An Album Less Ordinary

Original Soundtracks, or OST’s as you will see them referred from this point on, are another potential sticking point. Do you them file them under the film title? Muscial Coordinator/Conductor? Director’s name? What if it’s a TV show instead of a film?

After all, Wes Anderson, Sophia Coppola, and Cameron Crowe have given us albums as important, and sometimes better, than their films. Their music are part of their movies from the ground up. Other movies bear the mark of great coordinators and writers. Alan Silvestri has touched so many OST’s, lifted some moneys up by his writing, or at least got paid trying to, he could have a good dozen or so titles organized if his name alone.

YES…. I WILL KEEP AN ALAN SILVESTRI COUNT! LET IT BE WRITTEN!

Oh.. I’m the one writing it. Good to know.

Anywhoo.. I’ve chosen to keep it simple. OST’s will be sorted by their titles, if in a series (film,tv or otherwise) chronologically.

And now… A Life Less Ordinary.

Like most alternadudes, I was pulled into Danny Boyle’s work early on. I saw Shallow Grave  at the Warner Theater in Ridgewood, NJ, at a late night showing with my dad, and loved this shit. Trainspotting…. OH MY FAHKING GOD WHAT AN AMAZING MOVE!

Then.. hey, Ewan was a star! He was doing a movie with Cameron Diaz, who was still CAMERON FUCKING DIAZ, and it was in UTAH! And there were cool articles about it in Rolling Stone.. and then it disappeared. I finally saw it while visiting friends in Boulder, CO taking a down day and marveling at their new fangled digital cable. It was heavily pixilated, required constant changing of channels, but it was the future.

And this movie… it was good. Not great. I could have done without the claymation. But it had Cameron Diaz, Ewan AND Holly Hunter. (Who I’ve had a crush on since Broadcast News, and whose awful TNT show I will ignore.) But it stuck to it’s off kilter feel, looked great, and fit in nicely with his previous flicks.

And the soundtack… ah, sweet, sweet soundtrack. One that has travelled with me either on CD or on iPod almost everywhere for years, to travel to or to get some exercise on. One that has so many different styles, plus that nice late 90’s heavy bass/not quite club ecstasy music feel. Boyle always has always had great music woven into his films. In this case his team Debra Mannis-Gardner doing clearances and David Arnold doing great orignal music. (thanks the cd booklet and IMDB!) And this was no exception.

True, it’s not the 2 CD wonder of Trainspotting 1&2, nor the worldmusic smash hit of Slumdog Millionaire. But like the movie that spawned it, it was a unique gem that you want to go back to.

Again, and again.

Artist: OST

Album:A Life Less Ordinary
Year: 1997
Date Listened in Tour:7/4/07
Rating: *****
Best Song: either “Deeper River” by Dusted, or “A Life Less Ordinary” by Ash. Honestly, there are so many amazing songs on this CD, fighting over which one is best would be an eternal war.

And a worthy one