So, this weekend I went to see Just Like Heaven. And it was cute! The final scene is a little mushy — by which I don’t mean overly sentimental, but rather limp and flaccid — but it doesn’t hurt the movie, because we all know it’s coming. Reese Witherspoon is fine, but the heart of the movie is the trio of Mark Ruffalo, Donal Logue and Jon Heder, who give it a little needed edge.
But the music… ughrrKKKK!!!
The movie starts with a dream sequence and a perfectly execrable cover version of the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.” Just when I was ready to scream in horror, the scene abruptly stops. Whew! Saved in the knick of time. Soon, there was a godawful version of “Lust For Life” by Kay Hanley; later, Pete Yorn butchers “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me).” One of the few really stupid bits in the movie is a montage of exorcism efforts, the worst of which features some “exterminators” who are supposed to look like the Ghostbusters. In case you missed that, they play the song “Ghostbusters.” And as if that wasn’t bad enough, it’s a terrible cover version. (Who’da thunk you could miss Ray Parker, Jr.?)
As the end credits roll, the Cure‘s original version of “Just Like Heaven” plays. Ah, Thank God! But before it can end, it fades down and is replaced again by that crappy sucky folky stupid bullshit cover version. Ah! You want some punishment? Here, go buy this for yourself. But bring a noose.
As a contrast, the soundtrack to Elizabethtown is awesome. Cameron Crowe’s latest opens in three weeks, but the soundtrack is available now and can be previewed on the movie’s website or streamed (for a limited time) at MySpace.
Stereogum posted about the soundtrack, describing it as alt-country, which is true I suppose, as far as that goes. I particularly like the track from HELEN STELLaR, taken from their Below Radar EP (2002), which has a great dreamy vibe. And I also love the new song from Lindsey Buckingham. Damn, talk about below the radar, where has he been? His last album came out 13 years ago. He’s sang and played on other people’s albums and I guess he just did an episode of the PBS concert series Soundstage, that I seem to have missed.
I’m a huge fan of writer-director Cameron Crowe. There seems to be a little confusion over how to market Elizabethtown. The original trailer sucked; the new one I saw in front of Just Like Heaven was much better. Some of the new TV spots look terrible. They seem to be trying to pitch it as a romantic comedy, focusing on Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. The Internet First Look, which utilizes Elton John “My Father’s Gun,” seems like a much better clue to the film.
Crowe talks about the Elizabethtown music here. Six years ago, I wrote an appreciation of the classic Say Anything. Also, check out the fansite The Uncool.
UPDATE: From yesterday’s LA Times, Cameron Crowe writes about using music in movies and about his own struggles with this process.
Helen Stellar – io (This Time Around) — BUY
Lindsey Buckingham – Shut Us Down — BUY
4 Responses
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Jugi Says:
Hi. Mr. Buckingham appeared quite prominently on the last Fleetwood Mac record, SAY YOU WILL, which apparently started out as a Buckingham solo project which expanded into a Buckingham-Nicks reunion project which further expanded into a full Mac attack! Half the songs on SAY YOU WILL sound like they’re LB’s, and dang if that isn’t the man himself on the cover. (Great blog, btw!)
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The Pop View Says:
If the above is correct, it wouldn’t be the first time this happened. I believe Tusk started as sessions in Lindsey’s garage and then the other bandmembers were brought in.
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Nostromo Says:
I sure wish that Helen Stellar track was available as a single. It was the only tune from Elizabethtown I cared for.
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The Pop View Says:
Yeah, that song is amazing. Hey, you can get the EP for only eight bucks here, only a little more than a single, but less than an album.
In addition to the two tracks I posted from the Elizabethtown soundtrack, I also like “60B (Etown Theme),” “My Father’s Gun,” “Come Pick Me Up,” and “Jesus Was a Crossmaker.” Not a great CD, but a good one, which will undoubtedly lead to this headline coming true: “Cameron Crowe To Release Only Soundtracks.”