my songbook pt. 5

"Tango de Roxanne" - Ewan McGregor, José Feliciano & Jacek Koman from "Moulin Rouge" (2001)

I would say I am a little guarded about my affinity for musicals. To be blunt...its not very heterosexual. I have received quite a bit of flack from some friends, one in particular (James) for being adamant that I enjoy most forms of musicals. It seems strange given that I this a recent trend. I wouldn't say that I was decidedly anti-musical in high school, but my enjoyment of all things Fosse, Minielli, etc. wasn't at its current level.

I dug our school's production of Godspell, Me Me in St. Louis, and The Sound of Music, but it wasn't until very late in the year when my roommate Pedro and I got into a very deep Rocky Horror Picture Show rut. Pedro was the only male student at our school that was out of the closet, and his introducing me to Richard O'Brien's tranny masterpiece was the caboose to the yearlong train of education of all things rainbow. While Pedro pined for the Adonis-inspired Rocky, I oogled the youthful Susan Sarandon. I fell for her hardcore when i peeped he in Bull Durham (A cougar like her with a religious devotion to baseball...oh yeah), so the fifteen-years-younger version in her underwear was an easy sell.

Its staggering to think about how cloaked in ignorance about that lifestyle. There's no one in my life to blame for that, save for a lack of real exposure. Its that same cloak of ignorance that allows for horrible things like Prop 8 to pass even the most liberal of states. Yeesh...lets nip that political rant in the bud shall we.

I took my brother's friend Jenny to see Moulin Rouge in the theater in the summer of 2000. I had a thing for her (redhead, what do you expect), she had one for my brother, he had one for her younger sister (at least I think so; I could be completely fabricating that entire love trapezoid--I destroyed plenty of brain cells that summer). This was both our first and last date. I was transfixed by every bit of celluloid that night. As I began to gush about the magic we had just witnessed leaving the theater, I was stopped dead in my tracks as Jenny soundly denounced the film as weird. She didn't like it, didn't get it. Needless to say I found less and less attractive about her.

Moulin Rouge is this wonderful postmodern musical, that is a fusion of three distinct old style operas (La Traviatta, La Boheme, and Orpheus in the Underworld), set at a brothel in turn-of-the- (19th) century France. The rub on that period setting is that the film's songs (save one original "Come What May") are simply re-interpretations of popular songs throughout history, most having to do with love. Setting the film in 1899, allows its hero Christian (played by Ewan McGregor) to appear stunningly innovative as the original writing that he pimps are in fact a Greatest hits from popular music and musicals. When he belts out the classic sound of music line "The hiiillls are allive with sound of muuuuussssic!" that stops the bohemians dead in their tracks, I nearly died laughing at the genius of that moment. So many of this films musical cues elicited this sort of response, I panic that I may have made a hasty decision.

Perhaps I should have chosen to feature this entire soundtrack. I could wax on for quite a while on so many of these tracks (some more than others) Here's a complete list of tracks for the film, and quickly where I see the discussion heading in each case:

1. Nature Boy - David Bowie -- Ziggy himself doing a rendtion of a Nat King Cole classic...some great levels to explore there

2. Lady Marmalarde - Christina, Pink, Mya, Lil' Kim, Missy Elliott -- the pop sensation spawned by the film; its seems so disconnected from the film when I think of it now.

3. Because We Can - Fatboy Slim -- would devolve quickly into a dicussion of his uber cool "Weapon of Choice" video with Christopher Walken, which would segway not so subtley into me just needing more cowbell (its the only solution to my fever)

4. Sparkling Diamonds - Nicole Kidman & Jim Broadbent -- much to be said about the great references to Madonna and Holly Golightly herself

5. Valeria - Rhythm of the Night - Gloria Estfan just won something big right

6. Your Song - Ewan McGregor & Nicole Kidman -- The second big appearance by Elton john in a film fave of mine in as many years (the first being "Tiny Dancer" in Almost Famous) this coupled with the sweet music videos for "I Want Love" (w/ Tony Stark/Robert Downey Jr.) and "This Train Don't Stop Here Anymore" (w/ Justin Timberlake before he brought SexyBack) convinced me to purchase the Elton John double disc Greatest Hits album. He ceased to be from that moment the weirdo who did those two songs for the Lion King, and became a musical icon. Weird how my mind works.

7. Children of the Revolution - Bono, Gavin Friday, Maurice Seezer -- A T. Rex song. Actually not much here. Believe it or not talking about Bono bores me these days

8. One Day I'll Fly Away - Nicole Kidman -- old Jazz standard by Kidman here

9. Diamond Dogs - Beck -- just really one kickass artist doing his thing. Every album is so different from the last its hard to realize their the same guy. I remember belting out Loser in middle school & grooving to Midnite Vultures in high school, but both those memories are on completely different wavelengths.

10. Elephant Love Medley - Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor -- At the time I could only identify pieces of this roller coaster of homages. To effortlessly glide from KISS to U2 to the Beatles to disco queen Thelma Houston I was impressed as hell. This medley gets at the very postmodern heart of this film. These songs like "Up Where We Belong" and "I Will Always Love You" already exist to evoke certain movie moments (whether it be An Officer and a Gentleman, or The Bodyguard), but Lurhman pilfered them perfectly, to not only recall those emotions, but project his own gravitas on those already in place.

11. Come What May - Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor -- I was miffed during Oscar season that this was not nominated for Best Original Song. It prompted a very close examining of the rules for that an other categories. Because the song was originally written for Romeo + Juliet, it could not qualify for the category for the wholly different movie.

12. El Tango de Roxanne - Ewan McGregor, Jose Feliciano, Jacek Koman -- I'll get there

13. Complainte De La Butte - Rufus Wainwright - My sister recognized his voice, prompted me to gift her his CD, then I heard him sing "Hallelujah," see my first songbook blog for the rest.

14. Hindi Sad Diamonds - Nicole Kidman, John Legizamo, Alka Yagnik -- Ahh the Bollywood-inspired number. Could go any number of ways, including Mira Nair's work, or even Bend it Like Beckham

15. Nature Boy - David Bowie & Massive Attack -- that sets up a wicked tangent on house music

All of these don't even begin to scratch the surface on my initial fascination with Baz Lurhman and his take on Romeo + Juliet. I was so enamored with that world he created. The reason so many of my online login names include the Shakespeare character Mercutio is because of that movie. Harold Perrineau (pre LOST and pre Matrix) created a version of that character that found extremely daring and charismatic. But alas I digress....in a big way....Back to El Tango de Roxanne.

--



"Roxanne" ... Its embarrassing to admit that I never considered what the 1978 Police track was actually about. It took its re-imagining for Moulin Rouge as a tango, for me to recognize that its a song about a French prostitute.

As Satine goes to be the Duke to save the production of Spectacular Spectacular, Christian laments his powerlessness. Jacek Koman (The Unconscious Argentinean) performs a steamy tango with Caroline O'Connor (Nini, Legs in the Air). The resulting dance is cross cut with Satine's "encounter" with the Duke. The Argintinean lays it out for Christian that falling in love with someone who sells intimacy to the highest bidder is path to insanity, for "Jealousy will drive you MAD!"

Two distinct things about this track send chills down my spine. The first is the marked difference between the Argentinean's delivery of this song and Sting's original higher range. What can I say I love a good cover song, particular one that is more of a reinterpretation and not simply a tribute band trying to recreate the original sound.

Secondly is the slow building of drama within the track. The backing begins simply... As the song's momentum builds the vocal focus shifts from the Argintinean to Christian, and the backing, builds and builds. The melancholy felt by Christian and Satine underscored through the song is so achingly palatable. They are torn between wanting their love displayed through their art, or rather in actuality in their very lives.

This scene embodies what is magical about musicals. For so many who scoff at the bright and cheery spectacle of a musical production, it is unfathomable that people are driven by songs in their every action, and it's even more strange that one would let that inner song out, and simply sing to show how they feel.

"People don't just break out randomly into song," is the anti-musical sentiment I've had to contend against for so long. And there's a nugget of truth to that, because most people don't. But the feelings that drive and saturate any music exist within us whether we choose to let feeling erupt from us or not.

This may be why I was first drawn to the darker songs in all musicals like "Tango. My favorite track from Chicago is the self-loathing anthem "Mr. Cellophane" Another track responsible was "I've Seen It All" from Dancer in the Dark. Sadness and inner pain made more sense to be set to music at first. As I came to watch and dissect more musicals (My film class on musicals in college turned out to be one of my favorites) I came to appreciate all aspects of the art form.

I discovered gems like Rent, Mamma Mia!, and Sweeney Todd after college, and loved them.

So I'll guess that the melancholy that eloquently shattered the screen and my senses in "Tango de Roxanne" is responsible for a deep-seeded appreciation of the musical genre. They're a tough sell to much of the movie-going public, but feel renewed with each big studio production that makes it to theater (Even if they make to listen to the terrible vocal stylings of Pierce Brosnan sometimes...for every actor who can't sing there are several that can and thank God they still do.)

my songbook pt. 4

For this installment I'd like to examine someone I consider to be one of the best contemporary female vocalists around...Imogen Heap and her song "Hide and Seek"



My introduction to Imogen Heap was in one of the huge center's to my geekdom in my senior year of college. After my laptop and DVD collection were stolen from my room one fateful Christmas break, I was forced to purchase a new laptop, and I was wooed into the world of Apple, by my friend Ozzie. After having a such a horrible time with my Gateway laptop, my G4 Powerbook was a godsend.

I began to stockpile movie trailers from the Apple website. One of the most impressive was the initial teaser trailer for Zach Braff's indie darling Garden State. With my filmic eye at its zenith from all of my film studies classics, I was wowed by this wordless film trailer that relied solely on its impressive film shots and the haunting Frou Frou track "Let Go." Ozzie laughed in my face when I informed him what I had discovered about Frou Frou following the viewing of the trailer. He informed me that he was aware of the artist before seeing the trailer and geeked out when he heard the song in the theater. He had a play count for "Let Go" in his iTunes over a hundred.

I've largely championed Garden State as being one of my favorite films, but its trendiness has softened some of its largess in my minds eye in the years following its release. Much of its hipness has turned sour due to cliche. More than any of the awards it garnered; I was most satisfied with its Grammy win for Soundtrack Compilation, and I felt that the Frou Frou track had much to do with that.

Zach's music choices were eye-opening to me. I was introduced to artists like The Shins, Zero 7, Iron & Wine, Remy Zero; and I was forced to take a second look at artists like Coldplay and Colin Hay. As I entrenched myself in the films songs I noticed a glaring ommission in the film soundtrack (much like in Dazed and Confused with "Hurricane"). Alexi Murdoch's "Orange Sky" which played over the hamster Jelly's funeral was nowhere to be found. I quickly found that the song was a part of first soundtrack compilation for the TV show "The O.C.", and therefore couldn't be legally included in the Garden State soundtrack.

I had avoided "The O.C." like the plague because it was so immensely popular. But this was now two songs on that first compilation that I really dug (The first being "The Way We Get By" by Spoon, that I had on a mix CD) so I decided to seek out the rest of the compilation. And thus the hook was set, and I was slowly drawn into a cheesy teen soap opera.

I was able to justify my dedication to the show because of the music (damn you Stephanie Savage, Josh Schwartz, and Alexandra Patsavas). In the second season they introduced a live music venue called The Bait Shop, where they were able to showcase up and coming artists. Here I was introduced to Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, The Killers,

Another big player in the second season was none other than Imogen Heap. No longer a part of Frou Frou, her song "Goodnight and Go" was featured early on the show, and garnered a fair bit of mainstream play following the show's airing. Then her song "Hide and Seek" became the centerpiece of the Season 2 season finale, first backing the funeral, and then being called back for the show's cliffhanger open-mouth ending.



They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery...and there's no better example than the SNL spoof of that very scene. Because I was such a fan of the show the "Dear Sister" digital short made me laugh out loud.



This track cuts me to my core. Imogen's voice by itself is spectacular. The harmonized vocals seem to be the only thing with which you could logically pair it. This haunting song rises and falls beautifully. I used to associate synthesizers and harmonizers with soulless house music, but this song broke down those prejudices.

But what's most amazing is that Heap produced this whole album "Speak for Yourself" by herself. Dissatisfied with how the previous Frou Frou album was mishandled; she took matters into her own hands, and the result is earth-shattering.

Of course then Zach Braff chose to include "Hide and Seek" in the soundtrack for his next film "The Last Kiss." The film came out two years after the songs release, and it had been almost played to death. While the music on the compilation was stellar again, I was disappointed to be familar with the majority of the artists already. Coldplay, Cary Brothers, Remy Zero, Imogen all made their second Braff appearances. But again there were some musician revelations

Snow Patrol - Chocolate -- the song featured in the trailer...almost engineered to feature heavily in a romantic movie; I've since latched tightly to Snow Patrol
Fiona Apple - Paper Bag -- revitalized an interest in someone I dismissed as a one-hit wonder (when I saw her at Vegoose in 2006 she killed it; a much better perfomer live)
Joshua Radin & Schuyler Fisk - Paperweight -- Radin I knew through following my Braff appreciation to Scrubs; the real revelation was Fisk, who I remembered vaguely as Sissy Spacek's daughter who was in that terrible Orange County movie with Tom Hanks son. Being the daughter of The Coal Miner's Daughter, the fact she can belt out a tune comes as no surprise, her being a darling redhead is just icing. I've constantly sought out any and all of her music since. She's currently working on her first album, and her singing has appeared in two other films I'm Reed Fish an Penelope)

So the cycle continues...Thanks Imogen I await your new album as well as Schuyler's first.

my songbook, pt. 3

Song #3 makes me a little bit embarrassed, but it represents an important step in my musical journey.

"Callin' Baton Rouge" -- Garth Brooks

When I was younger I would take great pleasure in ragging on my father for his affinity for some country music. He would put on his Tractors CD, and I would roll my eyes as he would bop along with "Baby Likes to Rock It."

It seemed that country music was destined to be shunned forever after it wasn't included in my "high school classic rock musical epiphany." This epiphany was almost single handedly engineered by Geoff Carson, who amassed a nice CD collection by preying on impressionable freshman such of myself, and gently coercing us into joining the BMG music service. Forced to choose 12 CDs at once, broke down my popular music-centric music tastes into the wonderful realms of classic rock. However the walls of ignorance against country music remained high and mighty.

The first concession I would make would be a few years later, in one of many late night discussions with one Oswald Cuervo. My junior year of high school, we logged some several hundred hours of reflection late night on Baum corridor. I've yet to replicate the frequency and depth of our interchanges. No matter what shenanigans we got into we found time for some chatting. Now that he works on the west coast for the other networking giant Facebook, I've all but completely lost touch.

However I digress...one night we discussed music, and I shared my current interest in one Bob Dylan. I was currently listening to his third Greatest Hits compilaton, almost solely for the inclusion of the song Hurricane. Everytime I heard the nearly nine minute song, I was reminded of the scene in Dazed and Confused were Wooderson, Pink, and Mitch walk through the Emporium, and this song backs their slow-motion stroll. Of all the great music in this film, this was my favorite, and yet it was not included on either of the two soundtracks released.

Some of my favorite parts of the song were the violin solos, and Ozzie had recently acquired an electric violin. He fooled around with it in a band (they couldn't decide on a name so they became known as TBA) that won our school talent show. They had huge sound issues and played only DMB cover songs. (Ozzie would go on to play in a band called Mojo Train at college). But that one night Ozzie plugged his violin into my CD player, and riffed along with "Hurricane." I think at that moment I decided that I really dug the violin in a non-classical music sense. So I was prepared to enjoy a bluegrass fiddle. So I was willing to admit I like the song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"

...

Cut to college...In a whirlwind of events beginning my second semester freshman year, I had gone against my better judgement and joined a fraternity. Not just any frat mind you, but the bastion of Southern Gentlemen, the Kappa Alpha Order. (How I allowed myself to believe that Southern Gentlemen was the proper description for what were actually Good Ole Boys is still baffling to me).

Now these brothers of mine were mostly from Texas and Alabama, and therefore were raised with a healthy dose of country music. Every Friday we would have kegs at the landfill we called our frat house (lovingly termed the KA Mansion). The archaic sound system would blast a mixture of classic rock and country music. As a lowly pledge I had no input into the DJ choices, so I had little recourse but to withstand this barrage of country. Needless to say I lost this war of attrition, much like my friend from high school Birdsey had continually hammered me with his bootleg Phish concert tapes until I actually dug them.

My concessions for country music started small. After hearing Pat Green and Robert Earl Keen so many times, I could barely classify them as country so I began to allow that I enjoyed "Texas country" because the line between Texas country and rock wasn't well defined in my mind. Cory Morrow,

And slowly the other songs that I heard every Friday stopped grating against my eardrums. And late one night when I heard myself belting out the words to "Callin' Baton Rouge" There was now no mistaking it. I knew all the words to a Garth Brooks song. Chris Gaines himself. All the words. Even several cups of keg beer deep. Needless to say...I was a little shocked.

As I came to terms with my light appreciation of country music, I started to explore more and more. This includes finding contemporary gems like Alison Krauss, and fully exploring the catalogs of legends like Johnny Cash. All thanks to Mr. "Friends in Low Places" Brooks.

I can now ridicule with a clean conscience all those lazy people who, when asked to list their favorite bands simply write "anything but country"

You're clearly missing the boat.