going to go with Ennio Morriconne who created my second favorite (Cinema Paradiso); not to mention every great director uses him; but he makes the music.
So, my choice is David Chase. I know Mr. Chase is not a movie maker and this probably disqualifies me, but this man has made 60+ mini movies(The Soprano's), and his batting average(of greatness for those episodes combined) is about 920%, and he also approves of and/or picks the music for the episodes. So, that said...
I love Cameron Crowes' use of music in his films. I mean, the kiss with "Last Goodbye" in Vanilla Sky, when everyone starts singing "Tiny Dancer" in Almost Famous... Classic. The story and the music become one.
BUT
I have to put a word in for good ol' Jon Brion. The way he weaves in music with visuals, and adds just a touch of lyrical whimsy create a setting, mood, and emotion in a film that can't be touched! "Strings that Tie To you" in Eternal Sunshine Of the Spotless Mind capture so elegantly the film's mood and emotion of loss and yearning along with the strong sense of nostaligia that make the movie powerful.
Anyways, mostly just wanted to put jon brion into the mix. I love his music and the way he captures a film with a simple 3 minute song.
The soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's own The Virgin Suicides is my favorite soundtrack of all time.
Whereas the soundtrack of Dazed and Confused reminds me of the "good times" of the 70's this does quite the opposite. These are songs I knew well but didn't know the true meaning of at the time. Into that she seamlessly adds a couple tracks by Air and a classic by Sloan. It even makes me appreciate Styx's Come Sail Away.
Now that's something.
For starters, you guys have missed an excellent addition to the list: Sofia Coppola. Who doesn't own all of her soundtracks, I mean, Lost in Translation was manditory late-night listening material in my house for months after I saw that film. The Phoenix cover is worth the price of the disc alone!
Here's some other choices:
1) Wes Anderson (director): Anyone who includes Tha Faces 'Ohh, La La" and Paul Simon's "Me and Julio" gets bonus points as far as I'm concerned. All of his soundtracks capture the quirkiness and sense of style his films display- I mean, two Bowie masterpieces on one soundtrack, damn, those are the best songs off of Hunky Dory, and you can find them on a soundtrack. So cool.
2) Cameron Crowe (director): Although his flicks have seriously dropped in quality, the music remains the same. 2 great discs for Elizabethtown (the more Ryan Adams the better- now release the infamous 17 track elizabethtown sessions already!), and Almost Famous introduced a host of great songs to an entire generation. Now if we could just learn to order a pizza during second period, we'd be so cool.
3) John Cusak (producer): Who doesn't love the High Fidelity soundtrack...I mean, to end that disc with Stevie Wonder's I Believe, so classy. And the fact that they included Jack Black's kick ass cover of Let's Get It On.... choice. (And the soundtrack to Grosse Pointe Blank is an excellent kickback to the John Hughes era.)
4) PT Anderson (writer): Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, and a host of 70's must have tracks litter his soundtracks, if you don't have both of the boogie nights discs you're missing out. And Magnolia's a lot better than most give it credit for.
I could write forever. Heather, thanks for the Primal Scream disc, glad I could donate to a good cause.
OK, I need to add one more, after seeing "The Departed" last night, Martin Scorsese may use music better than anyone else. What make's Scorsese's films so powerful is his ecclectic taste in music. One moment you can have a Stones song blaring and the next an aria from an opera and yet, there is something deeply emotional about both. Many of my favorite jazz, classical and operatic compositions I discovered through Scorsese films. He finds a way to metaphorically use a Spector song ("Be My Baby") to open "Mean Streets"-a movie about determining your future, leaving your past behind and ensuring that in the end, all innocence is lost. The use of "Gimme Shelter" and "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" in CASINO may be the best use of music in a film ever...and just last night in the Departed, he used a wonderful live take oof "Comfortably Numb" w/ Van Morrison on vocals to set the mood for an intense revealing scene. The opening sequence of RAGING BULL and of the opera "Calavera Rustica" is equally powerful as a slow motion Deniro jumps up and down in the boxing ring. I could probably write a book on this so I'll stop, but while Cameron Crowe beautifully uses songs to furhter his characters feelings and moods, Scorsese uses songs to paint the edges of his films to give the scenes meaning and peppering them in the background until he finds a revealing scene where he lets it all hang out to bring everything together, the way he did with "Layla" in GOODFELLAS.
I can’t disagree much with the others’ choices, but let me toss in my two cents about one of my favorite soundtracks. Natural Born Killers. There’re a lot of weenies in this fire: Oliver Stone directed the film, Quentin Tarantino wrote it, and Trent Reznor produced the soundtrack.
This soundtrack does it for me because it catches the overall creepiness of the film almost better than the film itself does. If that makes sense. The music ranges from L7 to Patsy Cline and back again, along with some snatches of dialogue from the movie (which is always a plus for me).
Bottom line: rather than reminding me of something else, a movie sooundtrack should bring back memories of the movie from which it comes. The Natural Born Killers soundtrack does that for me.
David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti for me. Wild at Heart and Mulholland Drive have perfect pictures and sounds.
i see many people had the same choices i was going to write:
cameron crowe for "singles" (one of the records i still enjoy the most, full of my favourite bands), "almost famous" and "vanilla sky" (tough i didn't like this last film, it started good with the personality question and took the wrong way at some point).
wes anderson for "rushmore", "the royal tenenbaums" (one of my favourite movies) and "the life aquatic with steve zissou". his movies too have a special musical touch.
jon brion and p.t.anderson in "magnolia" and jon brion alone in "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" which by chance i saw again last night and it's one of my fave movies too.
since nobody mentioned it yet i add one of the best soundtracks ever assembled (by todd haynes with micheal stipe as producer) for another favourite film of mines, "velvet goldmine" : the fictional bands of "the wylde ratttz" (with components of the stogees, mudhoney...) and "the venus in furs", a cameo by placebo in the movie, lots of great glam rock songs and the wonderful low singing by thom yorke (quite different from his usual way with radiohead) plus the perfect connection with the movie, make it a wonderful sountrack! it's a pity the record doesn't contain some of the best songs played during the movie...
i like all these comments about movies' soundtracks!
Without a doubt it has to be Cameron Crowe. A true master of fitting the perfect track to the emotion on screen.
Buckley's Last Goodbye on Vanilla Sky for instance - perfectly placed as Cruise leaves the apartment of Cruz on a total high.
Crowning glory has to be Almost Famous though. Given the subject matter he must've racked his brains for suitable tunes - consider how many there must have been!
The beautiful "Cortez The Killer" by Neil Young playing as they're off the plane and walking through the airport corridor - the harmonica taking you off to be alone with your thoughts and going through what they've just been through on the plane
my two favorites are wes anderson (or more accurately, mark mothersbaugh, who does music supervision for him) and cameron crowe (and/or wife nancy wilson, who does it for/with him), but personally, i felt like elizabethtown was kind of a letdown for me. i mean, i love ryan adams as much as (if not more than) the next guy, but this soundtrack was just a bit too adams-heavy for me, especially since it seemed to all be fairly well known songs from the same era. if pressed to make a decision between the two, as much as i LOVE wes' soundtracks, i'd probably have to go with cameron and nancy. music is an integral part of the films both make, and both have put out some sensational soundtracks, but three of my top five musical moments in film all come from crowe movies. those three, in order of awesomeness (or is it awesomeosity?) are:
1. the "tiny dancer" singalong on the almost famous bus
2. john cusack putting himself on the line by defiantly holding up the boom box in say anything
3. tom cruise walking into an empty times square with "everything in its right place" from vanilla sky.
Add my name to the chorus of Wes Anderson devotees.
His selections for the Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums, and Life Aquatic albums might seem eclectic at first, but the mix of classic tracks and original music by Mark Mothersbaugh always gets to the emotional core of the films.
To top it off, his choice to have Seu Jorge cover David Bowie songs for Life Aquatic was one of sheer brilliance.
Oh man, I can't wait til The Darjeeling Limited!
wong kar wai: see 'fallen angels' or 'chungking express'
while i agree that CC has a great ear for music, i felt like elizabethtown was an extended music video cut instead of a movie. there were some great songs, but i feel like some of the music was force fed to me & took away from where the scene was trying to go. if you take that out of the equation i would give him the nod overall, but i have to give mr. braff props for capturing the soundtrack of the moment with garden state.
Stereogum posts a related list, and a video clip that i'll never get tired of seeing.
Coppola's forgotten "One From The Heart" soundtrack is my favorite. Kind of a jazzy Tom Wait's version of "In The Wee Small Hours". A great late night album.
I scrolled through the comment list and was completely shocked not one person said who i was thinking.
Jon Brion.
Seriously though....
This man can both compose a soundtrack and make a soundtrack from regular songs.
Magnolia-The aimee mann focus was a heartbreaker in the movie
Punch-drunk love- Well put together. try "here we go"
I Heart Huckabees- The quirkiest, thoughtful, fun soundtrack ever.Try "didn't think it would turn out bad".
Lastly Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- This one gets me every time, i still listen to it often. Try that Beck song, "Everybodys got to learn sometime"
He also had a part in the Break-up soundtrack which is heavy on Old 97's Rhett Miller. Whom hes friends with and helped out with both of his solo albums.
Seriously, ANYONE?
JON BRION FOR PRESIDENT
he has my vote
-N
I am not even going to look at the other entries because I know someone else already said Quintin Tarantino complies the best soundtracks. They may have already said that it is not so much because of the music, but because of the authenticity. Allow me to elaborate.
Tarantino soundtracks have the feeling of an old mix-tape that a boy would make for a girl he was trying to get with. "Son of a Preacher Man", "Let's Stay Together," and "I Got Cha!" all have this seductive apeal to the fairer sex.
Tarantino soundtracks are timecapsules without the obvious clasic rock drivel that anyone can replay in their heads. Where else can you find the Stylistics, an Oak Ridge Boys sone that isn't "Elvira", or instrumental surf music that isn't "Wipeout".
That's it. You can contact me via The Merkinpatch
I have to agree with Cameron Crowe. The "In your eyes" scene from Say Anything will almost always be in my top 5 list of best film moments ever.
The "Tiny Dancer" scene from Almost Famous really brings tears to my eyes, and Bruce Springstein's "Secret Garden" just makes Jerry Maguire for me. Elizabethtowne, despite the fantastic performance of My Morning Jacket in the film itself and on the soundtrack, goes to Racheal Yamagata's beautiful smokey alto rendition of "Jesus was a Crossmaker".
Jim Jarmusch also gets a mention, for his entirly composed by The RZA soundtrack to Ghost Dog, and the jazzy african score to Broken Flowers.
And again to preach to the choir, Sofia Coppola has done amazeing things with music to promote mood and perfectly complement cinematography, mostly I am speaking of Lost In Translation. Kevin Shield's origional pieces haunt me every time I watch (Which is alot, it being one of my favorite films). They seem infused at the most basic level with that sense of lonliness and isolation that seems to permiate the entire film. Also, Choosing to close with Jesus and Mary Chain is perfect in my opinion. And whats not to love about Bill Murrey doing a fantastic Brian Ferry?
There are also a coupel of TV shows I would metion as having fantastic soundtracks, But as I am unsure of whom to give credit to, I will simply drop the names Joss Whedon and Rob Thomas respectivly and let you, the reader, figure out which shows I refer to.
A lot of the same names are popping up-- which is just a testament to their skills-- but I've got to go with Martin Scorsese. The man uses popular song to SCORE his films, for crissake! You can watch an entire film of his & just listen to the soundtrack alone, admiring how he blends one song into the other-- sometimes within the same scene (the helicopter sequence in Goodfellas comes to mind). And as one poster already mentioned, he uses everything from classic rock to Motown to opera equally effective. The opening to Raging Bull & Casino are particularly beautiful. And I think he should get royalties everytime the Rolling Stones sell an album featuring "Gimme Shelter." Marty OWNS that song! Hell, he used it TWICE in ONE scene in The Departed & it still had a great effect! Lastly, he often uses said songs to choreograph the action on screen. Case in point: "Layla" in Goodfellas. That one scene should seal the deal for any naysayer! It's one thing to play a catchy song over a scene or compile a hip soundtrack, but to actually take a popular song and use it to CHOREOGRAPH a scene as effectively as Marty does... well, it's just genius. I bet no one ever thought to associate "Layla" with mafia corpses before Goodfellas came along. Scorsese has the most amazing ears.
Stanley Kubrick:
-the Beethoven in A Clockwork Orange (particularly the menage a trois scene)
-Paint it Black at the end of Full Metal Jacket. As well as 'The Bird is a Word' in that film
-The Blue Danube during 2001, and of course, the music when the monolith is shown
-Oh god, what about the end of Dr. Strangelove? The song 'We'll Meet Again' as you are watching a mushroom cloud?
Peter Coquillard
for the movie NOWHERE 1997
radiohead
massive attack
the the
chuck d
seefeel
portishead
adorable
NIN
+more
remember, it was 1997 not 2006
for the movie kicking & screaming-1995
nick drake
freedy johnston
bob marley
alex chilton
they might be giants
the pixies
jimmy dale gilmore
If ever, I was very much impressed by a recent german independent movie called emmas glück (emmas luck, as a not so rough translation) which included three songs: one by azure ray, one by kristofer âström, and one more which I don't recall now. anyway, even the lyrics fit the story (which I won't spoil here), not to speak of the mood... I mean, they even used Kritofers song twice, once during it and then in the end credits. you noticed it and were just glad to be able to listen to it again. so go watch the movie and be impressed...
arnulf (koehncke ett gmx dot de)
As the catalyst for this question is the new Sofia Coppola film, it is only fair to mention Brian Reitzell, Coppola's composer/music supervisor/much much more.
Brian's work on The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette aside, he has helped muscially sculpt the soundtracks for a lot of other non-Coppola films.
On Friday Night Lights he helped provide a non-traiditonal score for a big studio film by bringing in Explosions in the Sky. He worked with Tim Delaughter from The Polyphonic Spree for Thumbsucker. Most recently he worked with Britt Daniel from Spoon on Stranger than Fiction.
He's doing something above what many traditional composers or music supervisors are doing, in that he pulls songs and artists together, then writes music to provide a fully cohesive musical body for the film.
There's more, but I think I've made my point.
He doesn't use modern pop music, but few put together a better soundtrack than Woody Allen. Even if his movies are sometimes less than perfect, his soundtracks are flawless. The music always complements the movie, rather than overshadowing it and he has a knack for finding the right song to capture the mood, from Diane Keaton singing "Seems Like Old Times" in Annie Hall to "Cheek to Cheek" in The Purple Rose of Cairo. The opening scene of Manhattan, set to Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, is maybe the best juxtaposition of music and images ever, with the fireworks and the sunrise right in step with momentum of the music. I'm gushing, I guess, but watch it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyY4EUR4by8
oops, email:laurenoc1026(at)gmail(dot)com.
sorry!
It has to be Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction not only set a mark in movie history, but it also ser a mark in movies soundtracks' history. He turned the soundtrack an element so strong that it becomes independent from the movie (who doesn't have the Pulp Fiction OST CD?), and yet it matches the movie beautifully.
Need I say more? Ok, so I will: Kill Bill.
I didn't have the necessary hour and a half to read through all these (knowledgable) entries, but did anyone happen to catch "Laurel Canyon" and hear Mark Eitzel's semi-score? How about Low doing the entire score for "Mothman Prophecies?" Also, don't forget Michael Andrews' (again, don't know if anyone already mentioned it) contribution to "Me and You and Everyone We Know?" That score made that movie, or as director Miranda July said in the liner notes, it "added the yellow" to the film.
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