benzo24

Sea Change is a beautiful album, like all those released by Beck. I don’t agree that it’s a difficult record; on the contrary, it's very catchy, and most of the songs grab you on the first listen. Of course, it’s an album crafted by someone who knows music well and is dedicated to all those who have a certain familiarity with certain sounds or themes... The album in question draws heavily from the entire American folk and country tradition, like Hank Williams, Jimmy Rodgers, Gram Parsons, and so on. Two clarifications: 1) Midnight Vultures was not released due to contractual obligations; I remember that Beck has a contract with Geffen that allows him to publish work with other labels as well. 2) The father does not play the guitars (the guitars are played by Beck himself and Smokey Hormel) but rather has arranged the orchestrations.

Hal, you still don't understand (maybe because you've distorted everything and keep doing it) and I’m tired of explaining every single word I write to you...

Cliff, I am a cinema lover and I have known Tarantino's films since his first movie, Reservoir Dogs, which I had to track down with great difficulty because it practically had no distribution. I remember that even Pulp Fiction took a while to emerge; I recall the criticism directed at Clint Eastwood's jury at that Cannes festival for awarding such a "different," so violent and amoral film... I really like Tarantino as a director and as a writer, and I agree with you that the music in his films is a crucial element; I have never claimed otherwise!

Hal, it seems to me that what you don't understand is you... I'm the one who said that music or a song can very well inspire the story of an entire film; I'm the one who made the example of Truffaut and his "Baci Rubati"... I said that it's illogical to compile an entire soundtrack before writing the screenplay (which, in fact, Tarantino did not do)!... In short, before responding, try to read the comments carefully!

Thanks to your comment, Kosmogabri, I was able to read the review of the Kill Bill soundtrack that I had missed!... As for the issue of art, I think you’ve distorted the meaning of my comments... I don’t impose limits on art, but the art of cinema is quite peculiar; it’s an art that requires a lot of discipline and maintains very precise, almost mathematical schemes, I’d say… and the structure of Tarantino’s films shows that he knows this mathematics well! In the comments, Hal (both in this one and in those of his review of Kill Bill) talks about the music that is developed alongside the film to demonstrate how important it is for Tarantino, for the success of his films, as important as an interpretation, the cinematography, or the setting (to mention just a few important components of a film), and this is something I have also asserted! Then Hal mentions the opening song and says that it preceded the storyboard... well, there’s a significant difference between the storyboard and the screenplay, and we need to clarify what is meant by “precede” or as you say “some songs had been swirling in Tarantino's head for years”... swirling for years? As if he wrote them himself... and who knows how many others are swirling in his head… oh maybe not many since he has made only 4 films, well, 4 and a half... sorry, but from the way you describe it, it seems that Tarantino made the film solely thanks to the songs, and I think this is rather reductive!

Sorry Hal, the tone of my comment was not meant to be offensive at all, so forgive me if I somehow managed to write something that wasn't my intention. My only intention was to agree that music is a powerful source of inspiration (and now you say so too... however, I never said that Tarantino uses music "like a cog in a conveyor belt" as you say) and on this we are fully in agreement, but to say that a soundtrack is compiled before the screenplay is complete nonsense... it may be that there is a song from which everything started, or rather, a song associated with an idea, but not an entire soundtrack!

Then Hal, I remind you that Tarantino is a director and his job is to make films, write screenplays, create subjects, and certainly not to compile soundtracks. Of course, this does not exclude the possibility that a soundtrack can develop, grow, and be created alongside the film... an example of this is the duo Lynch-Badalamenti... but always after having written the screenplay... it is true that music has often been inspirational, and it leads an author to write a subject, a book, and thus also a screenplay... I remember Truffaut's case with the song Que Reste-T-ll de Nos Amours by Trenet that inspired Baci Rubati, but compiling a soundtrack before drafting the screenplay... come on, let’s not joke... perhaps Tarantino was joking... after all, it wouldn’t even be the first time...

Well, I heard Tarantino's statements and they don't match what you are saying. For example, in the interview (included in the DVD extras), Tarantino talks about the soundtrack, saying he asked RZA to create something similar to what he did for Ghost Dog, explaining to the musician that what he was about to shoot would be a martial arts film. RZA finished his music (which is the only original score in the film) while watching the footage, then during the shooting of the film in Tokyo, he heard the group 6,7,8,9 (is that their name?) in a store and decided to include two songs in the film... these are two glaring examples that the screenplay was already written.

Kosmogabri, but how can you say that the soundtrack of Kill Bill was compiled before the screenplay? That’s absolutely false and, logically speaking, it doesn't make sense at all!

It’s quite normal to know the Flaming Lips and not Mercury Rev, but the opposite is absolutely not the case. To fully understand the music of the latter, at least from the early albums, one must be familiar with the discography of the Flaming Lips (perhaps this is why your review is rather lacking). Yerself Is Steam is a great album, but it’s absolutely lacking when compared to all the records of the Flaming Lips... I don’t want to stir up controversy, but how can one not mention Telephatic Surgery? Perhaps you’re not familiar with it? In short, the comparison is unreasonable! Dave Fridman and Jonathan were members of the Lips and still collaborate, but that's not the main point; remember that the head of all this is Wayne Coyne!