The music of the 60's is Wes Anderson's big love. Its frequent use in his films lends at his characters an air of nostalgia and innocence. Nowhere this is more evident than in Rushmore, arguably Anderson's most revered film; the music is such a vital element on it that apparently in certain cases Anderson had already chosen the music he wanted for specific scenes prior to the finalisation of the scene itself. The main music concept is quintessential 60's Britain: Stones, Kinks, Who, Faces. The songs in Rushmore work as a mirror revealing the personality of teenage protagonist Max Fischer (played wonderfully by Jason Schwartzmann); he definitely could be a textbook character out of a Ray Davies song. "Making Time" - The Creation This is history-making stuff. The now famous "extra-curricural activities" sequence uses the psych-pop 1966 track from the relatively unknown English band to introduce wunderkind schoolboy Max Fischer.
"A Quick One While He's Away" - The Who An excerpt from The Who's first foray into rock opera, this is as classic Wes Anderson as it gets: the masterful "revenge" sequence where nerdy, quirky Fischer faces his arch rival Herman Blume (a spectacular Bill Murray - his career resurrection really started here). When Fischer comes out of the elevator in slow-motion full of teenage braggadocio, it seems to echo the legendary entrance of De Niro in the bar in Mean Streets with the Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" playing. It's that good.
"Ohh la la" - Faces The last song on the last Faces album is a bittersweetly funny tale about the futility of the belief in romantic love, as told from a sensitive male's perspective: "I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger / love is blind and you're far too kind / don't ever let it show" sings the late Ronnie Lane. And what a fitting song to end this similarly bittersweet gem of a movie: Max Fischer, though still hopelessly in love with his schoolteacher (a never-more-beautiful Olivia Williams), has realised the sad truth that he cannot be with her and so he's ready to move on with his life. But there is a price to pay: in a way he has become more emotionally mature now, but he has lost his innocence (or naivety) in the process. This is a sad message of the film, in that in order to move on you need to leave your silly, naive teenage romantic notion about love behind. The song starts at the three-minute mark but the scene must be seen from the beginning. One of the complaints in Anderson's body of work is that he seems to opt for style over substance; this scene is a glorious proof of the opposite.
Sofia Coppola is full of surprises when it comes to the music of her films. Exhibit A: she chose Air to score her first film The Virgin Suicides, one year after they had just released their debut album. Their Moon Safari was admittedly highly acclaimed, but still it was quite a bold move for a first-time director. Exhibit B: she managed to make indie genius Kevin Shields write music for Lost in Translation; Shields had disappeared completely from music since My Bloody Valentine released their seminal Loveless in 1991 and obviously his re-appearance came as quite a surprise at the time. And finally, in what could be her most unexpected move, she chose the golden era of new wave and post-punk (Siouxsie, New Order, Bow Wow Wow, Cure) as an inspiration and guide for the candy-coloured style of Marie Antoinette; apparently it was also one of the main objections some critics had with that particular film. Her latest feature Somewhere is scored by her husband Thomas Mars (singer of Phoenix) and features again an eclectic and varied choice of tracks. "Playground Love" - Air (The Virgin Suicides, 1999) The unforgettable languous saxophone riff is ideal for the airy, hazily sensual atmosphere of the movie. Kirsten Dunst relishes the pleasures of teenage love before things turn bad. Really bad.
"Just Like Honey" -Jesus and Mary Chain (Lost in Translation, 2003) Soundtrack to the famous ending scene which caused the cinephile crowd to incessantly argue throughtout internet about what exactly Bill Murray whispers to Scarlett Johansson; who knows if it will ever be revealed. The song also features the same legendary drum pattern to Ronettes' "Be My Baby".
"Hong Kong Garden" - Siouxsie and the Banshees (Marie Antoinette, 2006) Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette and the rest of French aristocracy party and dance carefree to Siouxsie's post-punk anthem from 1978.
"Cool" - Gwen Stefani (Somewhere, 2010) Another movie, another Sofia Coppola heroine on a quest for maturity and self-knowledge: this time it's 12-year-old Elle Fanning playing the daughter of estranged movie star Stephen Dorff who unexpectedly finds himself responsible for her upbringing. In a wonderful sequence Elle is performing ice skating figures like a pro, accompanied by a contemporary pop tune by Gwen Stefani and her dad's realisation of his role as a father.
Scorsese is probably a human cinematic and music encyclopedia. He has gone to direct documentaries for The Band (The Last Waltz, 1978), Bob Dylan (No Direction Home, 2005) and The Rolling Stones (Shine a Light, 2008). His favourite era is the golden 60's: he is a big fan of the girl groups of that era such as The Ronettes and The Crystals; and he really likes to use Rolling Stones. His love of rock n' roll as film soundtrack found its undisputed apex with Goodfellas. "Be My Baby" - The Ronettes (Mean Streets, 1973) His first great movie, starring Harvey Keitel and Robert De Nirο. The Phil Spector-produced "Be My Baby" is one of the best songs in the history of pop. The drum intro (a double bass drum kick followed by a snare hit) became one of the most classic rhythm patterns in pop and rock music, copied countless times (one such copy will be examined in another post).
"Layla" - Derek and the Dominoes (Goodfellas, 1990) A truly great sequence and a strangely melancholic one, despite the violent deaths of the gang members depicted, thanks to the piano-led coda of "Layla (piano exit)" with the twin guitars of Eric Clapton and Duane Allman soaring in the background.
"Jumpin' Jack Flash" - The Rolling Stones (Mean Streets, 1973) Scorsese has used Stones' "Gimme Shelter" twice (in GoodFellas and in The Departed) but nothing can beat this scene, where the movie introduces the Johnny Boy character (and the world is introduced to Mr. Robert De Niro). Coolest entrance in cinema ever.
"Late for the Sky" - Jackson Browne (Taxi Driver, 1976) This song is the only pop-rock music in the Taxi Driver soundtrack and is chosen for the power of De Niro's performance in the scene alone. As the West Coast ballad plays in the backround, he is watching on the TV couples dancing (which is probably what he should have been doing himself). Myriad emotions and hidden thoughts are conveyed through his face without a word in this very short scene.
The use of pop and rock songs in cinema is common nowadays. In many films the movie soundtrack consists merely of such songs, with very little or no original score whatsoever. The first film of such kind was of course The Graduate (1967) with the Simon and Garfunkel songs and the experiment was a success. Other films in the 70's followed, such as Harold and Maude (1971) with Cat Stevens songs, and McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) with Leonard Cohen songs. The posts to follow are not a general best-use-of-songs-in-a movie list, but a homage to five directors who I think have established a very close and successful connection with pop and rock music in their filmography.
