MUSIC I’VE FOUND THROUGH FILM

DENNIS BROWN - 'THINGS IN LIFE' FEATURED IN 'CHUNGKING EXPRESS'

I recently watched Chungking Express. Set in Hong Kong, the film is split to follow two characters in the first half of the movie and another pair in the second half. Uniquely, this film repeats its tracks over and over again as the characters listen to them (parts of ‘California Dreaming’ by The Mamas and the Papas are played a borderline ridiculous 8 times). The new find for me in this film, however, was a reggae track by Dennis Brown. The song is called ‘Things In Life’ and its breezy reggae rhythm and lyrical themes of accepting the ups and downs of life almost feels surreal in the context of the first half of the film which contains characters who are dealing with violence, isolation and the failure to accept change - the antithesis of this music and its message. Already owning a couple of Dennis Brown’s albums from the 80s, I was intrigued hearing this song from an earlier time in his career, recorded in 1972. 

JOSÉ FELICIANO - 'CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' FEATURED IN 'ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD'

For the next song, I’ll be honest about two things, I’m not 100% sure whether I was unfamiliar with it before watching, and I also wasn’t a fan of the film I heard it in (I should probably give it another chance). I do remember though that ‘Tommib’ by Squarepusher in the film ‘Lost In Translation’ felt poignant in the scene near the beginning where the main character looks down alone from their high rise apartment room over Tokyo, cut off from the millions of people who wander the streets below her. The song has no drums and revolves around a repeating ambient and cold synthesiser melody. It captures perfectly the feeling of isolation and despondency it’s trying to portray in the character.

THE KORGIS - 'EVERYBODY'S GOTTA LEARN SOMETIME' FEATURED IN 'MARTY SUPREME'

Another recent watch for me was Marty Supreme. Set in the 50’s but with a predominantly 80’s soundtrack, the music reflects Marty’s ambition and self belief to be the best table tennis player in the world - the closing scene from the film with ‘Everybody wants to rule the world’ probably best epitomises this. One track that caught my attention when I saw it in the cinema was ‘Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime’ by The Korgis. I remember the lyrics of the title of the song replaying over and over again, its strange and melancholic atmosphere I think for the first time in the film exposing the consequences of Marty’s impulsive and self-serving lifestyle and attitude in pursuit of his dream. This moment in the film finally allows the audience to breathe and reflect on the cost of his mindset as everything seems to be falling apart.

SIGUR RÓS - 'SVEFN-GENGLAR' FEATURED IN 'BEAUTIFUL BOY'

Another film starring Timothée Chalamet, ‘Beautiful Boy’, was a film I actually chose to watch due to the soundtrack after seeing that it featured Massive Attack, Aphex Twin, Mogwai, Tim Buckley and Nirvana - it seemed like a great mix. The film is about a father who battles to support and maintain a relationship with his son (played by Chalamet) who is dealing with heroin addiction. A song I’d never heard before, ‘Svefn-g-englar’ by Sigur Rós, plays over a long montage in the first half of the film. When it begins, life seems to be going better for the son, his relationship with his father is restored, he’s doing well at school and he’s found a girlfriend but during a scene with him socialising over dinner, the droning distorted guitars and vocals start to drown out the sound of talking and you can feel him withdraw into himself. The montage ends with him relapsing. I had to relisten to this song a couple of times as soon as the film had ended.

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Film can be a great way to discover music and it can give the songs you find a distinct personal meaning. Often when I hear these songs, such as the ones I just listed, I’ll think back to the scenes I heard them in and where I was when I watched them.