Wes Anderson changed the way we watched movies. Before seeing Bottle Rocket all we would ever expect from a comedy would be a bunch of gags. By the time The Royal Tenenbaums came out, we were officially fans. Finally, films where the comedy was so subtle and dark, you had to think whether or not what you just saw was funny (it usually was). We weren’t the only ones impressed by this Texan’s talent, as even though these films weren’t commercial successes, they won over critics and indie film fans alike. Scorsese even named Bottle Rocket one of his top-ten favorite movies of the 1990’s.
For music lovers, his films are gems; he always finds a way to select the perfect song for the perfect scene – similar to Tarantino & Scorsese. With a focus on rock, indie, and sometimes folk, he uses music to set the mood, and tell the story without actually using dialogue. Read more to discover his Perfect Mixtape, broken down for the brilliant website, This Recording.
“The Longest Time” – Billy Joel (mp3) – My brothers and I would perform this song in the family living room to great effect. Thankfully, there were no cameras running.
“When I Live My Dream” – David Bowie (mp3)
“Summer Day” – Coconut Records ft. Zooey Deschanel (mp3) – Classic Coconut Records. A beautiful duet.
“The First Cut Is The Deepest” – Buva (mp3) – We were very lucky to be able to use two great Cat Stevens songs in Rushmore. Here is a particular favorite of Randy Poster’s (music supervisor on The Darjeeling Limited) from early in Stevens’ career.
“Dishes” – Pulp (mp3) – Jarvis Cocker is in my mind one of the most original voices and creative thinkers in these parts. He is not Jesus, but he has the same initials.
“Tive Razao” – Seu Jorge – Until Seu Jorge releases his next record, we have to be happy with what we can find on iTunes. This is one of his best.
“Gates of Steel (live Devo cover)” – Yo La Tengo (mp3) – Mark Mothersbaugh has created all the original music for my movies. This is one of my favorite Devo songs.
“Alec Eiffel” – The Pixies (mp3)
“The Well and the Lighthouse” – Arcade Fire (mp3) – I have jumped on the bandwagon.
“Rally” – Phoenix (video) - While I have a known affinity for the music of the British Invasion, Phoenix makes a very strong argument for the oncoming French one.
“Ceremony” – New Order (mp3) – We almost used this in The Life Aquatic, and sometimes when the wind is full I wish we did.
