The Look Back

This Friday Mix is brought to you by the best movie I’ve seen in 2007, No Country for Old Men.  I read the Cormac McCarthy book a while back in college and really enjoyed it.  I was curious how they would translate the tone of the book onto the screen and I was very pleased in the end.  Stunning vistas.  The cinematographer should be commended for a job well done as this movie makes me want to pick up my camera and take a week long trip to Texas for a photo expedition.  My neighbor back home, Josh Brolin, stars and even wears a Templeton Eagles letterman jacket at one point in the movie.  (He grew up about 5 miles from me but obviously was living it up in the 80’s Hollywood by the time I came around.  He still has a ranch by my parents and has said he wants to retire out there. Now you are fully caught up on the family trivia.)

The music idea was inspired by You Ain’t No Picasso’s post this week where he was inspired to come up with his own soundtrack to this movie, which is lacking in one completely. At least most of these songs are inspired by the movie.

Destroyer – Foam Hands

I can’t say much more about this song that hasn’t been said on every blog so far this week.  Destroyer’s (aka Dan Bejar) new album comes out in March and it will be mentioned on most snob’s elitist 2008 best of list.  To make this fit with the post I’ll just speculate that Dan LOVED the movie. 

M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel – When I Get to the Border

I just posted a Zooey Deschanel song last week and now I have another, who would have thought that would happen?  Actresses singing good songs? CRAZY!  M.Ward is featured more prominently but in the other song they have released it is more like a Zooey Deschanel song featuring M.Ward.  M.Ward is still my favorite Boo Boo Records store employee.  (Yeah, he really worked there while living in San Luis Obispo a number of years ago.) Oh yeah, and No Country for Old Men takes place on the boarder of Mexico. There’s the connection. 

Josh Ritter – Mind’s Eye

Revenge is more an undertone I get from certain characters in the movie. It isn’t a constant thread through the movie as that would have to be fear/dread. (Which I’ll get to in the next song.) The piano solo is pretty amazing in this one.   

Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Another Day Full of Dread

Again, taking the place of a true “country song” but I had to do it in this case.  This is one of my favorite tracks from “I See A Darkness” and is really what inspired this idea after seeing YANP’s blog entry.  “By dread I’m inspired, by fear I’m amused” is so fitting for this movie and could very well have been the theme to the entire film.  Dread and fear are very different emotions if you think about it.  Do not confuse them. 

Robbers on High Street – Seasons Greetings

This came out of nowhere.  I have a number of other Christmas songs by indie bands that I have otherwise never really listened to.  This is so far my favorite “new” Christmas song of 2007.  I dug it up through elbo.ws and have been listening to it like crazy for the past few days.  Now, I just need to get that Christmas mix on here at some point.