Various Artists-Marie Antoinette OST

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 10/26/06

The soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's 2006 film Marie Antoinette is a mix of classical music with elements of baroque to 1980s post-punk and new wave along with elements of modern ambient and electronic music. Supervised by Brian Reitzell, a longtime associate of Coppola, along with the assistance of longtime friend Stephanie Hayman. The Marie Antoinette Soundtrack is a 2-disc mix that pays tribute to not just the baroque, classical musical styles of the 18th Century but also a tribute to the late 70s/early 80s New Romantics movement that was inspired by 18th Century debauchery. While the soundtrack isn't as nostalgic-driven or haunting as The Virgin Suicides soundtracks or as engaging in an emotional as the Lost in Translation soundtrack was. The Marie Antoinette soundtrack is still one of the most amazing mixes of music assembled for a film.

The first two tracks in the first disc appear in one of the most amazing scenes in the film, the masked ballroom scene. Now the idea of post-punk and new wave music blasting in an 18th Century ballroom might seem radical in terms of what it's trying to do. Yet, given the rhythm and the energy of that kind of music along with the baroque, classical style of music. It makes total perfect sense. The first disc opens with Siouxsie & the Banshees' Hong Kong Garden that starts off a swift, orchestral number from Brian Reitzell before going into a vibrant, rocking track led by the Siouxsie Sioux's wailing vocals and elements of Chinese melodies that really captures the swirling energy of the ballroom dance. The first of three Bow Wow Wow tracks in the soundtrack comes in the form of their original song Aphrodisiac that features some great tribal drumming and intense rhythms led by Annabella Lwin's vocals as furthers the party vibe and energy of the scene as it's a great track.

The third track in the first disc is the Strokes' What Ever Happened? is a fine track that has features the Strokes' Velvet-like snarl and Julian Casablanca's vocals. Yet, for some reason, this is by far the weakest track of the entire soundtrack and it doesn't seem to fit in with everything else and once it's played on the film during a scene in the third act, it makes the entire soundtrack feel like a gimmick. Next is the first of three tracks from the Radio Dept. in the form of Pulling Our Weight. The moody yet shimmering track is filled with all of the post-punk elements of the 80s with melodic bass lines and dreamy vocals as the song's pop-like textures is filled with hypnotic synthesizer lines and guitar tracks as it's a wonderful standout. Next is the New Order song Ceremony written by their previous incarnation as Joy Division. With Peter Hook's melodic bass lines and hammering drums of Stephen Morris, it's one of New Order's finest songs thanks to the harrowing lyrics of Ian Curtis sung by guitarist/vocalist Bernard Sumner as the song reveals the emotional moment of celebration in all of its glory and naivete that also has a sense of foreboding through Curtis' lyrics.

Opening the film during the first shot of Marie getting a pedicure and through the opening credits is from the legendary post-punk band the Gang of Four with their track Natural's Not It. With its crashing guitars and hard-hitting rhythms, the song is pure post-punk in all of its angst and momentum as it's the song that brings the film right to an energetic momentum led by some snarling vocals. It's a great post-punk classic. Next is the famous cover of the classic I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow. With its tribal, Bo Diddley beats, and the punk-like energy of the guitars, the song is an 80s classic. For this soundtrack, the legendary but reclusive leader of My Bloody Valentine, Kevin Shields gives the song a rocking remix. Shields' remix adds more echos to the vocals and reverbs to the guitars that gives the song more of a rock edge as in the end, it's still the same song but with added touches. Adam & the Ants arrive with Kings Of The Wild Frontier that is real New Romantic with its tribal-like beats and snarling guitars from Marco Pirroni with Adam Ant's wailing vocals that features vocals of 18th Century decadence that seems to go perfect with the film's tone as well as the look of Count Fersen.

The soundtrack then briefly shifts to the world of classical music with a cut from composer Antonio Vivaldi. With musical direction from Brian Reitzell and conducted by Roger Neill, Concerto in G is a wonderfully rhythmic, vibrant cut that features swift violin and cello riffs that definitely fits in with the energy of post-punk and new wave. The Vivaldi cut is easily one of first disc's great standout tracks since its energy really plays well to the record and the film to give that aura of 18th Century sophistication. Next is the eight-minute The Melody Of A Fallen Tree from Windsor for the Derby that is basically a moody, hypnotic track with bass lines, synthesizers, and guitars that starts off as hypnotic instrumental before going into song mode with shimmering synthesizers and a slow rhythm as it plays as an emotional track where Marie is now in the world of Versailles.

The second track from the Radio Dept. is I Don't Like It Like This is a more electronic-driven ballad with hypnotic beats and synthesizers that plays to the same, moody tone with haunting vocals as it's another amazing track that plays to the emotions of Marie's young life. The final track in the first disc comes from the Cure's classic 1989 album Disintegration with the wonderful Plainsong with its opening, wailing synthesizers and Robert Smith's emotional vocals that plays well to the coronation of King Louis XVI and Marie in a wonderful, breathtaking scene.

Whereas the first disc is mostly song-driven and energetic while moody in some parts to the slower songs. The second disc is mostly instrumental with ambient, classical, and opera cuts while having a few songs in the disc. The second disc opens with a 37-second cut from longtime Coppola sound designer Richard Beggs and Brian Reitzell called Intro Versailles which is basically a layered mix of sounds ranging from bells chiming, horses trodding on the ground with birds to the wedding with church organs and such that add weight to the breathtaking introduction of Versailles. The first of two tracks from the Aphex Twin is Jynweythek Ylow which is an ambient track filled with chiming, scratchy melodies and rhythms to the wave of melodic, ambient keyboards from Richard D. James in this ominous instrumental. The first of three instrumental cuts from Dustin O'Halloran arrive in Opus 17 that is primarily an eerie, transcending piano cut that plays well to the atmosphere of 18th Century ambiance. Air contributes a track with their five-minute instrumental version of Il Secondo Giorno as it's mainly an ambient track with reverb, bass-driven synthesizer melodies and acoustic guitars as its wonderfully played to the moods and isolation in the world of Versailles.

The third and final track from Radio Dept. is Keen On Boys starts off with this wave of dreamy yet droning guitar crashes that harkens to the world of shoegazing with atmospheric vocals and hypnotic guitar waves accompanied by electronic beats. This is the best track from the Radio Dept. as the band brings a lot of moodiness and texture to the soundtrack and film. The second O'Halloran composition in Opus 23 is a more emotional, melancholic piano track that is filled with lower chords and a sadness that plays to the mood of Versailles and Marie's surroundings. The next classical cut comes from Fancois Cauperin called Les Barricades Mysterious that is basically a harpsichord track performed by Patricia Mabee and directed and arranged by Brian Reitzell. The cut is a fast-played harpsichord track that seems to go well with the times with its flourishing melodies and the imperfected sound that the harpsichord seems to sound.

The next track is a cover of Johnny Mercer's Fools Rush In from Bow Wow Wow. The original cover from Bow Wow Wow is more tribal in tune with their sound but the remix Kevin Shields gives sticks to the rhythm yet the music is replaced with a more shoegaze-like sound of reverb guitars and faster, electronic beats yet the vocals that Annabella Lwin are amazing. Played in a scene after the ballroom scene, it's one of the best cuts as its rhythm will keep listeners dancing. The second Aphex Twin instrumental is Avril 14th is a more piano-driven track that plays to the melancholia and isolation of the world in Versailles with its flourishing yet slow piano melodies that reveals the talents of Richard D. James. Another harpsichord-driven cut arrives in the form of Domenico Scarlatti with Mabee playing the cut and arrangements from Reitzell. K. 213 is a more melodic-driven track that plays to the atmosphere of Versailles in its ambiance that is slower than the previous harpsichord track but more flourishing. Squarepusher contributes an ambient cut in Tommib Help Buss that has the same, emotional melody like Tommib did in the Lost in Translation soundtrack but is more reverb in its keyboard melodies and less engaging yet it is a fine track from Tom Jenkinson.

Opera arrives in Tristes Apprets, Pales Flambeaux from the opera Castor et Pollux by Jean-Phillippe Rameau that's directed by William Christie with vocals by Agnes Mellon. The opera cut is flourishing in its bombast and arrangements yet the opera track is very sad led by Mellon's amazing vocals that convey the sadness in a scene late in the film when Marie is watching an opera considering the political situation her country is in. It's one of the best cuts of the film. Dustin O'Halloran contributes one more composition with Opus 36 that is another piano-driven track that features more, melancholic melodies with higher pitches in the chords that adds to the fall of Versailles and Marie's troubling moods. The final track is from the Cure in All Cats Are Grey that closes the film and plays in the final credits. With its slow, tribal beats and harrowing synthesizers, the song plays like the end of something with Robert Smith's eerie vocals and lyrics as it conveys death of where Marie would eventually meet her fate.

While it's not a perfect soundtrack thanks to the inclusion of the Strokes, Marie Antoinette is still a fine soundtrack with some great cuts ranging from classical to new wave. While other contributions from the classical department including an 18th Century instrumental from Phoenix and New Order's Age Of Consent (that was played in the film's teaser trailer) never made it to the final cut of the soundtrack. What Sofia Coppola and Brian Reitzell offered is still amazing in its variety while making it a great introduction to not just the music genres of post-punk, new wave, and ambient but also classical where those cuts are very inspiring. In the end, the soundtrack to Marie Antoinette is a must-have for anyone who's a fan of the film and the work of Sofia Coppola.

Sofia Coppola Films: Lick the Stars - The Virgin Suicides - Lost in Translation - Marie Antoinette - Somewhere - The Bling Ring

Sofia Coppola Soundtracks: Air-The Virgin Suicides - The Virgin Suicides OST - Lost in Translation OST - (The Bling Ring OST))

Sofia Coppola Essays: Sofia Coppola: The Videos and Ads 1993-2008 - LIT 5th Anniversary Essay - The Auteurs #1: Sofia Coppola - Favorite Films #4: Somewhere

© thevoid99 2013

Various Artists-Lost in Translation OST

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/27/03 with a Few Minor Edits.

When there’s a comeback arose, it’s always based on something to cash in on something or to prove that you’re viable again. Then there’s My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields. Since the release of 1991’s seminal rock masterpiece Loveless, My Bloody Valentine disappeared after making two acclaimed albums and several brilliant EPs by the mid-1990s. For years, fans had waited for Kevin Shields and company to return with a new record but instead, Shields contributed covers to tribute or benefit albums, remixes, and guitar contributions under the MBV moniker. In 2000, he briefly made a return to the spotlight when he toured with Primal Scream to promote their album XTRMNTR which Shields had made contributions for. Still, many wondered if the reclusive perfectionist will make a return and in 2003, he did.

The news of Shields’ return sent shockwaves all over the music press, notably the U.K. and U.S. underground who had been praising Loveless for years. Though it’s unsure if Shields will release a full-length album in the coming years, there will be a new MBV album coming with unreleased and re-recorded material from the pre-Loveless period. Whether the MBV or his new solo record will come out first, Shields finally presented four new tracks to the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola’s sophomore masterpiece Lost in Translation.

The soundtrack to Lost in Translation is a wide mix of music ranging from Japanese pop, indie-pop, French electronic music, ambient, noise-pop, and dream-pop. Leading the pack is Kevin Shields with four new cuts on the record along with an old classic cut from Loveless. The film’s music and score is also provided by producer Brian Reitzell who plays on a couple of tracks for Shields as well as two of his own tracks with Beck's keyboardist Roger J. Manning Jr. The soundtrack, like the film itself, provides a sense of chill and alienation to capture the isolating tone of Sofia Coppola’s subtle, evocative look of the movie and the soundtrack does a perfect job in doing so. With the sterile, chilling electronic music of Squarepusher, Death in Vegas, Air, and Sebastien Tellier along with songs and textures from Phoenix, Happy End, Richard Beggs, and a classic cut from the Jesus & Mary Chain, the film provides a diverse soundtrack into the colorful layers and dissonance of Japan.

The album begins with a brief intro designed by Richard Beggs which features the noises of Tokyo and its people along with samples of Japanese songs like Sora Izumikawa’s Lost Generation, Akinori Kumata’s Carpe Diem-Ima Konoshunkanwo Ikiru, and Miki Watanabe’s Kitakaze To Taiyo. The intro serves as an uncomforting, chilling opener to the world of Japan and its people as it segues into the next song. Kevin Shields’ City Girl arrives with Brian Reitzell’s mid-tempo, pulsating drums and Shields’ dissonant, droning guitar wash as he sings, “Please, tonight/Last night/You/You’re away, and wonderful/I wanted you, I do, I do” with his sullen, drowsy vocals. The song’s textures of shimmering melodies from Shields’ guitar proves that after 12 years, Shields hasn’t lost the ability to craft a brilliant pop song, especially in the chorus of “City girl, you’re beautiful/I love you, I do, I do, I do” with Reitzell hitting pulsating fills and cymbal crashes to Shields’ melodic guitar wash.

Next is an eerie, chilling instrumental from Sebastien Tellier entitled Fantino that has Tellier playing a soft, washy acoustic guitar track with accompanying layers of synthesizers and mellotrons that serves as a chilling, evocative tone to the song to encompass the isolation of the film’s American characters in Tokyo along with dissonant Japanese melodies performed on the synthesizers that wails throughout the song in its squealing demeanor. Squarepusher comes next with his instrumental piece Tommib that arrives with its melodic, sterile synthesizer track in its dreamy, melancholic tone. Though the track is brief, it again encompasses that alienation in the film’s subtle tone as it was used in some of the driving scenes of Tokyo that has Tommib serve as an alien-like accompaniment to a world that is foreign to outsiders and the track captures that tone perfectly.

Next is Death in Vegas’ Girls that is a more blossoming track with its grand, melodic crashes of guitars, bass, synthesizers, drums, and Susan Dillane’s vocals as it starts off soft and then blooms into something mesmerizing and open as the snare hits along with fuzzy synthesizer tracks. The track serves as the introduction of Japan to its foreigners as either something beautiful or strange as the track then speeds up a bit into something a bit more menacing but not in a very aggressive way as it still encompasses its melancholic tone. Goodbye is the first of two electronic-inspired instrumentals from Kevin Shields as he returns to the ambient-textures of MBV in the past to explore electronic music with just some synthesizers and a guitar. Goodbye plays as a dense, soothing track with ambient-like synthesizers and textures with a soft guitar drone in the background as the track shows the stimulating chill of loneliness in the film’s central characters of Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson). The track might seem to be totally different from Shields’ work with MBV but in truth, it’s not really different in its ambient, dreamy tone since Shields have always found ways to make noise dreamy.  Even though it doesn't appear in the film.

We now go into the pop spectrum of the soundtrack with Phoenix’s Too Young with its bouncy, Casio-keyboard melodies, flourishing guitar melodies, dance-rhythms, and vocals of Phoenix’s singer as he sings the chorus of “Can you hear me calling/Everybody’s shaking/Tonight, everything is over/Too young”. Some listeners might remember this song from the movie Shallow Hal where Jack Black is dancing with three women that Jason Alexander refers to as “Hyenas, giraffes, and hippos”.  Coppola uses it for a sense of fun in the party scene with Murray, Johansson, and Japanese actor Fumihrio Hayashi as a precursor to the famous karaoke scene in the film.

We now go to some nice Japanese pop from an old 1971 song by Happy End entitled Kaze Wo Atsumete that is a lovely, acoustic pop song sung entirely in Japanese by a guy with a nice baritone-like vocal with melodic keyboard backgrounds. This song is catchy and has an Elvis Costello quality of sorts in the song although I think Elvis Costello should be questioned if he had heard of these guys and ripped them off. Still, it’s a great Japanese pop song that has a catchy chorus in its title that broadens the record wide open in its diverse presentation.

We return to the eerie world of Tokyo in an instrumental called On The Subway by Brian Reitzell and Roger J. Manning Jr. with its cold, simmering synthesizer accompaniment along with melodic keyboard hooks, and a pulsating, eerie drum machine track that encompasses the isolation of Charlotte in the Tokyo subway where’s she’s the only American in subway and the trains that just is well utilized in its isolating tone. The second of third Shields instrumental arrives with the melodic Ikebana that is all Shields as he plays a dreamy, melancholic guitar track with its layers of chiming melodies and a simmering, ambient synthesizer accompaniment in the background. The track is easily the best thing from Shields in the soundtrack as he displays his brilliant as a guitarist by playing a simple melody in a moving scene of Charlotte watching women pruning Japanese orchids.

We now go to a classic My Bloody Valentine song from Loveless called Sometimes where Shields plays a grungy, dreamy guitar wash with its dissonant, droning melodies as he sings the song’s dreamy lyrics of loneliness with his drowsy vocals and an accompanying acoustic guitar wash from Blinda Butcher in the background. This song like many road scenes in the movie was used in a very particular one where after days of insomnia, Bob and Charlotte are returning to their hotel as they’re finally becoming sleepy and Coppola deserves credit for finding this song and acknowledging the influence of My Bloody Valentine in the film as a wailing, ambient like synthesizer approaches to end the song.

Next is a track from the French electronic duo Air (who contributed the score to Coppola’s debut film The Virgin Suicides) as they bring the only new track, aside from Shields and Reitzell, in the instrumental Alone In Kyoto. Alone In Kyoto opens with soft, simmering synthesizers as melodic string riffs and soft wails of synthesizer melodies later follow it. Pianos come in as the track begins to build some momentum as the track encompasses some Japanese melodies to visualize Charlotte’s trip in Kyoto as the track later, becomes more melancholic with its piano and wave backgrounds to stimulate the sadness of Charlotte’s marriage in the film.

The second instrumental contribution Reitzell and Manning is the short instrumental for Shibuya with its dense, deep synthesizer track as wailing synth melodies arrive with pulsating hooks as Richard Beggs brings in noises of Tokyo and people talking in Japanese. The final instrumental piece is from Kevin Shields for Are You Awake? where Shields goes into electronic music with bass accompaniment from Bryan Mills and throbbing synthesizer melodies from Shields and pulsating rhythms from Brian Reitzell as Shields takes the ambient of MBV into dreamier, more rhythmic textures as he even plays a soft, squealing synth-buzz in the background.

The supposed album closer is the classic Jesus & Mary Chain song Just Like Honey as future Primal Scream singer Bobby Gillespie plays that famous Wall of Sound rhythm of the Phil Spector-produced Ronnettes masterpiece Be My Baby. With Douglas Hart’s bass accompanying and William Reid playing a soft, feedback wash guitar with Jim Reid singing, “Listen to the girl as she takes on half the world/Moving up and so alive/In her honey-dripping beehive, beehive/It’s good, so good, it’s so good, so good/Watching after you is the hardest thing that I can do/That I can do for you, for you/I’ll be your plastic toy, I’ll be your plastic toy, for you/Eating up the scum is the hardest thing for me to do”. Then Gillespie goes into a caveman-like beat to the song’s layers of guitar-wash feedback as Jim Reid sings the words “Just like honey” repeatedly as the song served as another road song to the film while the lyrics provide a clear description of what the movie is about, sort of.

After 9 minutes of silence, a secret track appears where Charlotte introduces Bob Harris as he does a moving karaoke version of Roxy Music’s classic More Than This. With re-recording backing tracks from Reitzell and Manning, Bill Murray steals the show as he sings the song’s heartbreaking lyrics with his flat but soulful vocals including the chorus of “More than this, you know there’s nothing/More than this, tell me one thing/More than this, there’s nothing” that is brief but moving though it doesn’t capture the same spirit that Murray did a long time ago for that Star Wars song but his rendition of “More Than This” still leaves you breathless.

While a lot of film soundtracks this year (with the soundtrack to Underworld as an exception) are just trying to provide singles and song that really has nothing to do with the film, the soundtrack to Lost in Translation doesn’t try to provide any sort of huge singles or songs that had nothing to do with the film. All the tracks in this record capture the feeling of isolation in Coppola’s dreamy masterpiece, which is why this record is by far, the best soundtrack of the year and maybe, the best album of 2003. Another thing that should be noted about the soundtrack is the packaging with Polaroid pictures of Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson showing their loneliness or whatever brief of happiness is shown in the film. It’s by far one of the best packaging I’ve seen for any film soundtrack along with its evocative look of Tokyo captured by film cinematographer Lance Acord.

The soundtrack to Lost in Translation is easily one of the best soundtracks to come out in the past ten years. With its array of electronic music from Air, Death in Vegas, Squarepusher and pop tunes from Phoenix, the Jesus & Mary Chain, and Happy End, the record has everything. Even the tracks of Brian Reitzell and Roger Manning standout for its dense, eerie score that displays the alien tone of being a foreigner to the new world. The real star of this soundtrack of course is Kevin Shields. Though his instrumentals for Goodbye and Are You Awake? are excellent forays into electronic music, it’s the instrumental for Ikebana that really shows why Shields is an influential force in pop music while City Girl is another example of Shields’ mastery on pop music. Fans of My Bloody Valentine, the various artists in the soundtrack, or the film itself should pick up this soundtrack. For Kevin Shields, it’s a brilliant comeback in appearing the year’s best soundtrack to the year’s best film.

Sofia Coppola Films: Lick the Star - The Virgin Suicides - Lost in Translation - Marie Antoinette - Somewhere - The Bling Ring

Sofia Coppola Soundtracks: Air-The Virgin Suicides - The Virgin Suicides OST - Marie Antoinette OST - (The Bling Ring OST)

Sofia Coppola Essays: Sofia Coppola: The Videos and Ads 1993-2008 - LIT 5th Anniversary Essay - The Auteurs #1: Sofia Coppola - Favorite Films #4: Somewhere - LiT: 10 Reasons

© thevoid99 2013