Tuesday, February 25, 2014
I listen to the wind: the music in Wes Anderson films (part 3 - final)
"Needle in the Hay" - Elliott Smith (The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001)
A choice from Anderson's masterpiece in the scene where troubled retired tennis prodigy Richie Tenenbaum (Luke Wilson) is attempting suicide, after having heard some ugly news for his step-sister (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) with whom he's in love for a long time. Sadly, just two years later, Elliott Smith's own self-demise would permanently make this scene and this song a tragically foreboding match.
"These Days" - Nico (The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001)
One of my favourite songs from the 60's is this wonderful Nico's song from her debut album Chelsea Girls, a composition of Nico's sometime lover Jackson Browne who wrote it at the tender age of 16 and later recorded it himself.
Nico's version is arranged with baroque taste including strings and flute alongside Browne's fingerpicked electric guitar, and plays in The Royal Tenenbaums in a tender scene where Luke Wilson, having just escaped the hospital he's in after his suicide attempt, reunites in a bus station with his step-sister and declares his love. Warning: more Anderson-style slow-motion follows.
"Staralfur" - Sigur Ros (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, 2004)
Famous oceanographer Steve Zissou (played by Bill Murray) is on a quest to find and terminate his very own Moby Dick: a notorious shark which killed his work partner. However, when Zissou after various misfortunes and adventures finally sees the shark for the first time in the film's arguable best scene, he's not vengeful anymore but awed: it's a surprisingly magical moment, thanks to the Icelandic post-rock band's heavenly strings.
"Search and Destroy" - Iggy and the Stooges (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, 2004)
Iggy provides the necessary rebellious cacophony for the sequence where Zissou decides to take control and seize back his ship from the pirates who have hijacked it. Priceless.
"Le Temps de l'Amour" - Francoise Hardy (Moonrise Kingdom, 2012)
Anderson makes legendary French chanteuse hip again in his latest film. This 60's pop gem managed to sneak in the movie soundtrack amid Benjamin Britten operas, Hank Williams country standards, and the Alexander Desplat score. We can only wonder what Anderson has next up his sleeve.
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