AWmusic

Roger Ebert said in his film review, “Coppola has been criticized in some circles for her use of a contemporary pop overlay — hit songs, incongruous dialogue, jarring intrusions of the Now upon the Then. But no one ever lives as Then; it is always Now. Many characters in historical films seem somehow aware that they are living in the past. Marie seems to think she is a teenager living in the present, which of course she is — and the contemporary pop references invite the audience to share her present with ours.”

You know what I was thinking while I was researching this, why isn’t there a band named Marie Antoinette??? Or maybe I’m saying that because I’m listening to the movie soundtrack, and the music is so thematic that it sounds like one band. Some people don’t like Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette because of the colours, the music and I have heard some complain about Kirsten Dunst being Coppola’s muse. I say never mind all that. I’m not here to argue with the non believers, I am from the Sofia Coppola society. One thing I’ve always loved about her films… her choice in music. It always seemed as if she pictured the scene with the music already on her mind. It is indeed difficult for me to write this without picturing the film, I encourage you to watch the film and pay attention to the music.

I know this album came out in 2006, but a good soundtrack works like an album I think. There’s not a ‘good’ time to listen to it but now, and it’s never out-dated. Funny enough, the Marie Antoinette OST is a complete compilation of 80s music and classical music. I’ll admit that some of these bands I did not know, in fact perhaps being more familiar with the classical music than the modern ones. Regardless, I have grown to really appreciate some of the bands that were unknown to me before. Yes, I’m one of those big nerds that hears songs in a movie then looks them up.

I really like this album because the music, especially the tracks by The Radio Dept (up to 3) have a great sense of nostalgia and colour to them. The tracks paint the pictures in my mind. If you match it with the film, it paints colours of a time lost, like Coppola’s first big studio film The Virgin Suicides. Other tracks, like Bow Wow Wow’s remixed I Want Candy, Aphrodisiac, Fools Rush In and Siouxsie & The Banshees’ Hong Kong Garden, give the aura of decadence and good times. And, I need to mention The Cure’s Ceremony, the grandeur used strategically in a crowning scene.

I treat this soundtrack like an album, a smart and colourful compilation of music that makes me wonder…

The Strokes – What Ever Happened

The Radio Dept – Pulling Our Weight

Windsor For The Derby – The Melody Of A Fallen Tree

The Radio Dept – I Don’t Like It Like This

Full track listing.

Disc One

1. “Hong Kong Garden (With Strings Intro)” – Siouxsie & The Banshees
2. “”Aphrodisiac” – Bow Wow Wow
3. “What Ever Happened” – The Strokes
4. “Pulling Our Weight” – The Radio Dept.
5. “Ceremony” – New Order
6. “Natural’s Not in It” – Gang of Four
7. “I Want Candy (Kevin Shields Remix)” – Bow Wow Wow
8. “Kings of the Wild Frontier” – Adam & The Ants
9. “Concerto in G”[1] – Antonio Vivaldi / Reitzell
10. “The Melody of a Fallen Tree” – Windsor for the Derby
11. “I Don’t Like It Like This” – The Radio Dept.
12. “Plainsong” – The Cure

Disc Two

1. “Intro Versailles” – Reitzell / Beggs
2. “Jynweythek Ylow” – Aphex Twin
3. “Opus 17″ – Dustin O’Halloran
4. “Il Secondo Giorno (Instrumental)” – Air
5. “Keen On Boys” – The Radio Dept.
6. “Opus 23″ – Dustin O’Halloran
7. “Les barricades mystérieuses” – François Couperin / Reitzell
8. “Fools Rush In (Kevin Shields Remix)” – Bow Wow Wow
9. “Avril 14th” – Aphex Twin
10. “K. 213″ – Domenico Scarlatti / Reitzell
11. “Tommib Help Buss” – Squarepusher
12. “Tristes Apprêts, Pâles Flambeaux” – Jean Philippe Rameau / W. Christie[2]
13. “Opus 36″ – Dustin O’Halloran
14. “All Cats Are Grey” – The Cure

Once the 80′s hit, instead of punk, we got post punk and slowly a transition into new wave and instead of the of the 70s disco we were given dance. Compared to the 70s, I know much more about the 80s.

One of the most influential (perhaps – sadly, not to downplay MJ but the artists themselves that are so-called inspired by him) to modern pop music rests on the shoulders of Michael Jackson. He’s known more in the tabloids now but he lit the world on fire. It goes without saying that MJ was great and he was in a era where he was ultimately innovative, could sing his lungs off and had the dance moves to boot. Billie Jean stands as my favorite Michael Jackson track.

Billie Jean by Michael Jackson

New Order was going through a transition from the suicide of Ian Curtis and to be honest I was a New Order fan before finding out about Joy Division and the transition. When reading about, I never made the connection because in my opinion New Order and Joy Division sound so different. New Order become national superstars with hits like Bizarre Love Triangle but that was later in the 80s. I actually don’t know many songs on the Movement album but Pitchfork’s choice of Movement is a solid as you can get. Since New Order is reissuing 5 of their albums, there’s a contest to win a signed Peter Hook bass.
Temptation by New Order

Making two different appearances in this era is Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five. I’ll be honest I know nothing about Grandmaster Flash other then he is of course of a legendary producer who has been sampled frequently on rap records. A particular favorite of mine is The Message which appaears on Ice Cube’s Check Yo Self.

The Message by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five

Punk rock was still alive and well but it definitely past its glory days but the punk rock influences were still present and we got derivatives. Granted I know very little about these two bands themselves both are memorable songs. The Dead Kennedys with hardcore punk (more so hardcore/noise rock but with a political message) and their song “Holiday in Cambodia” were one of the few that took notice to the Khmer Rouge’s acts during the time period. Coming from a Cambodian background… I don’t really need to express my feelings on the matter. I know the Violent Femmes for the track Blister In The Sun (it’s a popular one isn’t it?) and Gone Daddy Gone which Gnarls Barkley covered. Still they made great song great folk songs.

Holiday in Cambodia by The Dead Kennedys
Blister in The Sun by The Violent Femmes

There were a lot of great pop songs in this era. Softcell’s Tainted Love I’d include but a video suffices.

Other songs that I’ve had the experience of knowing beforehand: More Than This by Roxy Music (due to Division Day’s cover), Queen w/ David Bowie Under Pressure (their best times were sadly over). I was also tempted to put some ABBA (you know you secretly love them).