Oct 12 2009 Jarvis Cocker's 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Song: I Hope You Like Banjo
Departing from his glammy, britpop safety zone, Jarvis Cocker recorded a short banjo-and-"boing"-based tune called "Petey's Song" for The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and it can now be put in your ears on Guardian. If you're at all familiar with Cocker or his longtime band, Pulp, I think you'll be surprised how much this latest effort sounds not at all like him but a lot like lo-fi British Raffi.
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I'm sure he ripped the song off of Sharon, Lois, and Bram's Elephant Show. Expect a call from a jolly, pantomiming, pachyderm attorney, Cocker.
(via Rushmore Academy)
Oct 9 2009 Kids Screaming for the 'Where the Wild Things Are' Soundtrack
At last, child screaming is being used for something better than alerting nearby authorities. Spike Jonze and Karen O harnessed untrained kid vocals for the Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack (remember listening to that?), and now there's this featurette where you can see how they did it, why they did it, if Jonze cried the first time he saw picture & music matched up, etc.
Enjoy--or decry as over-hyped hipster bullshit, if you want to pee on my party:
Continue Reading " Kids Screaming for the 'Where the Wild Things Are' Soundtrack "
Sep 29 2009 Listen To This 'Wild Things' Music
Want to spend your day listening to music that alternates between melancholy anthems and twee Langley School-style child choirs? Sure you do; this music is in a movie picture!
Karen O's Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack is now streaming free on this internet device. Listen to it loud to show your co-workers that you're aware of more music than just early Steely Dan albums. They've been talking about that behind your back.
Sep 23 2009 Daft Punk's 'Tron Legacy' Theme Perfect for Marching in the Future While Carrying an Important Briefcase
Wondering if Daft Punk's Tron Legacy theme sounds like the music that always played when you saw the bad guys in the intro to every arcade game made in the late '80s/early '90s? It kind of does:
Aug 24 2009 Karen O's 'Where the Wild Things Are' Music Sounds
The first single from Karen O's Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack isn't available as a digital single until tomorrow, but you can stream the track, the child chorus-backed All Is Love, RIGHT NOW on MySpace. I'd say it's a tad saccharine and repetitive for my tastes, but then I'd probably seem like a bit of a hypocrite when I end up audibly weeping over it in the theater. Plus, it sounds better when you consider the context is "child running through a world of pure whimsy."
(Thanks, Joanna.)
Dec 3 2008 'Twilight' Girl to Play Joan Jett
Kirsten Stewart, also known as girl from Twilight, has been cast in the role of Joan Jett in Floria Sigismondi's The Runaways. From THR:
Fresh from the success of "Twilight," Kristen Stewart is set to portray Joan Jett in "The Runaways," the rock 'n' roll biopic of the 1970s all-girl band.The Runaways were hugely influential as the first successful all-girl hard rock band; its members included guitarists Jett and Lita Ford, drummer Sandy West, singer-keyboardist Cherie Currie and bassist Jackie Fox. The band was brought together in late 1975 by impresario Kim Fowley, who thought a novelty act of teenaged girls performing in leather and lace would be an easy sell, but the girls ended up proving to be serious and influential musicians with songs like "Cherry Bomb." The band lasted about four years together, falling apart over management and money issues.
The film will revolve around Jett and Currie and follow them from the band's meteoric rise as teenagers to their dissolution and disillusionment.
While Stewart will take on the role of Jett, Cherie Currie will reportedly be played as a thin, pale, poofy-haired guy who is deeply in love with her despite differences in their lifestyle.
Nov 12 2008 Jerry Garcia Biopic Coming (in a Foul-Smelling Van)
Producers of Little Miss Sunshine, Election, and Hamlet 2 are teaming up to bring to screens a film about the early life of Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia. Here's what the Hollywood Reporter says:
The untitled project will focus primarily on Garcia's early life in the Bay Area before he joined the band that would become the Grateful Dead -- a period that includes a stint in the military, a life-changing car accident and his first creative encounters with members of the Northern California music scene including future Dead bassist Phil Lesh.Producers have acquired rights to Robert Greenfield's book "Dark Star," an oral history of Garcia from dozens of people who knew him, including musicians, relatives and artist friends like Ken Kesey. Music rights also are being negotiated, though given that the period in Garcia's life that's covered is pre-Dead, producers could avoid some of the trickier negotiations.
I really hope they try to cram in some hints at the development of later Grateful Dead songs. Maybe a scene where a woman named Bertha upsets Garcia to the point that he asks she stops coming around. Or someone reminding him that every silver lining's got a touch of grey. Or some literal truckin'. The inclusion of any of those scenes will make me less annoyed when the guy they get to play him is auto-nominated for an Oscar.
Nov 10 2008 Morricone Scoring 'Inglourious Basterds'?
According to Italy Global Nation (apparently some sort of news site, not a post-apocalyptic European superpower), Legendary film composer Ennio Morricone may be scoring Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. From CHUD:
[Italy Global Nation] reports that the legendary Morricone has accepted an offer to score Inglorious Basterds.Quentin Tarantino and Ennio Morricone have had a long, indirect relationship. Morricone once famously turned down a request to score small parts of Pulp Fiction, and then rather than using new music from the composer for Kill Bill, Tarantino and the RZA recycled some of the his older work.
Morricone turns 80 today and has been accepting less work in recent years. Now the question is: how much Morricone material will actually grace the film? Could be only a couple of minutes, or Tarantino could try to extract what might be one of the composer's last notable full scores.
UPDATED: The QT Archives have pulled their story, but the source at IGN still stands -- is this not as done a deal as we'd like?
I hope this ends up being true. Like the whimpers of stifled sobbing that accompany my daily routine, the music of Ennio Morricone and Quentin Tarantino movies just make sense together.
Oct 24 2008 'Notorious' Trailer: Being a Rapper Sure is Hectic!
The Notorious B.I.G. movie has a new trailer, so as per usual, here is that to watch. I doubt it's going to bring the Oscar buzz of other recent music biopics, but it does look good enough that if it were on VH1 as a TV movie special event, and I spent two hours watching it from my couch, I would not feel that bad about myself.
Continue Reading " 'Notorious' Trailer: Being a Rapper Sure is Hectic! "
Sep 18 2008 New Bond Theme Sounds a Lot Like a Coke Commercial
It's normal for me to wake up with yet another reason to die, but today, thanks to IWS reader SunKing, I was surprised to awaken to Another Way To Die--the new Jack White/Alicia Keys Bond theme, that is! It's the kind of grating song that assures you it's fine if you show up to the theater a few minutes late. Don't get me wrong; it's far better than Chris Cornell's Casino Royale theme, but since it isn't 1994, that isn't that huge of an accomplishment.
Sep 16 2008 Hear the New Bond Theme; Drink Refreshing Coke Zero
It's perhaps James Bond's most quotable line: the spy's famous request for his favorite drink. No, not when he orders a martini shaken, not stirred. I mean all the times he says, "Coke. Sugar free. But not Diet Coke. That newer one." So it only makes sense that we'd hear our first taste of Jack White's new Bond theme in a Coke Zero commercial, right? White apparently doesn't think so. From BBC News:
He reportedly says in a statement he is "disappointed" the song is being heard for the first time on an advert.He wrote the song for the film, "not for Coca Cola", the statement adds.
"Any other use of the song is based on decisions made by others, not by Jack White," NME.com quoted the statement as saying.
Yeah, Jack White. God knows you would never sell out for Coke. Oh, wait.
Anyway, hear an instrumental version of the new theme below the cut, and do your best to resist the urge to buy a calorie-free carbonated drink marketed towards young males resistant to purchase items labeled as "diet," even though purchasing said beverage might make YOU exactly like James Bond.
Continue Reading " Hear the New Bond Theme; Drink Refreshing Coke Zero "
Sep 8 2008 'The Wrestler' Theme Song, and Just in Time for Karaoke Night
Someone who loves Bruce Springsteen soundtrack songs went to a screening of The Wrestler and used technology to record a low-quality copy of the Boss's title track. JoBlo has it here.
It's pretty hard to make out the vocals, so I've transcribed the lyrics for you:
Continue Reading " 'The Wrestler' Theme Song, and Just in Time for Karaoke Night "
Sep 2 2008 'The Wrestler' Just Got Bossier
Bruce Springsteen has written a new song for The Wrestler soundtrack, and it will make you cry. From director Darren Aronofsky's blog:
off to venice on wednesday. but i wanted to just share with you all the other music news i talked about in the past post. bruce springsteen wrote a beautiful original song for the closing the film. called THE WRESTLER it is a wonderful acoustic piece. makes me choke up every time i hear it. he really captured the spirit of the film and mickey's character in the piece.
Hey, this sounds like the best Bruce Springsteen movie soundtrack song that also has the title of the movie in the song since Dead Man Walking's "Dead Man Walking" and Philadelphia's "Streets of Philadelphia"! Then again, I can't remember any Springsteen songs less than a decade old, so maybe it won't be that good. But at least it will speak to the blue collar American worker,* and that's what's important.
*Assuming their blue collar work consists of wrestling.
Jul 30 2008 Reasonable People Teaming for New Bond Theme
Columbia Pictures has announced that Alicia Keys and The White Stripes' Jack White will be providing the theme song to Quantum of Solace. From Coming Soon:
Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, producers of the highly anticipated 22nd James Bond adventure Quantum of Solace, announced today that multi-Grammy Award-winning and platinum selling recording artists Jack White of the rock band The White Stripes, and Alicia Keys, have recorded the theme song for the film, which will be released worldwide this November.Their song, written and produced by Jack White, and titled "Another Way to Die," will be the first duet in Bond soundtrack history. In addition to writing the song, Jack White is also featured as the drummer on this track.
As a reminder, Chris Cornell provided the theme to Casino Royale. To put that in perspective, that's like going from the lead singer of Soundgarden to absolutely anyone relevant. Metaphorically.
Jul 18 2008 Jarvis Cocker Scoring 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'? Fine, I'll Buy Another Wes Anderson Soundtrack
Whenever I curl up with a warm, soothing cup of milk & rum and begin to make my way through a well-worn copy of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox (every Saturday), I will invariably put on an equally well-worn record of Pulp's Different Class. There's just something about working class, disco-inspired Britpop that meshes perfectly with the comic exploits of an anthropomorphic fox stealing food from some mean old farmers.
None of that is true, but Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker will reportedly be providing some of the score to Wes Anderson's stop-motion adaptation of the book, so we'll find out if they really do mesh as well as I dream--like milk and rum.
Jarvis Writing Music for Wes Anderson Kids Movie [Pitchfork]
Jul 2 2008 Huey Lewis's 'Pineapple Express' Theme Sounds Like Every Huey Lewis Song (i.e. AMAZING)
Lakeshore Records' MySpace is now hosting the rhyme-heavy, saxophone-laden title track to Pineapple Express, written and performed by Huey Lewis and a little backing band by the name of THE NEWS. Heard of 'em? It's worth a listen if only to hear Huey Lewis say "the chronic" (which he rhymes with "on it").
Jun 10 2008 The Love Guru Plays 'The Joker.' That's It.
I know The Love Guru is loaded to capacity with classic physical comedy, hilarious hair appliances, both new and previously-seen midget jokes, and Justin Timberlake, but.... there's just something missing that's holding me back from being completely in love with this thing. Maybe... I dunno... a Steve Miller Band cover? Yes. Yes, that's definitely it. And not like a parody of the song with lyrics changed for humorous effect; just a straight in-character cover that has no obvious reason for being.
Oh, good, here's one.
Continue Reading " The Love Guru Plays 'The Joker.' That's It. "
May 20 2008 Boy, Things Sure Have Changed: Two Things That Have Changed
1. A few weeks ago, the rumor was that Jonah Hill was in talks for Transformers 2, likely playing LaBeouf's college roommate. Speaking to MTV, Hill has since confirmed the rumor, but says he decided to turn down the chance to co-star with CGI robot cars:
I just think like I have to prove myself more in what I’m doing now, making comedies and stuff before I do the big action movie or something, you know? I’m not proven yet. I’ve only been in one movie that people have seen that I’ve been the lead in so like, um, I could still suck in people’s minds, they don’t know yet!
So the official reason for Jonah Hill turning down Transformers 2 is "fear of sucking in people's minds." I imagine, upon hearing this rationale, Michael Bay had no idea what was being said.
2. Last week, when I said Arcade Fire was scoring Richard Kelly's The Box, I made a slight error: it turns out Arcade Fire is not scoring Richard Kelly's The Box. From lead singer Win Butler's blog:
Hi everyone. Just to let you all know that (internet-based fact checking aside) Arcade Fire is NOT doing the soundtrack to any film. We are all off for the summer, writing songs, reading books and keeping our plants alive. Regine, Owen Pallet and I may do an instrumental piece or two for Richard Kelly’s new movie…we met at a show this year and hit it off, but we are not planning on doing any major work for a while, and this would not constitute a soundtrack or a release.
Oops! I suppose I'll stop work on my "Arcade Sell-Outs!!!" sign.
Apr 24 2008 'Sex and the City' Theme Song Forces Decision Between Labels and Love
Usually when I hear the familiar piano riff of the Sex and the City theme, I have an immediate Pavlovian response, my hands punch frantically at the remote, and the channel is changed before I have to hear even a note of the vibraphone part. But today when that jaunty tune entered in my eardrums, I found that changing the channel was having no effect on its presence. It was a bit horrifying. What was going on? Was this song going to be permanently in my head? And why did it sound like a MIDI version with terrible singing over it?
As it turns out, the problem was that I had blindly clicked on a YouTube link someone sent me. It has since been removed, but once held Fergie's Sex and the City theme song. "Doesn't Sex and the City already have a theme song?" you ask? You forget that something as grandiose as Sex and the City Movie Version--like a Bond film--warrants a special theme from a debatably popular artist, such as Fergie crooning her way through designer names and made-up descriptions of sexiness (I swear she said "supercalifregisexy") as she answers one of the great questions of life: "Labels or Love"? It's really awful. But if you'd like, you too can give "LoL" a listen at this People article, which also includes Fergie's claim that she "grew up watching Sex and the City." As BWE pointed out, she was between 23 and 29 when the series aired.
Apr 10 2008 Infant Sorrow Asks That We 'Do Something'
In the upcoming Judd Apatow-produced Forgetting Sarah Marshall, our puppet-loving hero Peter's celebrity girlfriend dumps him for the lead singer of the tragically-titled band Infant Sorrow, Alduous Snow. So obviously we want to hate that guy. Thanks to a brilliant marketing move, that's become easy, as you can now indulge in two of Snow's dreadful, pseudo-meaningful music videos online. Sorrow's "We've Gotta Do Something" gives a vague, conflicting message of saving the planet, while the sensual epic "Inside of You" paints a lurid picture of sexual desire. Both are at once laughably ridiculous and sadly, frighteningly believable.
Watch them both, B the C (below the cut).
Continue Reading " Infant Sorrow Asks That We 'Do Something' "
