Some Songs Considered - Posts Tagged 'movie soundtrack'

August 23, 2009

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“Higher and Higher” - Theodore Shapiro and Craig Wedren
(Words/music: Theodore Shapiro and Craig Wedren, appears in Wet Hot American Summer, Eureka Pictures 2001)

Many, myself included, lean a little too hard on the “classic” part of the term “cult classic.” We spend so much time evangelizing a band, movie, book, comedian, or any other under-appreciated cultural artifact that we lose sight of the reasons for its obscurity in the first place. Sure, sometimes these things grow into the audience they deserve (think of something like Office Space), but most of the time we only think it’s brilliant because it speaks to a particularly unique part of their personality. In my case, a film like Wet Hot American Summer seems brilliant to my warped sense of humor. It’s a perfect example of a movie that speaks to a very small audience (the “cult” to most, “those with a sense of humor” to others less diplomatically inclined). Appropriately, Wet Hot American Summer is the product of its own cult of sorts – a group of comedians, actors, writers, and filmmakers that began out of MTV’s early ’90s sketch comedy show The State, itself a (cult) classic that’s been recently reissued on DVD. While the cult has grown since the early ’90s and includes newer members, these folks (responsible for Reno 911, Role Models, and Stella among other things) often help each other on their projects. Loyalty more than success has helped keep the group intact over the years, and that loyalty goes right down to the music.

Craig Wedren, the frontman from Shudder to Think (a fine band on Dischord in the early ’90s), has produced a lot of the music for The State and their offshoot projects. With help from Theodore Shapiro (who did the score for the movie), Wedren’s “Higher and Higher” flawlessly sets the mood for an over-the-top training montage near the end of the film. As a long-time collaborator with director David Wain and many of the actors, Wedren undoubtedly understood the tone of the montage scene, balancing the motivational tone with a dramatic undercurrent. Most importantly, it treats the scene with integrity; in the film’s world, this is a last-ditch effort, and “Higher and Higher” plays on this sincerity, especially in the build-up in the opening bars. Essentially, “Higher and Higher” is only the build up and the payoff, but it accomplishes those two with skill – the opening sounds uncertain and the refrain sounds joyous. The fact that Wedren’s guitar heroics push the song towards sounding over-the-top doesn’t really matter; it’s a way for Wedren, Wain, and the rest of the filmmakers to wink at the audience to show that they aren’t losing sight of the absurdity. That being said, it makes for a hell of a training montage.

More on Craig Wedren and Theodore Shapiro: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

July 4, 2009

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

“Montage” – Trey Parker
(Words/music: Trey Parker, available on Team America: World Police OST, Atlantic 2004)

Team America: World Police took what South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone do on their TV show and made it bigger. They created a work of biting, often brilliant satire and did their best to hide it behind an antiquated Saturday morning medium (in this case, marionettes) and a ton of crude humor. It works for a few reasons – like all good satire, it works both at face value and reading deeper. It also works because it doesn’t target one single group. Parker and Stone value common sense above all (and seem to lean towards libertarianism, but I digress) and dig in against anyone regardless of affiliation, fame, or social standing. It makes it hard to stay hurt when they mock your ideology and immediately move on to target someone else.

Team America worked as well as it did (or as well as it did when I saw it five years ago) because it tossed out darts in every conceivable connection – regardless of your personal stance, the film was bound to hit on something to laugh at sooner or later. Much of the focus was on the film’s characters and Parker and Stone’s lampooning of extreme American patriotism (and also the equally zealous America left), but Team America also works as a parody of action movies in general. Like the best satirists, Parker and Stone lampoon action movies by playing by the genre’s rules. This is where the music, Parker’s specialty, comes into play – the songs in the movie hit on all the familiar themes – the jingoistic country ballad, the over-the-top theme song (and subsequent “bummer” remix), and a heartbreakingly hilarious ballad Kim Jong-Il sings about being lonely. “Montage” is the most self-conscious song in a movie that tries its best to hide all of the winks and nods behind loud explosions. Appropriately enough, it’s the perfect montage song (so perfect that Parker recycled it from the skiing episode of South Park) – if you block out the montage-by-numbers instructions Parker sings about, it sounds exactly like a 1980s action movie montage, complete with pulsing synthesizer, a chorus of backup singers, and Parker’s vocal tics for emphasis. Personally, the “fade out” bit at the end captures the song’s spirit perfectly – it flawlessly executes the cliché as it describes why every montage ends with a fade out. By doing so, Parker makes us simultaneously laugh at the joke and marvel at what might be the perfect montage song.

More on Trey Parker: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

February 13, 2009

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

“Somebody’s Baby” - Jackson Browne
(Words/music: Jackson Browne, available on Fast Times at Ridgemont High OST, Elektra 1982)

My dog Jack is named after Jackson Browne, somewhat in jest. While brainstorming names for him, “Jackson” was suggested with the stipulation that his full name would be Jackson and he would colloquially be Jack. I, of course, remarked that it was just like Jackson Browne, one of the more underrated songwriters of his era. It stuck and three years later, Jackson is stealing my socks like there’s no tomorrow.

But back to that point about Jackson Browne being overlooked – he’s had a reasonable amount of commercial success and plenty of critical acclaim, but he doesn’t seem to be cannonized the same way as many of his peers. It’s a shame because Browne’s written some of the finest songs of his era in a number of different styles. He wrote one of my favorite classic rock radio ballads (“The Load Out”), Nico’s signature song (“These Days”), and even co-wrote my favorite (read: one of the few I enjoy) Eagles songs (“Take it Easy”). In addition to many of his witty folk songs, Browne also composed “Somebody’s Baby,” one of my favorite pop songs. The arrangement flows flawlessly from one part of the song into the next; while some songs load up the chorus and settle for verses that seem like afterthoughts, Browne interlaces the hook throughout the whole song. Every bit of the song – the keyboard at the beginning, the tiny fills between lines, and the way Browne tosses off the details about this dream girl almost effortlessly – gets embedded in my brain for hours. Like the best pop arrangements of the 60s, every note is necessary and useful and works toward the common goal. It’s perhaps even a little too slick – without one single flawless line, it’s hard for the song to have a “calling card” - that one moment that makes it timeless. Instead, it has to settle for being that song that you’ll hum for the rest of the night. It’s this sort of understated genius that makes Browne a compelling musician and songwriter, even if you’ll rarely find yourself itching to put on one of his records.

More on Jackson Browne: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

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