Soundtracks have always played a big role in my enjoyment of music. Often I find myself paying more attention to the various melodies in the background of whatever film is playing, imagining how the soundtrack’s producers decided to match certain moods with specific frames. I don’t know, it’s just fascinating to me. I watch a lot of indie-romances and stuff that the average guy actively avoids, but one thing that frustrates me is that even in the so-called indie flicks, they always seem to draw from the same pool of hip artists. I guess I was just tired of hearing the same types of scenes matched up with the same types of musicians, every time. It’s like they’re getting lazy; either that or they all just want to emulate successful indie soundtracks of the past without actually attempting to go through the requisite discovery of unknown artists that makes an indie soundtrack worth exploring. I wanted something that would make me feel like Garden State did when I first heard it, before I knew of The Shins, Remy Zero, or Nick Drake — but that was a long time ago, and my musical depth and breadth has more than tripled. I needed outside help to dig a little deeper.
So when I did my brief little rec competition (thanks to everyone who offered a song!), I was trying to fashion a “sputnik indie-flick romantic comedy” type of soundtrack that would (1) turn myself and others on to new or overlooked romantic indie tracks and (2) score, in a sense, the indie-romance temperature of sputnik. I appreciate every single contribution that was made, although a special shout out has to go to the users who rec’d me the songs that made my soundtrack: academy for Dean Lewis’ “Waves”, Conmaniac for Happy Body Slow Brain’s “Everything You Know”, Prancer for M83’s “Teen Angst”, ComeToDaddy for Moving Mountains’ “Ode We Will Bury Ourselves”, verdant for Snowpoet’s “Always”, hesperus for Saxon Shore’s “Sustained Combustion”, GreyShadow for There Will Be Fireworks’ “River”, betlwedl for Stars’ “Your Ex-Lover is Dead”, Sniff for Einar Stray Orchestra’s “Penny For Your Thoughts”, and brainmelter for Foreign Fields’ “Where the Willow Tree Died.” Like I said, many of the other recommendations I enjoyed immensely, but these meshed perfectly with the cosmic, in-love-for-the-first-time vibe I was aiming for. Not all of my personal selections fit the true spirit of underground, undiscovered gem artists, but they were just songs I hadn’t heard before. For example, M83 is famous but I started their discography with Dreaming so I hadn’t heard anything prior to that album. My hope is that others will be able to spin the below “album” as I’ve ordered it and find just one or two songs that will end up meaning something to them. They all already do to me.
Sputnik Indie Romance Flick: Soundtrack
And I know I’m making entirely too much out of a set of recommended tracks, but what’s the point if you can’t be creative with them? When I listen to this in order, I can actually imagine it scoring a film. Always is the opening credits, passing by to a background of old picture frames while the narrator describes one of the happiest times of her life. The swelling optimism of Your Ex-Lover and Penny are clearly the meeting stage, where everything in life seems perfect and life is way better than it has ever been before. Waves might be when they realize they’re in love, as the bombast of the chorus would be ideal for that moment when they run through the rain and embrace in a long kiss. Teen Angst is that elated feeling of actually being in a relationship where both people know they’re in love. Everything You Know/Sustained Combustion might represent the ups and downs everyone encounters and has to fight through. The mysterious, slightly depressing acoustic number by Foreign Fields is either a breakup, death, or incident of some sort that puts everything in jeopardy. River is that crystallizing moment where the narrator/protagonist finds the meaning in it all, realizes he/she will get through it, and triumphantly moves on. The closing stanzas of Ode are perfect to end any such movie: “Nothing will change what you are…Hallelujah.” It’s the ultimate self-realization track and punctuation point for a story where the main character faces adversity and comes out a better, more aware person.
So, what do you think – time for a casting call? I’ll audition for the overly sensitive shy-guy who chronicles in his blog about how much songs mean to him. Any girl that auditions pretty much has the role because Sputnik. I heard BigHans and his classic rock stache and mullet are up for the guy your mom dates after she divorces your father. Not a part of the movie? Well, it just became one. How would you be cast in a Sputnik Indie Romance Flick? Let me know. In the meanwhile enjoy the soundtrack as I’ve ordered it, below:
