Lost in Translation

Today's Soundtrack That Kind Of Suffices For An Album is the soundtrack to the film Lost in Translation. This soundtrack was in all likelihood put together by the film's director, Sofia Coppola, and really served to accentuate the moods of the various scenes. I don't want to give much away about the film, but it's one that I really liked and related to when it was in theaters several years ago. I have to admit that I rewatched it recently, and it hardly had the same effect - I attribute that mostly to my changed outlook on life. Maybe the film was never really that good to begin with. In any event, the soundtrack has aged very well.

The prevailing sound here is electronic and reserved - tracks by Squarepusher and AIR fit the mood if not set it. There are a couple upbeat songs - "Too Young" by Phoenix and "Just Like Honey" by the Jesus and Mary Chain - but even these tracks are as wistful and longing as anything on the album, perhaps just more direct with their emotions than some of the other songs. Kevin Shields contributes a couple tracks that work well alone and in the film's context - one of these (I think) is My Bloody Valentine's "Sometimes".

If I have a favorite track on this album, it's AIR's "Alone in Kyoto", a quiet instrumental piece that is probably my favorite AIR song as well. Really, this is a hushed, introspective soundtrack, and it really fits well with the movie, regardless of the merits of either. To discuss this sountrack more would require me to delve into the film, and I would have a difficult time doing so without taking a personal approach, so I think the blog entry ends here. Just be thankful you got anything today, there are kids in Africa who don't even get self-involved fools posting blogs about music.

In Other News:
Tomorrow I have a 7 mile run that should be ridiculous. I bet it will be fun for a couple miles, then I will just hope for it to end. Maybe there will be something to chase!