first love, last rites

a week (or maybe two) ago one of the blogs did a bit on underrated soundtracks (i think it was stereogum). anyway, i thought i'd chime in with one of my favorite soundtracks that i'm pretty sure not very many are aware of. partly because the movie it represents did very little and was criticized as an atmospheric film lacking a cinematic-worthy story. the soundtrack for 1997 release First Love, Last Rites was arranged by Nathan Larsen of Shudder to Think and includes collaborations with a number of notables including Jeff Buckley, Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, John Doe of X, Low, Liz Phair, Nina Persson of the Cardigans and more. the film was directed by ex-Lemonheads bassist Jesse Peretz and so it was no surprise music would figure in heavily. through the film. the female lead spend parts of the summer listening to a collection of 45s as her youthful relationship is whiltled down with the passing summer heat. the songs respresent styles of rock music from several eras where vinyl was a tad bit more predominant. dubbed "pro-oldies" by the band, Larsen tried to stay true to not just the production, but the writing style in trying to make the tunes authentically retro. after this soundtrack Larsen went on to score many films including High Art, the Woodsman, Lilya 4 Eva, Boys Don't Cry and a number of other both indie and mainstream films.

i choose the Stax/Volt inspired Jeff Buckley track. Buckley briefly toured as a bass player for Larsens side project, Mind Science of the Mind, though was never officially a member of the band. nonetheless the two had some kind of music relationship that led to this splendid collaboration.

Shudder to Think feat. Jeff Buckley "I Want Someone Badly"