Jens Lekman Needs to Eat: The Rise of Indie Rock Soundtracks
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Artist:
In a recent post on his personal blog, Swedish indie pop goofball Jens Lekman recounted meeting with actress and rookie director Drew Barrymore:
There's a few of my songs in Drew Barrymore's directorial debut Whip it. Drew was really nice, she flew me out to LA, we had a cup of coffee and she showed me some clips from the movie. Usually I say no to film synchs because you just get a short synopsis from someone's agent's agent, and I always feel awkward my song will end up in the wrong context. You know, I write my songs for specific people, I find it hard to find them applied to someone elses story. But Drew listened to my concerns and we discussed the scenes she had in mind.At some point our conversation drifted away and I think we were talking about monkeys, and it just struck me right there and then how surreal my life has become. And how absurd it is when anyone expects any kind of real compensation in this business. Compensation for what ? I've been touring on and off like crazy, I've put so much work into recording and writing. And in the end what I make my money from is talking to Drew Barrymore about monkeys...
This bit of information from Lekman is interesting and depressing on many levels. More importantly, it points to the latest evolution of the indie marketplace, where soundtracks, like commercials in the last few years, have become a dominant means of supporting small artists as the record industry continues its self-destruction.
There are two different kinds of categories that these soundtracks have started falling under: the "cool factor" compilation, and soundtracks for movies where the music is essential to a film's atmosphere. Along with Whip It!, the biggest perpetrator of the former category is easily the latest Twilight movie, New Moon. While Barrymore's new movie features previously recorded songs from the likes of Lekman, the Go! Team, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the new vampire movie threw a few pennies of its massive budget towards commissioning new songs from Thom Yorke, Death Cab for Cutie, and even a Bon Iver/St. Vincent collaboration.
The thing is, these new songs are bound to be awkwardly placed into the background for a few seconds as the vampires do whatever it is they do in these movies, but mainly they're in the movie for the credibility and hipness associated with these acts. While these films would have been filled with ear-ravaging new metal songs five years ago (for the kids!), indie rock seems to have become the current flavor with which Hollywood hopes to show that they have the ear to the ground. It defies the way in which indie rock has long been associated with obsessive geeks always looking for the perfect soundtrack, and it's doubtful they'd place Death Cab or Bon Iver in the background of these films.
Meanwhile, movies like Where the Wild Things Are and The Fantastic Mr. Fox lean more towards using artists like Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Jarvis Cocker to further establish the themes of their movies. Sure, both of these soundtracks might be accused of being too "twee" or cooler-than-thou, but the songs are there because they work, and simply that. Wes Andesron, for instance, could have used any new Grizzly Bear or Dirty Projectors tune he wanted, but he instead balanced his Jarvis Cocker with the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones because they were what his scene called for. Take notes, Barrymore!
While it's painful to see the co-opting of music one holds dearly, accounts like Lekman's need to be kept in mind. The reality is that many of these artists struggle to break even while touring, or even work day jobs that keep them from focusing on their musical endeavors. We're entering a pretty dangerous economical period for music, and our favorite bands will end up making money in some ways we might be upset about. But if Lekman needs to be on a soundtrack or Animal Collective need to be in a Wal-Mart commercial, we'll just have to keep reminding ourselves that it's likely the only reason we'll get to see them out on tour or recording again.
Comments (7)
"There are two different kinds of categories that these soundtracks have started falling under: the "cool factor" compilation, and soundtracks for movies where the music is essential to a film's atmosphere."
Exactly! When done with care and a deft hand, current indie hits can work into the film seamlessly. When done with an eye at just throwing together a secondary marketing item, it comes across pretty flat, awkward and blatent.
Have Animal Collective been in a Wal-Mart commercial?
Lets see what the New Moon fans think when they buy the soundtrack.
I think they'll be dissapointed not to be hearing their usual angsty rock ala Linkin Park and Paramore.
Hopefully the soundtrack will give these bands a new audience of sorts and give the audience a bit of the musical taste they require.
D Splendor: I didn't want to call them outright for it, thus why i used Animal Collective, but Phoenix are in a Wal-Mart commercial now: http://stereogum.com/archives/commercial_appeal/walmart_axe_say_phoenix_are_the_next_big_thing_093611.html
Chris: What's interesting about Linkin' Park and Paramore, etc. is that that brand of garbage populated the first couple Spider-Man soundtracks, and then Spider-Man 3 had...new music from the Walkmen? It's pretty baffling.
They probably just get an advisor of some kind in and the advisor says,
'People aren't buying this crap even though it relates to the film, lets just get some obscure indie bands who have no commercial success but a lot of credibility and stick them on there."
Or something like that...
Jon Brion has been the master of this for a while. He creates BRILLIANT scores for films (Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love), produces amazing artists (Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple) and has come out with a great record of his own music (Meaningless).
It is sad that it seems Jens music will only be used in chunks. I feel that if anyone can follow Jon Brion's footsteps it might be Jens.
I say let him write the whole soundtrack. Not just pieces. It could be brilliant. But we'll see, won't we...
Dirkler: Yes! Jon Brion is totally fantastic... it's kind of a bummer that the I Heart Huckabees soundtrack is probably the closest we'll ever get to a proper follow-up to Meaningless. To add to that, it also reminds me that PT Anderson might be the best director out there employing musicians to score his movies, given that Brion rocked Punch-Drunk Love and Jonny Greenwood killed it with There Will Be Blood.