CDVS: The Life Aquatic: Original Soundtrack Vs. Waking Life: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Film soundtracks always distress me a little, just by their democratic nature. In the theater, sounds are generally in service of what's on the screen. You'll hear one song in its entirety, whooshing and assertive at the opening credits while, an hour later, you'll get only eight seconds of a different tune, barely audible over the protagonist's car radio as he speeds heartbroken through the rain. It's not an equal representation, but it is a natural habitat. Then there's the soundtrack, where everything's out of context, pinned and mounted alongside everything else. Yikes. Sometimes they'll try to pull things together via dialogue snippets between songs, but it makes a mess and all that Samuel Jackson starts to freak me out with repeated listens. The Life Aquatic soundtrack is pretty sprawling in this way, although it's made from choice ingredients and we're spared the dialogue. Instead, 20 tracks are peppered here and there with instrumental meanderings--some symphonic and some pure Casio--from Devo founder and film composer extraordinaire Mark Mothersbaugh. Bowie shows up too, but the best selections here are actually the five stripped-down Bowie covers performed by Brazilian neo-folkster Seu Jorge. "Rebel Rebel" sounds like it was waiting all this time for a low-fi Portuguese rendering. But alas, the jarring transitions abound, for between this song and Sven Liabek's "Open Sea Theme," you'll find Devo's "Gut Feeling." Great song, but so odd here. But great song. It's got that infectious, slow-building quality perfect for the movies, and more reminiscent of what you'll find on the soundtrack to Waking Life, the ultra-trippy animated feature from Richard Linklater. It's usually much easier to find cohesion within something that's the product of fewer minds--only one in this case. Glover Gill and the Tosca Tango Orchestra are all about rich piano and strings and a product that's gorgeously schizophrenic, yet with the stability of a real album. It becomes something that all soundtracks want to be, but almost never are: a stand-alone aural depiction that vividly recalls the spirit of the film. Of course, it helps to start with a film worth vividly remembering.--Dave Surratt