High Fidelity soundtrack review

[Guest The Amazing Rando]

High Fidelity

When Music Echoes Life

 

Based on the novel by Nick Hornsby, High Fidelity came to theaters and proved that music does indeed echo life. Some of us already knew this, the elitists of the world like those portrayed by John Cusack. He knows that music truly is the glue of the world, and takes life and puts it into a perspective that you must hear to believe.

 

The movie centers around Rob Gordon, a once-DJ-now-record-store-owner played by John Cusack that goes through the most heartbreaking break up of his life, and is forced to deal with it they way all guys usually do. He gets completely depressed and tries to go back through his life to see where everything went wrong. His top five lists of music and lifestyle keep you laughing and yet searching for clues into his psyche, as only he knows what is really going on. Occasionally he will break the fourth wall and give the audience a little glimpse into his mindset before returning to his “normal” life.

 

Today I will be looking at the how the soundtrack played a crucial role in providing looks into the emotions of the particular scene in which it appeared in as I try to make sense at what an awesome soundtrack it is. I will not be doing ratings nor will I give you specific track lengths of the like. It is all simply my opinion as to why the songs played where they did. Out of the fifteen songs on the soundtrack, I heard eleven of them through my two watch-throughs of the movie. These will be listed in by order in which I heard them…but the track number will be listed behind the song.

 

 

 

1. You’re Gonna Miss Me – Thirteenth Floor Elevators (1) – This is the first song heard in the movie, it is the opening song and was a good choice, as the title itself gives a feeling of regret to the parting of Rob and Laura. You know that neither of them wanted this to happen, but after everything they have gone through it has come to it. Rob blasts the song as Laura leaves.

 

2. Who Loves The Sun – Velvet Underground (14) – As Rob goes through his top five breakups, his first was in junior high school with Alison Ashmore. As his mind replays the scenes this song plays over it. I couldn’t really see why as it is nothing more than an awesome song. Unless it is comparing the sun to Kevin Bannister, the guy that Alison eventually ends up with.

 

3. Dry The Rain – The Beta Band (8) – Played merely as a plot device so that the song gets movie time and also shows what a great song this is. I downloaded a lot of Beta Band stuff after hearing this song during this movie.

 

4. Always See Your Face – Love (5) – This song plays as Rob finds out about Ian and goes through a weird depressive state thinking about Ian and Laura having sex. I guess it goes to show that even when he closes his eyes he always sees her right there, whether she is doing bad things or good, he can’t get her off his mind.

 

5. Fallen For You – Sheila Nicholls (7) – Possibly my favorite song on the soundtrack, even though I don’t know why. As Rob and Laura meet for a little drink to discuss their relationship, this song happens to be playing in the background. It has so many levels and it fits with the scene so nicely, showing that deep inside they really do care about each other but just haven’t pushed it to the foreground yet, and that will come later.

 

6. Most of the Time – Bob Dylan (6) – Well, death is only in this movie for a brief five minute period, and so after the funeral of Laura’s dad, Rob runs into the rain and tries to get away from everything. Laura finds him and takes him to a special place to help rekindle their feelings for each other. She finally realizes how much they mean to each other. It’s just a wonderful song that adds to the slightly dark nature of the scene in the rain, but then goes away just before the love returns.

 

7. Everybody’s Gonna Be Happy – Kinks (2) – After finding out about “I Sold My Mom’s Wheelchair”, Rob freaks out and goes around trying to keep it from happening so that Barry’s band does not play. He goes to Barry and wants to give up all of the profit made at the door just so he does not have to hear them. The song is really ironic as Barry’s music really does end up making everyone happy, and it was a good choice of a song to put into the scene.

 

8. Lo Boob Oscillator – Stereolab (12) – Simply placed in as a plot device so that Rob meets the journalist from the Reader, a magazine that he reads most of the time and oddly enough the journalist actually knows Rob from hearing him from the days he was a DJ. Nice little number for the directors to put in, as it showcases a different kind of music than what is normally heard in movies and is really a good song to boot.

 

9. Inside Game – Royal Tramps (13) – In the movie it is hailed as being the first single off of “I Sold My Mom’s Wheelchair”, but is in actuality a pretty cool song by a band hardly anyone has every heard of. It is placed in as nothing more than a plot point.

 

10. Lets Get It On – Jack Black (11) – On the soundtrack it sounds a lot more bland than the version in the movie, but it is still quite cool anyway to hear Jack Black cover some Marvin Gaye. Trumpeted as “the song that defines Rob and Laura’s relationship” it really is the song that makes them the happiest and keeps them smiling as Jack Black sings it as “Barry Jive and the Uptown Five” during the same scene as when Inside Game is played. It was actually the first song I ever heard by Jack Black and I loved it, as it also made me a big fan of Tenacious D.

 

11. I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever) – Stevie Wonder (15) – The last track heard during the actual film (though not the credits) and the last song on the soundtrack. This song is another of my favorites because I’m a sap for love songs and for Stevie Wonder. For a guy that gets treated quite badly during the movie in terms of remarks made by Barry about his career during the 80s and 90s, it is good to see that he gets a little redemption by getting a spot on the soundtrack. It too fits in well with the end scene as Rob works on making a compilation tape for Laura and the song gives closure and a bit of foreshadowing as it shows that they will stay together for a long, long time.

 

 

And now…the songs that I didn’t catch during my listens…

 

 

 

1. I’m Wrong About Everything – John Wesley Harding (3) – After listening to this song of the soundtrack I know it probably had a place somewhere in the middle of the movie. Most likely whenever Rob was realizing exactly how wrong he was about the choices he had made in his various relationships throughout his life. It fits in well with the rest of the soundtrack for providing that folk pop feel.

 

2. Oh! Sweet Nuthin’ – Velvet Underground (4) – Simply a great song that I am sure was in the background at some point but in no big way. It too fits in to the overall feel of the movie and the soundtrack talking about how love and loss seem to come hand in hand. Oh sweet nothing indeed.

 

3. Shipbuilding – Elvis Costello & The Attractions (9) – Another song that I have listened to hundreds of times but have never once heard it during the actual movie at any point. It seems to keep you in the same dreary mood that Dry The Rain puts you in.

 

4. Cold Blooded Old Times – Smog (10) – This song seems upbeat when you begin to listen, but the lyrics are the complete opposite to the nice clapping background beat that you hear throughout the song. I guess it really puts you in those cold blooded old times, speaking about how the past was really hard on everyone, and not just you or those close to you. “The kind of memories that turn your bones to glass”…easily broken….tough to mend…

 

 

 

 

As you can tell, most of the songs on the album have something to do with love, the past, and dealing with life in the only way some people know how…through music. I used to feel weird getting depressed and then listening to something downtrodden. It seemed counterproductive, even though it would usually make me feel better to let out my sorrow instead of bottling it up by listening to something like Walking On Sunshine that appeared in the movie in a great scene but not on the soundtrack. The movie also featured tons of others songs and at least 25 references to other artists, albums, or bands, if not more.

 

This movie and this soundtrack always come highly recommended by me, because if there is one thing that I can’t get enough of, it’s music. This movie brings it tenfold and keeps you entertained throughout, as you wonder what is going to happen next as the film winds down and hopefully happiness is achieved by all those involved. And if you pay attention to each individual character, they all get exactly what they want by the end. I will not spoil it for you however, so if you haven’t seen the movie, go see it…TWICE…and definitely get the soundtrack. It is a soundtrack for my life, and I’m sure it is for a whole collection of others.

 

 

Once Again….Highly Highly Recommended!

 

 

~ Jim Murphy

AKA The Amazing Rando

[email protected]

 

 

 

 

FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED ON THIS....

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

That's a really good Review Rando. I particularly liked the Opening Paragragh.

 

I hope to see more of these.

[Guest converge241]

the first track is so killer

 

this soundtrack demanded a volume 2 like they do for some other movies

 

(trainspotting, boogie nights etc)

[Guest Mattdotcom]

High Fidelity is one of my favorite movies, and you really did it and the soundtrack justice.