The latest disc in the Odyssey is actually one I've been specifically dreading since I began this project. Only Sheila's Barry Manilow compilation frightens me more.
Disc 151 is...Moulin Rouge Soundtrack
Artist: Various
Year of Release: 2001
What’s Up With The Cover?: It is the movie poster - designed no doubt to have a 'bohemian' feel I guess as covers go, it is alright, and even a bit stylish.
How I Came To Know It: Sheila saw the movie and really liked it. She bought the soundtrack as a result.
How It Stacks Up: I can never keep track of how many soundtracks I have. Let's say 23. In this case, I definitely liked the movie more than the soundtrack, and I didn't like the movie all that much. Of the 23 soundtracks, I'd put this one at 21 or 22. Yes - there is at least one (and probably two) worse. Let's not talk about those until we absolutely have to.
Rating: 1 stars.
Baz Lurhmann's "Moulin Rouge" is the "Gone With The Wind" of our generation. By this I mean it is over-rated, enjoyed almost exclusively by women, but is nevertheless inflicted on men the world over. In fairness, you do get to see Nicole Kidman dance around in naughty lingerie, which is more than you can say for anything in "Gone With the Wind".
Lest this seem terribly unfair to you, I would remind you that we inflict "Glengarry, Glenross" on our girlfriends without a second thought. Turnaround is fair play.
That might be fair, but having to listen to this soundtrack with my top down was grossly unfair. At one point I was in the car, decked out in my Blue Oyster Cult band shirt, and caught in a McDonald's lineup meekly listening to "Lady Marmalade" for all to see.
This was not the CD Odyssey's proudest moment.
On to the music, which is a handy representation of some of the biggest problems in modern pop. It isn't that these songs are bad - it is that they are derivative.
I am reading a book right now called "You Are Not a Gadget" which actually points out how our approach to internet culture actively encourages mash ups and derivations of other people's unique art. "Moulin Rouge" certainly seems to be an early harbinger of this trend.
"The Elephant Love Medley" is just a mix of about a dozen previously written love songs, mashed together to form some sort of a "love me/don't love me" duet. It is a fun and entertaining scene in the movie, and it even sounds good until you remember the reason it sounds good is the quality of the original songs. In fact, they are better left well enough alone. It is clever, but I'm not sure clever is enough here.
The songs that sound good, are generally passable remakes that don't offer a lot new. Of note is "Your Song" sung competently by Ewan McGregor. It is a great performance if you are rating him as "actor attempting singing" but if you actually hold him up against Elton John's original, it comes off as merely OK.
"Lady Marmalade" is better, as Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink are all, you know, singers. If I loved AM radio, I'd be really excited to hear them sing their little hearts out. Instead, this song is best avoided unless you are enjoying the video with the sound turned off.
Of all the songs, I was pleasantly surprised that the best was Beck doing a remake of David Bowie's "Diamond Dogs". Beck's futuristic detached sound matched the Bowie song well, and gave it an interesting update.
Another more pleasant note belongs to Nicole Kidman, who has a suprisingly rich tone for another actor turned singer. Also, the liner notes include a picture of her from that "Sparkling Diamonds" mash up early in the movie. The song is another abomination of pop culture devouring itself, but the outfit is...um...inspiring, even if the song is not.
Overall, this album is an average pop album, and I could almost forgive its other transgressions and give it two stars until I got to the end, and had to endure David Bowie teaming up with Massive Attack for the movie's theme "Nature Boy". This song is a cringeworthy bucket of bathos at track 1, and adding the mind-numbing technobeats of Massive Attack's not-so-massive attack does not help it along at track 15. The more I hear those guys, the less I like them.
I guess I'm just not feel terribly charitable, so this album is getting 1 star from me, but I'll freely admit it deserves two if you are being fair. Then again, was it fair that I got marmaladed in the Macdonald's drive through? Was it fair to Massively Attack me right at the end of the album?
But, sometimes life's not fair, Baz Luhrmann. This would be one of those times.
Best tracks: Beck's "Diamond Dogs".
Disc 151 is...Moulin Rouge Soundtrack
Artist: VariousYear of Release: 2001
What’s Up With The Cover?: It is the movie poster - designed no doubt to have a 'bohemian' feel I guess as covers go, it is alright, and even a bit stylish.
How I Came To Know It: Sheila saw the movie and really liked it. She bought the soundtrack as a result.
How It Stacks Up: I can never keep track of how many soundtracks I have. Let's say 23. In this case, I definitely liked the movie more than the soundtrack, and I didn't like the movie all that much. Of the 23 soundtracks, I'd put this one at 21 or 22. Yes - there is at least one (and probably two) worse. Let's not talk about those until we absolutely have to.
Rating: 1 stars.
Baz Lurhmann's "Moulin Rouge" is the "Gone With The Wind" of our generation. By this I mean it is over-rated, enjoyed almost exclusively by women, but is nevertheless inflicted on men the world over. In fairness, you do get to see Nicole Kidman dance around in naughty lingerie, which is more than you can say for anything in "Gone With the Wind".
Lest this seem terribly unfair to you, I would remind you that we inflict "Glengarry, Glenross" on our girlfriends without a second thought. Turnaround is fair play.
That might be fair, but having to listen to this soundtrack with my top down was grossly unfair. At one point I was in the car, decked out in my Blue Oyster Cult band shirt, and caught in a McDonald's lineup meekly listening to "Lady Marmalade" for all to see.
This was not the CD Odyssey's proudest moment.
On to the music, which is a handy representation of some of the biggest problems in modern pop. It isn't that these songs are bad - it is that they are derivative.
I am reading a book right now called "You Are Not a Gadget" which actually points out how our approach to internet culture actively encourages mash ups and derivations of other people's unique art. "Moulin Rouge" certainly seems to be an early harbinger of this trend.
"The Elephant Love Medley" is just a mix of about a dozen previously written love songs, mashed together to form some sort of a "love me/don't love me" duet. It is a fun and entertaining scene in the movie, and it even sounds good until you remember the reason it sounds good is the quality of the original songs. In fact, they are better left well enough alone. It is clever, but I'm not sure clever is enough here.
The songs that sound good, are generally passable remakes that don't offer a lot new. Of note is "Your Song" sung competently by Ewan McGregor. It is a great performance if you are rating him as "actor attempting singing" but if you actually hold him up against Elton John's original, it comes off as merely OK.
"Lady Marmalade" is better, as Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink are all, you know, singers. If I loved AM radio, I'd be really excited to hear them sing their little hearts out. Instead, this song is best avoided unless you are enjoying the video with the sound turned off.
Of all the songs, I was pleasantly surprised that the best was Beck doing a remake of David Bowie's "Diamond Dogs". Beck's futuristic detached sound matched the Bowie song well, and gave it an interesting update.
Another more pleasant note belongs to Nicole Kidman, who has a suprisingly rich tone for another actor turned singer. Also, the liner notes include a picture of her from that "Sparkling Diamonds" mash up early in the movie. The song is another abomination of pop culture devouring itself, but the outfit is...um...inspiring, even if the song is not.
Overall, this album is an average pop album, and I could almost forgive its other transgressions and give it two stars until I got to the end, and had to endure David Bowie teaming up with Massive Attack for the movie's theme "Nature Boy". This song is a cringeworthy bucket of bathos at track 1, and adding the mind-numbing technobeats of Massive Attack's not-so-massive attack does not help it along at track 15. The more I hear those guys, the less I like them.
I guess I'm just not feel terribly charitable, so this album is getting 1 star from me, but I'll freely admit it deserves two if you are being fair. Then again, was it fair that I got marmaladed in the Macdonald's drive through? Was it fair to Massively Attack me right at the end of the album?
But, sometimes life's not fair, Baz Luhrmann. This would be one of those times.
Best tracks: Beck's "Diamond Dogs".
3 comments:
I love this album! So many great songs. I think you should listen to it again. :)
Hahahaah!
I HATED this movie (and HATED the music for it, just so this comment can be tangentially related to the review). Hated hated hated hated hated it (to quote Roger Ebert). To my knowledge, it's the only movie I've ever walked out of. I hated the artificiality of it, the smug way it expected me to coo and titter at its cleverness in mashing together old and new styles. Yeah, like no one's ever thought of that before, movie. You think you came up with that on your own? Fuck you.
And maybe I'm just getting old, but I HATED the way the "bohemian" lifestyle was celebrated (see also: Rent). Oh, we're so poor but our lives are so awesome because we're young and beautiful and we're artists and poets. Fuck off, you pretentious twats. Get a fucking job and stop writing your horrible, horrible poetry (Ewan's character was a poet, wasn't he? Like I said, I walked out). And for Christ's sake would you quit yammering on about your star-crossed love for the beautiful, tragic lady whose time on this earth is limited and so your love, like a shooting star, will burn bright but oh so briefly. Yeah, you've got a hard-on for some hot bint who happens to be a lunger. We get it. Get your dick wet and shut up about it already.
This special Valentine's Day edition of Creative Maelstrom commentary has been brought to you by Vitriol® brand liquid hatred. When you want hatred so strong it can melt someone's face off, reach for Vitriol®!
Kelly, I miss you. I hope you get back to Victoria soon!
Also, to be tangentially related, I'm a big fan of Labelle's original version of Lady Marmalade that i got from K-Tel's legendary compilation album "Disco Rock."
- Casey
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