Five questions I asked myself last night while watching Snow Patrol play the Beacon:
Is this the Sound Check or the performance for paying customers?
Do these guys have any balls whatsoever?
Why didn’t I pick the Yeah Yeah Yeahs over this dreck?
Is anyone in this joint having any fun?
Is this pussy music or music for pussies?
Needless to say, I thought Snow Patrol put on a pretty dismal show last night. My core criticism: the band couldn’t generate any energy and, as a result, it felt like the band had almost NO connection with the crowd. There was simply no “juice” in the theater. Even in instances where the band played songs with dramatic tempo changes, Snow Patrol was unable to move the needle. Adding to the problem ….Gary Lightbody’s stage presence was, to put it kindly, awkward. No charisma. No presence. No testicles. Listen, I know everyone can’t be Dave Grohl, or Bono, or Wayne Coyne. And even rock stars sometimes come up short of being “ROCK STARS.” But let me tell you something about Gary Lightbody…..if that is the best he can muster, then perhaps he should consider giving up the touring and stick with studio work …..Molly?
Molly: Agreed. Nice songs, sure. Good show? Not so much. (And I'd like to gently remind you that I asked if you'd rather see YYY at Radio City and the answer was No, on account of their new album being "not so good.")
I tend to dred the stage banter at even the best of shows and when it's bad, it's cringeworthy. Last night I couldn't even look at the stage when Gary Lightbody (an unfortunately accurate name) was - for lack of a better term - doing material. BAD material. New York City cab driver material. Oy.
I had no problems with the songs themselves and the sound was great and their voices were great and I think they played their songs very very well, but that invisible Thing which makes live music worthwhile was sorely absent. I don't know if the venue was wrong for them (too big? too small? too formal? Sometimes I think seats ruin shows because people tend to watch the concert like a performance rather than allowing themselves to participate the way a standing, sweaty audience does.) or if they are just not a great live band (although they've been opening for U2! The biggest band in the world!) but I have felt more electricity from crappy little bar bands opening for other crappy bar bands in crappy venues on crappy nights.
A few years ago I saw Coldplay at MSG and came away similarly turned off. No balls. No charisma. No...nothing. Nice songs, but nothing made me want to stand up and holler, and that is what I like concerts to do for me. When I saw R.E.M. last year (as a casual but decidely non-hardcore fan) I had goosebumps and I teared up more than once, because Michael Stipe IS JUST THAT GOOD. Some people are rock stars. Some people are singers. I think we spent last night with the latter.
But, how sweet was it to walk two blocks to a concert?
Mediocrity is a lot more appealing when it's right around the corner.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
NOW HITTING ...........
Today's topic ......this comes straight out of the "first date" question database: What song would be played when your name was introduced as you come to bat? Or more broadly, what is your personal background music? Interestingly, this question was raised recently in a blog authored by one of the gals who fronted Sleater Kinney (one of Don's top-five bands, maybe top-3), so we thought we would publish our own answers ........
Don: Well, I can't possibly be limited to just one song as different occasions demand different tunes. Any fool could tell you that you can't play the same music when you stride to bat as you would use when you are coming in from the bullpen to close a game. So here are my songs and settings...
Coming in from the Pen to close out a tight game ...it's hard to top Mariano Rivera (Enter Sandman), Trevor Hoffman (Hells Bells), and Jonathan Paplebon (Shipping up to Boston) in this category but I am going with Bodies by Drowning Pool. "LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR! LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR!" This song doesn't scream for a strikeout, it screams for murder. And against NY, I would want that thing cranked to 11. Granted, it's a bit white trash but it would have the stadium shaking, perhaps melting. And it might be the first entry music that comes with a warning label.
Molly: Well, any fool could tell you that you can't play the same music when you come to bat as when you enter a game from the bullpen, but dude, I'm a girl and it's hard enough for me to find songs with the appropriate, um, balls to satisfy this question so bear with me...
I like Cowboy, by Eve for my at bat music although maybe it's better when I'm coming in from the bullpen to close a game although I'm guessing it's a little too...peppy. I might go with I Turn My Camera On, by Spoon, for at bat music but I'm told that alt-pop is not necessarily the way to go with these things. I might also go with Malibu by Hole but I realize that it's probably better suited to entering a cheerleading competition than a
baseball game. And as a final entry I'll add the intro to Paradise City by GnR because that's just a good song.
Don: My "coming to bat" music is a little more difficult as the song only plays for a few moments. Some guys go for songs with little plays on their names (Roger Clemens ..Rocket Man) and some go for songs that have some other meaning. I will head in a different direction and just go with something that has a powerful and familiar guitar riff. Something like: Bullet with Butterfly Wings, by the Smashing Pumpkins. Close second...Foo Fighters' Everlong because it's a favorite and there are a number of riffs in there that scream: ADRENALINE. It's a shame that you don't get to play a song before you hit on the road (at least as far as I know) because in that case, I would have a "road" song as well. This one is a bit more controversial and it is meant to shock the conservative sensibilities that exist in parks stretching from Anaheim, to Kansas City to Atlanta. Drum roll please ..Closer by Nine Inch Nails. I would love to sneak a peek at the Orange and Marietta County stepford moms when Trent sings .."I want to fuck you from the Inside, I want to fuck you like an animal ..." But that's just me.
Molly: I should first stipulate that the answer to pretty much any music-related question can be answered with: Everlong. Don has invoked it so I won't steal, but there are not many occasions on which it DOESN'T work. Weddings and funerals? Play the acoustic version. Coming up to bat? Blast the original recording. Dancing around your apartment after a few glasses of wine? Any and all versions work. Make out music? Ditto. IT ALWAYS WORKS. That said, I don't even have a team, per se, but it's hard for me not to think of myself as representing New York (even though we HATE THE YANKEES in our household) so if I were on the road I'm inclined to play some Beasties, maybe No Sleep Til Brooklyn or Slow & Low or Sabotage.
Don: For my Campaign song (think Don't Stop Believing ), I think it has to be either patriotic or a feel good song, no? If I was going to run as a challenger, I might go with Rockin in a Free World, by Neil Young. It might cost me in some of the "feel good" red states, but I am here to shake things up so who gives a shit about Tennessee? (Molly: Wasn't that issue debated ad naseum on the ESPN chat board during last week's UCLA game?) And in my re-election, I am going to run a "skies are blue" campaign, and that leads me to one place: Mr. Blue Sky by ELO. Finally, my victory night song? You know, the one they play as you come out to accept the win. Well, that has to be Zeppelin's Thank You And finally, to wrap things up ..my funeral and/or memorial song. Another layup for me. A favorite song from a favorite band ...Do You Realize by The Lips.
Molly: Campaign music? Oy. I'm surprised you didn't pick Fortunate Son (ed note: There is a back story, a bad one)...but I'll say Beautiful Day by U2, I suppose. These categories are all you, Ballgame. I'm terrible at campaign songs and only marginally better at at-bat music. But I want Liz Phair's Mesmerizing to play whenever I enter a room.
Don: I'm glad she picked that song and not "Fuck and Run".
Don: Well, I can't possibly be limited to just one song as different occasions demand different tunes. Any fool could tell you that you can't play the same music when you stride to bat as you would use when you are coming in from the bullpen to close a game. So here are my songs and settings...
Coming in from the Pen to close out a tight game ...it's hard to top Mariano Rivera (Enter Sandman), Trevor Hoffman (Hells Bells), and Jonathan Paplebon (Shipping up to Boston) in this category but I am going with Bodies by Drowning Pool. "LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR! LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR!" This song doesn't scream for a strikeout, it screams for murder. And against NY, I would want that thing cranked to 11. Granted, it's a bit white trash but it would have the stadium shaking, perhaps melting. And it might be the first entry music that comes with a warning label.
Molly: Well, any fool could tell you that you can't play the same music when you come to bat as when you enter a game from the bullpen, but dude, I'm a girl and it's hard enough for me to find songs with the appropriate, um, balls to satisfy this question so bear with me...
I like Cowboy, by Eve for my at bat music although maybe it's better when I'm coming in from the bullpen to close a game although I'm guessing it's a little too...peppy. I might go with I Turn My Camera On, by Spoon, for at bat music but I'm told that alt-pop is not necessarily the way to go with these things. I might also go with Malibu by Hole but I realize that it's probably better suited to entering a cheerleading competition than a
baseball game. And as a final entry I'll add the intro to Paradise City by GnR because that's just a good song.
Don: My "coming to bat" music is a little more difficult as the song only plays for a few moments. Some guys go for songs with little plays on their names (Roger Clemens ..Rocket Man) and some go for songs that have some other meaning. I will head in a different direction and just go with something that has a powerful and familiar guitar riff. Something like: Bullet with Butterfly Wings, by the Smashing Pumpkins. Close second...Foo Fighters' Everlong because it's a favorite and there are a number of riffs in there that scream: ADRENALINE. It's a shame that you don't get to play a song before you hit on the road (at least as far as I know) because in that case, I would have a "road" song as well. This one is a bit more controversial and it is meant to shock the conservative sensibilities that exist in parks stretching from Anaheim, to Kansas City to Atlanta. Drum roll please ..Closer by Nine Inch Nails. I would love to sneak a peek at the Orange and Marietta County stepford moms when Trent sings .."I want to fuck you from the Inside, I want to fuck you like an animal ..." But that's just me.
Molly: I should first stipulate that the answer to pretty much any music-related question can be answered with: Everlong. Don has invoked it so I won't steal, but there are not many occasions on which it DOESN'T work. Weddings and funerals? Play the acoustic version. Coming up to bat? Blast the original recording. Dancing around your apartment after a few glasses of wine? Any and all versions work. Make out music? Ditto. IT ALWAYS WORKS. That said, I don't even have a team, per se, but it's hard for me not to think of myself as representing New York (even though we HATE THE YANKEES in our household) so if I were on the road I'm inclined to play some Beasties, maybe No Sleep Til Brooklyn or Slow & Low or Sabotage.
Don: For my Campaign song (think Don't Stop Believing ), I think it has to be either patriotic or a feel good song, no? If I was going to run as a challenger, I might go with Rockin in a Free World, by Neil Young. It might cost me in some of the "feel good" red states, but I am here to shake things up so who gives a shit about Tennessee? (Molly: Wasn't that issue debated ad naseum on the ESPN chat board during last week's UCLA game?) And in my re-election, I am going to run a "skies are blue" campaign, and that leads me to one place: Mr. Blue Sky by ELO. Finally, my victory night song? You know, the one they play as you come out to accept the win. Well, that has to be Zeppelin's Thank You And finally, to wrap things up ..my funeral and/or memorial song. Another layup for me. A favorite song from a favorite band ...Do You Realize by The Lips.
Molly: Campaign music? Oy. I'm surprised you didn't pick Fortunate Son (ed note: There is a back story, a bad one)...but I'll say Beautiful Day by U2, I suppose. These categories are all you, Ballgame. I'm terrible at campaign songs and only marginally better at at-bat music. But I want Liz Phair's Mesmerizing to play whenever I enter a room.
Don: I'm glad she picked that song and not "Fuck and Run".
Monday, September 14, 2009
Motoring, Redux: Music and Movie Scenes
While it's not necessarily comprehensive and in no way complete, we worked long and hard (thatswhatshesaid) and came up with our top 10 movie scene/song combos. It's a highly subjective selection, because duh, what's the fun in anything that isn't? Enjoy!
DON SAYS:
(Because this is such a far-ranging question, I am going to impose some discipline and limit my list to only that music that existed before the film was made. As such, original background scores are out even though they sometimes are critical to a movie and are highly recognizable. So no Rocky and no Chariots of Fire. Also out………songs that were written specifically for a movie and achieved commercial success thereafter. So, there is no Saturday Night Fever, no Bodyguard, no Streets of Fire, no fucking Titanic. Lastly, my list will be determined by two factors: 1) what role did the song play in “making” the scene; and, 2) how strongly I associate the song with the film.)
I have to have at least one piece of classical music on my list and I have narrowed it down to two pieces …..Carmen from Bad News Bears and The Ride of Valkries from Apocalypse Now . This is a close call for me, especially as I am a huge BNB fan and I am one of the only 40 something males who thought AN was hugely overrated, but the helicopter attack scene from that movie is one of the greats in film history and that song absolutely made the scene. In a nutshell, you can’t think of that movie, let alone that scene, and not think of that song.
A Million Miles Away, the Plimsouls, Valley Girl: (song begins at 3:45) This movie is a big part of my childhood growing up in Santa Monica and I can’t think about this movie without thinking about the song. A funny thing about this inclusion though: in the film, Nick Cage is supposed to be a punk rocker and this song is supposed to represent his lifestyle. The movie was released in 1983 and I listened to a fair amount of punk rock that year. I don’t remember anyone ever linking the Plimsouls with the Dead Kennedy’s or the Circle Jerks.
Shadow on the Sun, Audioslave, from the movie Collateral: Michael Mann is just about the best in the business at doing “nighttime mood,” especially in Los Angeles and this song absolutely crushes it. Haunting and desperate. Chris Cornell’s vocals over-layed on a wolf running through the streets of downtown LA ……all worked perfectly for me.
You’ll be a Woman Soon, Urge Overkill, Pulp Fiction:One of the things that Tarrantino does so well is take obscure music and incorporate it into his films. There aren’t many people outside of hard-core Neil Diamond fans who could have identified this song before Pulp Fiction. After its release, is there anyone who couldn’t answer this question on Jeopardy?
Your Hand in Mine, Explosions in the Sky, Friday Night Lights: This instrumental is the background during the climactic scene where Permian comes up just short in the Texas State AAAAA Football Championship. There is no dialogue because this song captures the disappointment so perfectly. Kids dejected. Tim McGraw making amends with his kid. Coaches despondent. All backed by a couple of steel guitars that convey it all. (ed. note: Don and I saw EinS this summer and I am pretty sure that HE CRIED for the love of the music. -- m.)
Sister Christian, Night Ranger, Boogie Nights: This song backs one of my favorite film scenes, PERIOD! But it does more than just back the scene. It helps make the scene. The scene is edited so fucking well that all the tempo changes in the song perfectly heighten the tension that is critical to the scene. The funny thing is …….when Sister Christian ends, the tape flips over to Jessie’s Girl and that song works almost as perfectly. At the end of the day, who can ever hear Sister Christian and not think about this crazy scene?
Layla, Derek and the Dominoes, Goodfellas: Is it cliché for a 40 year-old male like myself to include something from GoodFellas on a list like this? Probably, but there is no denying Scorsese nailed this one. As that fat little kid wanders up to the pink caddy and Clapton’s piano kicks in, you had film history. Scorsese might have listened to 1000 songs before settling on Layla and his choice probably would have been the same had he listened to 10,000. When it works, it works.
Moving in Stereo, The Cars, Fast Times at Ridgemont High: To a 14 year-old boy, what is more memorable than Phoebe Cates’ TITS? This song and Ms. Cates will be forever linked in my mind and most males born between the years of 1966 and 1971.
Tessie, Dropkick Murphys, Fever Pitch: I watch 150 Red Sox games a year. You don’t think I am going to include a song that is linked to the greatest comeback in baseball history? In the film, the song kicks in after a 90 second montage that summarizes those eight beautiful nights in October of 2004. I argue that it is the greatest 90 seconds in film history!
Lunatic Fringe, Red Rider, VisionQuest: This one is near and dear to my heart. The song backs a scene where Matt Modine is firing himself up to wrestle an unbeatable state champ. I found the scene and song inspiring and as a result, I had the song on a mix that I‘d listen to when I was psyching myself up in HS. How can such a song not be on the list?
MOLLY SAYS:
Golden Years, First Knight. Shut up, I like it. It's a silly movie, sure, but I could watch Heath Ledger (sniff) dancing over and over again, happily.
I am scrapping my Pixies cover/karaoke choice from (500) Days of Summer and adding Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield, in Pulp Fiction. It’s hard to choose between this song and the Urge Overkill song, but as frantic and restless as Uma Thurman made Mia (which was totally underscored by that song), John Travolta made Vincent sooooo smooth, and SooPM completely captures that for me. And I don’t even LIKE John Travolta!
Mad World, The Church (do covers count?), Donnie Darko: It might not technically fit the criteria (is over a montage at the end) but it’s moody and weird and I remember trying to buy the single after seeing the movie and at that time, it wasn’t available and I don’t know if it’s ever been released but even when I hear the original Tears for Fears version, I think of this odd, odd movie.
Be For Real, Afghan Whigs, Beautiful Girls: Greg Dulli’s voice is gritty and familiar in the same way that the characters and hometown in this movie are gritty and familiar. It makes me want to drink cheap beer and waste lots of money on a jukebox.
More Than This (potentially not allowed on this list as it is karaoke), Bill Murray, Lost in Translation: It makes my heart hurt. This is my idea of a perfect movie and while the karaoke might not be technically eligible in this category, Bill Murray says everything while he is singing to Charlotte/Scarlett.
In Your Eyes, Peter Gabriel, Say Anything: It's too obvious, sure, but how can I *not* include the boombox? I was a thirteen year old girl when I saw this movie. It was my prom theme, for christ's sake. I mean, COME ON!
This Woman's Work, Kate Bush, She's Having a Baby: (Starts at 3:20ish)Tears. The first time I saw this movie I thought it was funny. I was a kid and things like ‘marriage’ and ‘fertility’ and ‘fatherhood’ were not really forefront in my mind, but I knew that when Kevin Bacon was in that waiting room, he was scared. When I watch that scene now, as an adult, it stings even more because I can appreciate how complicated relationships can be, but I also can appreciate those moments of clarity that come along every now and then.
American Girl, playing as Brooke Smith drives to her abduction in Silence of the Lambs: Classic. I can think of several singing-along-in-the-car scenes that stand out (Tom Cruise singing Free Fallin’ in Jerry Maguire, John Mahoney singing Ricky Don’t Lose that Number in Say Anything), but this one wins for me because the actress is so open and comfortable yet you still can feel something sordid and dark on the edge of the scene and them BOOM, she’s putting the lotion in the basket.
Tiny Dancer, Almost Famous: So sincere it is impossible not to love. This entire movie is sweet and sun-dappled and watching this scene is like leaning against your best friend’s shoulder and getting a soft hug in return. Or something like that.
Sister Christian by Night Ranger, in the scene with Alfred Molina and the coke, Boogie Nights: Duh. It’s uncomfortable to watch it’s so tense and vivid and everything about it is strung out and it’s pretty much perfect.
I have to give one honorable mention to the song Breathe Me by Sia which was played over the last scene of Six Feet Under and is therefore forever and always linked to my greatest emotional breakdown, ever. EVER! For months and months I could not hear that song without almost choking. No other song has ever had a lasting and visceral impact on me like that, no other scene has ever caused MASSIVE EMOTIONAL TRAUMA the way the end of Six Feet Under did, but as it's not in a movie I am leaving it off my list. Or at least, off *this* list. Layla/Goodfellas, Gimee Shelter/The Departed, If You Leave/Sixteen Candles, Stuck in the Middle With You/Resevoir Dogs, I’m Shipping Up to Boston/The Departed, Dry the Rain/High Fidelity are all on my short(well, shortish) list as well.
DON SAYS:
(Because this is such a far-ranging question, I am going to impose some discipline and limit my list to only that music that existed before the film was made. As such, original background scores are out even though they sometimes are critical to a movie and are highly recognizable. So no Rocky and no Chariots of Fire. Also out………songs that were written specifically for a movie and achieved commercial success thereafter. So, there is no Saturday Night Fever, no Bodyguard, no Streets of Fire, no fucking Titanic. Lastly, my list will be determined by two factors: 1) what role did the song play in “making” the scene; and, 2) how strongly I associate the song with the film.)
I have to have at least one piece of classical music on my list and I have narrowed it down to two pieces …..Carmen from Bad News Bears and The Ride of Valkries from Apocalypse Now . This is a close call for me, especially as I am a huge BNB fan and I am one of the only 40 something males who thought AN was hugely overrated, but the helicopter attack scene from that movie is one of the greats in film history and that song absolutely made the scene. In a nutshell, you can’t think of that movie, let alone that scene, and not think of that song.
A Million Miles Away, the Plimsouls, Valley Girl: (song begins at 3:45) This movie is a big part of my childhood growing up in Santa Monica and I can’t think about this movie without thinking about the song. A funny thing about this inclusion though: in the film, Nick Cage is supposed to be a punk rocker and this song is supposed to represent his lifestyle. The movie was released in 1983 and I listened to a fair amount of punk rock that year. I don’t remember anyone ever linking the Plimsouls with the Dead Kennedy’s or the Circle Jerks.
Shadow on the Sun, Audioslave, from the movie Collateral: Michael Mann is just about the best in the business at doing “nighttime mood,” especially in Los Angeles and this song absolutely crushes it. Haunting and desperate. Chris Cornell’s vocals over-layed on a wolf running through the streets of downtown LA ……all worked perfectly for me.
You’ll be a Woman Soon, Urge Overkill, Pulp Fiction:One of the things that Tarrantino does so well is take obscure music and incorporate it into his films. There aren’t many people outside of hard-core Neil Diamond fans who could have identified this song before Pulp Fiction. After its release, is there anyone who couldn’t answer this question on Jeopardy?
Your Hand in Mine, Explosions in the Sky, Friday Night Lights: This instrumental is the background during the climactic scene where Permian comes up just short in the Texas State AAAAA Football Championship. There is no dialogue because this song captures the disappointment so perfectly. Kids dejected. Tim McGraw making amends with his kid. Coaches despondent. All backed by a couple of steel guitars that convey it all. (ed. note: Don and I saw EinS this summer and I am pretty sure that HE CRIED for the love of the music. -- m.)
Sister Christian, Night Ranger, Boogie Nights: This song backs one of my favorite film scenes, PERIOD! But it does more than just back the scene. It helps make the scene. The scene is edited so fucking well that all the tempo changes in the song perfectly heighten the tension that is critical to the scene. The funny thing is …….when Sister Christian ends, the tape flips over to Jessie’s Girl and that song works almost as perfectly. At the end of the day, who can ever hear Sister Christian and not think about this crazy scene?
Layla, Derek and the Dominoes, Goodfellas: Is it cliché for a 40 year-old male like myself to include something from GoodFellas on a list like this? Probably, but there is no denying Scorsese nailed this one. As that fat little kid wanders up to the pink caddy and Clapton’s piano kicks in, you had film history. Scorsese might have listened to 1000 songs before settling on Layla and his choice probably would have been the same had he listened to 10,000. When it works, it works.
Moving in Stereo, The Cars, Fast Times at Ridgemont High: To a 14 year-old boy, what is more memorable than Phoebe Cates’ TITS? This song and Ms. Cates will be forever linked in my mind and most males born between the years of 1966 and 1971.
Tessie, Dropkick Murphys, Fever Pitch: I watch 150 Red Sox games a year. You don’t think I am going to include a song that is linked to the greatest comeback in baseball history? In the film, the song kicks in after a 90 second montage that summarizes those eight beautiful nights in October of 2004. I argue that it is the greatest 90 seconds in film history!
Lunatic Fringe, Red Rider, VisionQuest: This one is near and dear to my heart. The song backs a scene where Matt Modine is firing himself up to wrestle an unbeatable state champ. I found the scene and song inspiring and as a result, I had the song on a mix that I‘d listen to when I was psyching myself up in HS. How can such a song not be on the list?
MOLLY SAYS:
Golden Years, First Knight. Shut up, I like it. It's a silly movie, sure, but I could watch Heath Ledger (sniff) dancing over and over again, happily.
I am scrapping my Pixies cover/karaoke choice from (500) Days of Summer and adding Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield, in Pulp Fiction. It’s hard to choose between this song and the Urge Overkill song, but as frantic and restless as Uma Thurman made Mia (which was totally underscored by that song), John Travolta made Vincent sooooo smooth, and SooPM completely captures that for me. And I don’t even LIKE John Travolta!
Mad World, The Church (do covers count?), Donnie Darko: It might not technically fit the criteria (is over a montage at the end) but it’s moody and weird and I remember trying to buy the single after seeing the movie and at that time, it wasn’t available and I don’t know if it’s ever been released but even when I hear the original Tears for Fears version, I think of this odd, odd movie.
Be For Real, Afghan Whigs, Beautiful Girls: Greg Dulli’s voice is gritty and familiar in the same way that the characters and hometown in this movie are gritty and familiar. It makes me want to drink cheap beer and waste lots of money on a jukebox.
More Than This (potentially not allowed on this list as it is karaoke), Bill Murray, Lost in Translation: It makes my heart hurt. This is my idea of a perfect movie and while the karaoke might not be technically eligible in this category, Bill Murray says everything while he is singing to Charlotte/Scarlett.
In Your Eyes, Peter Gabriel, Say Anything: It's too obvious, sure, but how can I *not* include the boombox? I was a thirteen year old girl when I saw this movie. It was my prom theme, for christ's sake. I mean, COME ON!
This Woman's Work, Kate Bush, She's Having a Baby: (Starts at 3:20ish)Tears. The first time I saw this movie I thought it was funny. I was a kid and things like ‘marriage’ and ‘fertility’ and ‘fatherhood’ were not really forefront in my mind, but I knew that when Kevin Bacon was in that waiting room, he was scared. When I watch that scene now, as an adult, it stings even more because I can appreciate how complicated relationships can be, but I also can appreciate those moments of clarity that come along every now and then.
American Girl, playing as Brooke Smith drives to her abduction in Silence of the Lambs: Classic. I can think of several singing-along-in-the-car scenes that stand out (Tom Cruise singing Free Fallin’ in Jerry Maguire, John Mahoney singing Ricky Don’t Lose that Number in Say Anything), but this one wins for me because the actress is so open and comfortable yet you still can feel something sordid and dark on the edge of the scene and them BOOM, she’s putting the lotion in the basket.
Tiny Dancer, Almost Famous: So sincere it is impossible not to love. This entire movie is sweet and sun-dappled and watching this scene is like leaning against your best friend’s shoulder and getting a soft hug in return. Or something like that.
Sister Christian by Night Ranger, in the scene with Alfred Molina and the coke, Boogie Nights: Duh. It’s uncomfortable to watch it’s so tense and vivid and everything about it is strung out and it’s pretty much perfect.
I have to give one honorable mention to the song Breathe Me by Sia which was played over the last scene of Six Feet Under and is therefore forever and always linked to my greatest emotional breakdown, ever. EVER! For months and months I could not hear that song without almost choking. No other song has ever had a lasting and visceral impact on me like that, no other scene has ever caused MASSIVE EMOTIONAL TRAUMA the way the end of Six Feet Under did, but as it's not in a movie I am leaving it off my list. Or at least, off *this* list. Layla/Goodfellas, Gimee Shelter/The Departed, If You Leave/Sixteen Candles, Stuck in the Middle With You/Resevoir Dogs, I’m Shipping Up to Boston/The Departed, Dry the Rain/High Fidelity are all on my short(well, shortish) list as well.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Motoring
A few weeks ago Don and I were at Bar Coastal (his east side sports bar; he has a separate west side bar he visits as well and never the twain shall meet) watching a baseball game (Red Sox, duh) and Tom Petty's "American Girl," came on the stereo (iPod? Satellite radio? Internet jukebox?). I cannot hear that song without thinking of two things: 1) my college sorority WOO! days in which friends and I would paint our toenails baby blue and listen to music and claim OMG THIS IS TOTALLY MY SONG, during which I may or may not have WOOed over American Girl, and 2) Silence of the Lambs. I love Brooke Smith and I loved her in Silence of the Lambs and I loved her in Weeds and I loved her in Matilda & Matilda, and if I watched Grey's Anatomy I'm sure I would have loved her in that as well but to me, she is forever and always linked to Buffalo Bill, the lotion in the basket, and American Girl. Silence of the Lambs came out in what? 1990? Nearly twenty years later that song and that scene are inextricably linked in my mind.
I asked Don for some examples of what he thought were the best uses of music in movies, and over the course of the following five innings we circled round the topic, refining the criteria and making mental notes of items to fact check later on IMDB. Without much thought or hesitation, we both immediately mentioned the scene in Boogie Nights with Alfred Molina, the coke deal, and Night Ranger. I threw out Layla playing over Goodfellas and the bus scene in Almost Famous in which everyone sings Tiny Dancer. We both agreed that Martin Scorcese, Quentin Tarantino and Cameron Crowe were probably the directors who best use music; the effing stereo over John Cusack's head is so iconic it's disqualified from my list while Gimme Shelter played over the beginning of The Departed definitely earned a spot. Narrowing down examples of music in Tarantino movies is challanging: Don went with Urge Overkill singing Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon while I was torn between Son of a Preacher Man and Stuck in the Middle With You (from Resevoir Dogs).
There is a giant soft spot in my heart for the movie Beautiful Girls and I love the Afghan Whigs in it; Don nominated the Ghetto Boyz song/scene from Office Space (because what is funnier than Michael Bolton wailing on the printer? Not much.) I love the moment in High Fidelity in which John Cusask says, Want me to sell 10 copies of this album? Watch this, and then plays Dry the Rain by the Beta Band. We had this conversation shortly after John Hughes' death and had a hard time choosing between If You Leave (OMD) and Don't You Forget About Me (Simple Minds) and certainly Twist & Shout gets a nod for Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Eye of the Tiger goes without saying, pretty much...I love Bill Murray singing Roxy Music's More Than This in the karaoke scene of Lost in Translation (warning: recurring theme. I love everything about Lost in Translation.)...I can't remember who brought it up, but The Bangals, Hazy Shade of Winter in Less Than Zero got a mention...Which is all just to say: We're working on our final lists.
Watch this space.
I asked Don for some examples of what he thought were the best uses of music in movies, and over the course of the following five innings we circled round the topic, refining the criteria and making mental notes of items to fact check later on IMDB. Without much thought or hesitation, we both immediately mentioned the scene in Boogie Nights with Alfred Molina, the coke deal, and Night Ranger. I threw out Layla playing over Goodfellas and the bus scene in Almost Famous in which everyone sings Tiny Dancer. We both agreed that Martin Scorcese, Quentin Tarantino and Cameron Crowe were probably the directors who best use music; the effing stereo over John Cusack's head is so iconic it's disqualified from my list while Gimme Shelter played over the beginning of The Departed definitely earned a spot. Narrowing down examples of music in Tarantino movies is challanging: Don went with Urge Overkill singing Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon while I was torn between Son of a Preacher Man and Stuck in the Middle With You (from Resevoir Dogs).
There is a giant soft spot in my heart for the movie Beautiful Girls and I love the Afghan Whigs in it; Don nominated the Ghetto Boyz song/scene from Office Space (because what is funnier than Michael Bolton wailing on the printer? Not much.) I love the moment in High Fidelity in which John Cusask says, Want me to sell 10 copies of this album? Watch this, and then plays Dry the Rain by the Beta Band. We had this conversation shortly after John Hughes' death and had a hard time choosing between If You Leave (OMD) and Don't You Forget About Me (Simple Minds) and certainly Twist & Shout gets a nod for Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Eye of the Tiger goes without saying, pretty much...I love Bill Murray singing Roxy Music's More Than This in the karaoke scene of Lost in Translation (warning: recurring theme. I love everything about Lost in Translation.)...I can't remember who brought it up, but The Bangals, Hazy Shade of Winter in Less Than Zero got a mention...Which is all just to say: We're working on our final lists.
Watch this space.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
