Movie soundtracks… what it is they’re good for? Don’t answer that.
This is, of course, irrespective of the discussion of movie soundtrack CD’s, a medium which I, in much maligned discourse, argue still has its advantages — portability, lending to better speaker sound, less staring at a computer screen. I’ll let that sleeping dog lie, for now.
This post, as are most of my posts hopefully, is the result of amazement. Interest within me has actually been spawned in cinema terminology, and overall, Whip it has reinforced by primaveral worry that CD commerce is just doomed.
Whip it is billed as Drew Barrymore’s “directorial debut,” and while this is a good marketing piece, further research and observation shows that the “screenplay” comes from one Shauna Cross, author of novel Derby Girl on which said film is purportedly based. Whip it is a phenomenal film, though, warranting discussions of, say, the exact individual provenance of scenes like the main character’s friend all of a sudden showing up behind the hoisted trash can, implicitly squashing what had for 15 or so minutes film time been their beef.
A key point is that Barrymore’s presumably chosen the music for the film (I thought this could be defined as the “score,” since it can’t, apparently, the “soundtrack,” but apparently it can’t, more on this later), which stands out to me, a veritable music geek, as especially excellent. I still remember when The Breeders’ 2008 album came out, Mountain Battles, I was just sort of like, oh yeah, this will probably rock, and since then after listening to it I just sort of think, oh yeah, this rocks, but I didn’t realize the MAGNITUDE of its originality. “Bang on,” a song from which I thought was titled “Missing” though apparently it’s not, has what stands to me today as the greatest intro in pop music, sounding far more like something that will cater to the avant-garde in the late 2010’s than anything ’90’s, and it’s introduced brilliantly in the film, during one of the roller derby bouts.
Speaking of the ’90’s, true, “No Surprises” by Radiohead more or less sums up that decade, but I found this song’s introduction awkward in the film Whip it. Nonetheless, it’s featured on the official soundtrack, while The Breeders’ auxiliary “Cannonball,” which during the film actually had me playing air guitar in my chair, is omitted. Just to make one thing clear, it’s in no way unusual for a soundtrack to feature multiple entries from the same artist — see Pulp Fiction’s Dick Dale, Full Metal Jacket’s Abigail Mead (daughter of Stanley Kubrick, smdh). “No Surprises” already HAS the perfect video to accompany it.
So yeah, I wish I could go to a store and pick up the Whip it soundtrack, and get the full movie feel (Department of Eagles’ In Ear Park titled track is also featured in the film to great effect, but omitted from the official release) — “Cannonball” is way more typifying of the film’s visceral glory than the albeit sublime Radiohead track that gained feature on the official soundtrack. The Breeders’ later release was put out on 4AD, of presumably deeper arms and shorter pockets, hence “Bang on”’s feature, but someone here is standing in the way of justice, and I can’t help but ponder on what could have been — one hell of an audio ’90’s revival experience for us old-timers.