Monday, September 28, 2009

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE SOUNDTRACK


I've been looking forward to this movie for an incredible amount of time. I just got the soundtrack and from listening to it, I think that the film is going to be fantastic. Dave Eggers script, Spike Jonze direction, and now Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) music! Talk about a triple threat! Not to mention that she recruited Bradford Cox (Deer Hunter and his solo project Atlas Sound; two of my favourite bands) and Aaron Hemphill of The Liars!

I've now listened to the album 3 times tonight and it's great! There's a reason why it's by Karen O and "THE KIDS". There's a lot of kids singing backup to many of the songs. This is a kids movie after all, so it's very whimsical, peppy and light in many of the compositions but there's a rough, raw, folk-like quality to it. I'd actually say there are some tracks ("Animal") where it sounds like musicians gobbled a bunch of mushrooms, danced around a fire chanting into night. Almost like a wild rumpus! Karen O also has some heart-wrenching sad ballads scattered within like "Worried Shoes" which tells me there's going to be a lot of emotional heart and sadness in this movie. After listening to this album, I am really intrigued at how these songs will blend with the story and I think we're in for a special experience. I think kids will feel like they've finally been treated to a movie that talks at their level directly instead of talking down to them. I think kids will feel, for the first time in movie history, respected.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that the overall sound of the soundtrack is kinda like "Yeah Yeah Yeahs" meet "Arcade Fire" meet "The Go! Team." Also, Nathan Thomas has sent me this link where the entire album is streamed.

No comments: