Soundtrack: Kill Bill Vol. 1
Supervisor(s): RZA
Released: 2003
Genre(s): Rock'n'Roll, 1960's, 1970's Score




DOWNLOAD -- Kill Bill Vol. 1

I saw the Kill Bill films back to back at a special screening in Hollywood in 2003. Tarantino spoke in between both films. Its the only time I've ever seen him speak. He was exactly as hilarious and ridiculous as you would think. A total character of himself he obsessed over Uma, he threw excitement out in the crowd on the films that he obsessed with-- his inspirations for both films. One of my favorite moments was talking about his collaboration with the RZA for making the Kill Bill duo. The "Main Title" in Vol. 1 was something the RZA heard in a Vietnamese restaurant in West LA. He was eating dinner and liked it so much that he convinced the restaurant to lend him the actual CD. He called Quentin after dinner and said he "found it".

I found this really cool interview with the RZA. Check out this excerpt:

"It was more of a collaboration. He had an idea and a vision when he wrote the script. I think I was more of somebody that kept it in the guidelines of what he wanted. He was like, here go the eggs, the milk, the cake, the sugar, everything, and I’m going to stir it up. Put this in the oven, watch it, take it out in forty five minutes. Now, am I going to take it out in forty five minutes or am I going to fall asleep? I made sure it got out and if I saw something wrong with it, I fixed it. So when he saw it, he was like, this is cake. ...there was one situation where you see, "Crane and White Lightning", that’s part of the original score, so it’s not really a song. A lot of that stuff is what I use to keep the vibe going between songs. "Crane and White Lightning" is a piece of music that Quentin wanted on the soundtrack, but was originally set for a Metallica track. There’s only one piece of music that I didn’t feel comfortable with when we were done. We lost a sample, I made one Hip Hop beat. I was like I gotta throw one in there. Quentin loved this beat. We rocked with it and it was one of the first things we did. I could've gotten away with it, it was a sample, but so undetectable, so unnoticeable. I wanted to take a chance, but in the movie business you can’t take those kind of chances. I wouldn’t risk nobody else. If it was my movie, I would have taken a chance, but this is Quentin Tarantino’s movie.

Soundtrack: Death Proof
Supervisor(s): Quentin Tarantino
Released: 2007
Genre(s): Funky, Score, Classical, Rock'n'Roll




DOWNLOAD -- Death Proof

A Soundtrack of Soundtracks. From Morricone to Jack Nitzsche, Tarantino compiles another homage of goodies. Only this time, suspense weighs in even heavier.

Soundtrack: Vanilla Sky
Supervisor(s): Cameron Crowe
Released: 2001
Genre(s): Score, Rock'n'Roll, Electronic




DOWNLOAD -- Vanilla Sky

This film hit home for me in so many ways. Whether its all the pop-culture references, the after-life concept of a Radiohead song opening the film, Vanilla Sky is a wonder of story mixed with amazing direction, acting and of course, music! As with most of Cameron's films, he mixes in the "classics" with the "new-classics". In this case its an homage to Dylan and the first notes Sigur Ros got in a major motion picture. Sigur Ros was never the same since their first tour in America and shortly thereafter two songs in this film. But it's not just the music that makes this film nostalgic and a love of mine. It's those moments where Crowe puts in his personal touches (something the original film could never do). It's Townshend's shattered guitar in the apartment, it's the replication of the Positively 4th Street photo or even that scene where the main character faces his own life's dilemma (wouldn't only it be fitting that Sigur Ros is playing?). A wonderful compilation for a wonderful film.

My favorite Cameron Crowe quote in regards Soundtracks:

“Films are just something you have to do, you know, to promote the soundtracks and keep the suits at the studios happy.”

Stand By Me

Soundtrack: Stand By Me
Supervisor(s): Buddy Holly, The Coasters, The Del Vikings & More
Released: 1986
Genre(s): Oldies, Rock'N'Roll




DOWNLOAD -- Stand by Me

Rob Reiner's classic nostalgic friendship film is a perfect playlist companion to last weeks American Graffiti soundtrack. Short and Sweet, this 10-Song set is a perfect 1958 Radio set.

Soundtrack: American Graffiti
Supervisor(s): Wolfman jack
Released: 1973
Genre(s): Oldies, Rock'N'Roll



DOWNLOAD -- American Graffiti pt1

DOWNLOAD -- American Graffiti pt2

Shot in just 29 days on a shoestring budget, American Graffiti vaulted 28-year-old George Lucas to directing stardom. His bittersweet coming-of-age story influenced dozens of teen angst films to come, and many of his young, mostly unknown cast members went on to stardom.This is a great '60s sound track and a poignant turn by Wolfman Jack as himself, American Graffiti is a funny, sweet, nostalgic slice of American pie.

Soundtrack: The Last Waltz
Composer(s): The Band
Released: 1976
Genre(s): classic rock, concert film



DOWNLOAD -- the Last Waltz p1
DOWNLOAD -- the Last Waltz p2
DOWNLOAD -- the Last Waltz p3

Beginning with a title card saying "This film should be played loud!" the concert documentary is an essay on The Band's influences and their career. The group – Rick Danko on bass, violin and vocals, Levon Helm on drums, mandolin and vocals, Garth Hudson on keyboards and saxophone, Richard Manuel on keyboards, percussion and vocals, and guitarist-songwriter Robbie Robertson – started out in the late 1950s as a rock and roll band led by Ronnie Hawkins, and Hawkins himself appears as the first guest. The group backed Bob Dylan in the 1960s, and Dylan performs with The Band towards the end of the concert.
Rick Danko performs in the concert with a Gibson Ripper bass. Various other artists perform with The Band: Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Dr. John, Neil Diamond and Eric Clapton. Genres covered include blues, rock and roll, New Orleans R&B, Tin Pan Alley pop, folk and rock. Further genres are explored in segments filmed later on a sound stage with Emmylou Harris (country) and The Staple Singers (soul and gospel).

This 4-disc compilation is the complete recordings. See the comments for track listing.

Soundtrack: Darjeeling Limited
Composer(s): Satyajit Ray, The Kinks, Rolling Stones
Year: 2007
Genre(s): classic rock, bollywood score

DOWNLOAD -- The Darjeeling Limited

As one of the best compilers in contemporary cinema, Wes Anderson has a knack for fitting interesting musical compositions in his films, often time even using a majority of the songs in their entirety for montages, action scenes or even dramatic moments. Darjeeling is no different than other Anderson scores in terms of this integration. One breakthrough for this score, was Wes Anderson's choice to incorporate a larger variety of foreign music taken from other films and without bringing on the the ever-talented Mark Mothersbaugh to score the film.

While I miss Mark Mothersbaugh's quirky influence on the films style, I think Darjeeling is a more mixed soundtrack with some really interesting choices including many songs from mid-60's Bengali movie god Satyajit Ray. One of the most notable uses of Satyajit Ray's amazing scoring in Darjeeling is "Charu's Theme", from the 1964 film, Charulata. The score works so well in Darjeeling you would swear it was made for the film.

Watch the entire Satyajit Ray classic Charluta here:



Watch the entire Darjeeling Limited (2007) here on you tube (10 parts).

Soundtrack: Crime + Punishment in Suburbia
Composer/Artist(s): Frank Black, Toadies, Sleater Kinney, Meat Puppets, more
Year: 2000
Genre(s): "Western-Influenced" late 90's Indie Rock

DOWNLOAD -- Crime+Punishment in Suburbia

So this week, I bring one of my favorite 90's soundtracks out of the vault. The compilation is perfect for any Pixies fan. Frank Black and Joey Santiago both contribute original instrumentals in addition to a Pixies' cover (Monkey Gone to Heaven) from Far. The Soundtrack kicks off with classic LCW-era Modest Mouse and also has songs by Sleater Kinney, Meat Puppets, and Guided by Voices. My favorite track on this soundtrack comes from a band called Op8 and their track "Sand". OP8 was the musical collaboration of the multi-instrumentalist Lisa Germano; Howe Gelb, the man behind the rock band Giant Sand; Joey Burns and John Convertino, who later formed Calexico. OP8 only released one record in 1997.

The soundtrack is very western in theme, and the director Rob Schmidt has this to say in the Liner Notes...

"We set out to make a movie about outsiders and kids who secretly suspect that they're outsiders... Music is one of the only places where it's safe to feel things, to be at home. Especially if you're trapped in a house that you can't leave, in a town that you can't escape, music is one of the only places that you can live. It is a Sanctuary. Modest Mouse has an album titled "Lonesome Crowded West". That was the thing we wanted to get across in the soundtrack. A western, suburban wasteland from a teenage point of view. We wanted to bring indie rock, electronica, and old school Western styles of music into the movie and I believe we've done that. Joey Santiago and Frank Black from the Pixies were very important in creating the score. I love them and the work they did on our film. Michael Brook, who scored Affliction was responsible for much of the western flavor in our score."

For me, this soundtrack was the first introduction I had on Modest Mouse. I had heard of them, I had heard them... but I was listening to KSCU in Santa Clara, CA working in a photo lab when I heard the moody and benevolent swings in this classic Modest Mouse track ("Trailer Trash"). It had an immediate impression on me and I ran out to get the Lonesome Crowded West... the rest is history when it comes to what that album did to my musical tastes.

Just for kicks. I found this Modest Mouse show bootlegged July 5, 1998, hear a crazy version of "Trailer Trash" here.

As for the film, I never have seen Crime+Punishment in Suburbia. It looks like a dated film that borrows (and is loosely based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment") all the nostalgia from the aforementioned films, but perhaps on less of a budget? I don't know... It looks pretty cornball from the youtube clips.