hebig.org/blog
Personal webnode of Haiko Hebig

Is this a new trend to recycle motion picture soundtracks? When the opening scene theme of Schindler's List reminded me of Por Una Cabeza by Carlos Gardel featured in the Tango scene in True Lies, I didn't pay too much attention to it. Enter the Kronos Quartet case. In the most excellent - but widely unknown - movie A Requiem for a Dream, the most excellent Kronow Quartet score is the foundation of the whole story, and it is addictive, which is what this movie is about. Without this very score, the movie wouldn't work. One Hour Photo with Robin Williams is quite OK to watch - until the police and resolving scene, when a key theme from Requiem for a Dream is re-used. This messes up everything. You instantly see the scorewriter as an uninspired sucker who thinks that his audience isn't watching off-mainstream movies anyway. Bad move. Now I find Rufus Wainwright's Hallelujah first used in Shrek recycled in the otherwise pretty good Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei. Here, it doesn't destroy the whole experience, it even is a good match, but still it's a bit annoying. A Nick Cave piece would fit in well here, too. It even wouldn't be copied.

And on today's playlist: downbeat Another Night In by Tinderstick on the Back To Mine album by Faithless and the entire club-style From Here On In album by a combo named South.