Customer Reviews

The Squid and the Whale

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This soundtrack is awesome, I only knew about two artists featured on it. Yet when I listened to it, every song felt familiar. It's nostolgic, comforting, awesome.

Give it a spin.

As a big fan of Bert Jansch and Loudon Wainwright III, I guess it should come as no surprise that I really enjoyed this soundtrack, as it includes a total of five of their songs. Loudon's "The Swimming Song" is one of the most addictive songs I have ever heard; I love the chord progression and the melody, as well as the aspect of the duetting banjos. His more low key "Lullaby" is also an excellent song (which I believe he wrote about himself and his insomnia, not a father/son relationship like the Amazon review suggests), and another great chord progression, this time on guitar. I also think that the songs composed by Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips for the movie ("Park Slope" and "Family Conference") are excellent, as is Wareham's faithful cover of Pink Floyd's classic "Hey You", which played an important part in the film. The inclusion of Kate and Anna McGarrigle's "Heart Like A Wheel" and John Phillips' "Holland Tunnel" fit in with the whole folk vibe of the collection and some of the themes from the movie. An added bonus is Lou Reed's ten minute opus "Street Hassle" from the late seventies, which included an uncredited appearance by Bruce Springsteen. I would have given this soundtrack five stars, but in the end I would rate it as 4.5 stars if I could. To me, the Cars eighties radio hit "Drive" and Blossom Dearie's "Figure Eight" didn't fit in with the rest of the soundtrack. I actually like the song "Drive", but "Figure Eight" I can do without and end up skipping every time I put this disc on. This is the second soundtrack I have bought after seeing one of Noah Baumbach's films, and once again I've been impressed with his musical choices. If you are a fan of the film and enjoyed the music this disc is definitely worth getting.

"Loudon Wainwright is the father of Rufus Wainwright, also a singer-songwriter" should read: "Loudon Wainwright is the father of both Rufus and Martha Wainwright, also a singer-songwriters."

Thank you.