Customer Reviews

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

AMAZING soundtrack. of course, everyone is complaining that Staralfur by Sigur Ros is not included.

well, it is available, LEGALLY, for FREE as an mp3 download at an indie music site called epitonic.

here is the link:
http://www.epitonic.com/artists/sigurros.html

ENJOY!

When I first saw this movie, I knew I had to have the soundtrack. Mark Mothersbaugh is a genius, and I loved the little bits with Seu Jorge playing guitar and singing in the movie, so I figured if the soundtrack CD gives me at least those two things, it will be well worth my money. Well, let me tell you, this CD gives that and more. There's only one song missing from this CD, but it's easily downloadable from a site mentioned in a previous review of this same CD. I say that if you thought the music in the movie was good, you'll like this CD.

There are a handful of movie directors who truly excel at combining music with images: Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Cameron Crowe, Jim Jarmusch, P.T. Anderson and of course Wes Anderson. In particular, Wes Anderson and Cameron Crowe seem to be music buffs who also happen to make movies. Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is one of my favorite soundtracks of the last few years. It's a really odd mixture of songs that wouldn't make sense being together if they weren't in the same movie. If you've seen the movie, you will undoubtedly remember Seu Jorge's Portuguese performances of David Bowie classics such as Changes, Ziggy Stardust, Rebel Rebel and Life on Mars. Not all of them are included on the soundtrack, but several are here. In addition to Seu Jorge, there are wonderful tracks by Joan Baez, The Stooges, and David Bowie himself. The compositions by Mark Mothersbaugh are really good and stand up well to rest of the music. I'm a rock and blues kind of guy, so typically this kind of music wouldn't appeal so much to me. However, something about the music and the movie all just clicks together. Wes Anderson is a really talented director who really knows his music and his choices are always perfect. I love the end credits with Bowie's wonderful Queen Bitch. Certainly this soundtrack will not appeal to most people. Like the movie, it's probably desinted for cult popularity. However, fans of the movie and fans of Wes Anderson should definitely check it out for a quirky, offbeat musical experience.

I think that The Life Aquatic is very well one of the best films I have seen in a very very long time. What made the film so great, was the music. It was fun, quirky, and moving in all the right places. My complaint is this: Half the music in the film, is not in the soundtrack. All the little strange electronic songs that were scattered throughout the movie are not in on here. HOWEVER, the soundtrack by itself is great anyway, and I love it. I just really wish that the little songs that glued the movie together had made it on.

I absolutely loved Garden State's soundtrack, and TLA's soundtrack is like GS's quirky big brother. I for one would like to commend Seu Jorge's singing. He has an amazing voice, and add that to the range of acting he already displayed in Ciudad de deos we know that he is a force to be reckoned with. The weird thing, I never really loved Bowie, but Seu Jorge just turns the Bowie songs out in a whole different way. Acoustic covers! He's like the Brazillian Colin Hay, or something. I didn't miss the Sigur Ros song, and the song that Murray Dances to in his wetsuit is called "Ping Island Lightning Strike Rescue" on the album. It's not by Devo, its by Mark Mothersbaugh, and it's fully rocking. Surprisingly this album has good bass, and really a good breadth of subject matter. %100 worth your cash.

I bought this album b/c I loved the David Bowie covers but all of them aren't on this CD. It also would have been nice if they had included more of the quirky electronic music that was played throughout the film. Other than that this is a great soundtrack.

The actual name of the sigur Ros song that is played during the Jaguar Shark scene is "Staralfur" and it is off the album "Agaetis Byrjun." I too would have wanted this song on the soundtrack, but the soundtrack is still amazing.

Beyond being a perfectly acceptable, and in many places an exceptional soundtrack to a great movie, this is just a really good CD. This thing is worth picking up for the new original score stuff (if you are a Mark Mothersbaugh fan) or for the other random gems (The Zombies and Iggy and the Stooges in particular). Mostly, I would recommend this one to Bowie fans and/or people who like a solid acoustic interpretation of popular songs. Seu Jorge does some great tracks, and all of them are recorded throughout the film on different sets (according to liner notes), which gives the listener the feeling of just sitting around and listening to a talented friend play guitar and sing... in Portugese. Go on, buy it, you know you want to.

The soundtrack to Life Aquatic is one of my favorites of any movie, which is weird, because most of it is so different from what I normally listen to.
Seu Jorge's versions of David Bowie's songs not only fit the movie perfectly, but they are awesome songs in their own right. In addition, there is a great song by the Zombies, a couple songs David Bowie does himself, and some other great tracks.
The amazing part about the soundtrack is how different many of the songs are, yet how well they fit together; there are a lot of mellow accoustic tracks, as well as some up-beat accoustic, and some rock, and even a little dance music!

Repeating first my review's title, not since labyrinth have I heared so much bowie. Glam rock seems so at home with the smart humor of this great film. Of course the bowie covers are sung in Portuguise and with but a single guitar but they are stupendous. if I could give this soundtrack a 6 out of 5 stars I would. Great for listening to while cruising in the afternoon, or coming down after a hard day at work. but then you have Iggy Pop... let me just say that if you enjoyed the movie give the soundtrack a chance, Laugh at the jokes in the movie knowing that 90% of the audience doesn't get it and finally remember no soundtrack can be complete without a little bowie!