Coffee and soundtracks

This morning I made a stop at Fairfax and 3rd to visit my friend Judy. Did you know that Farmer's Market has a Starbucks and a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf? Whichever side of the fence you're on, I suggest browsing the sort-of-new Taschen book stand--and then make your purchases at GR.

At the offices of Block Korenbrot, where Judy works, I picked up a couple soundtracks to movies they've promoted--not CJ7, but excellent films nonetheless.


Persepolis got shafted by the recent awards shows but it's still in theaters and you should support it. The animated treatment of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novels is not eye-popping CG but a stylized, understated work that is true to her stark (yet loving) graphic novels. Olivier Bernet's score is the same way--formal, classy, and nonetheless emotional. It swells, surges, and crashes in a powerful-but-not-manipulative manner like effective scores are supposed to, and also has a "Shout to the Top!" style dancefloor thumper titled "Téhéran Disco." (The only thing that would make it better would be the inclusion of something by Iggy Pop, who provided the uncle's voice in the English version.)

Satoshi Kon's Paprika came out a couple years ago, but I'm sure that anyone who caught it on the big screen still recalls its mind-blowing, dream-state psychedelic parade scenes (among other powerful imagery). This soundtrack starts off with the "Parade" score--a mixture of military march, electronic disco, and Cirque du Soleil synth. The CD goes on to fragment into those musical styles as well as others, venturing into some lounge and straight-up "chase scene" soundtrack music. It's an encyclopedic listen, bookended by an instrumental version of the "Parade" theme and including an appropriately dreamy short movie by the composer, Susumu Hirasawa. Hardcore fans of Kon's work know that music plays a big part in his movies, and will want this.

I didn't get The Future Is Unwritten CD from BK PR--I bought it at Amoeba--but it's been in my car forever and I've been listening to it a lot. The musical accompaniment to Julian Temple's documentary on Joe Strummer is part mixtape and part radio show, with clips from the iconic punk singer's BBC World Service program. In addition to his own songs (unreleased versions by The Clash as well as songs from the 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, and The Mescaleros) there are cuts by the likes of Woody Guthrie, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Ernest Ranglin, U-Roy, and Andres Landeros, which pretty much outline his musical education and experience. It's a strong collection made essential by the much-loved and much-missed punker's introductory comments, recollections, and raves.