Twilight Soundtrack Update

November 22nd is the day I’ll be able to get my hands on it, finally, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t heard pretty much every song on the whole thing anyway.
Since I last wrote about this, the last few songs have been released:

MuteMath – Spotlight (Twilight Mix)


Quoting that Crystal Waters song, Pure Love. On my first listen, I was HOOKED. I downloaded a few of their songs prior to hearing this one, and this song just cemented my belief that they are like America’s answer to Taxiride.

My prediction –this song will be used in EITHER:

a) Bella at school after she’s just started dating Edward. I can just imaging the beginning of the song underlying Bella looking all forlorn/worshipful at Edward after realising she’ll be the centre of attention, again, for an entirely new reason.

b) The baseball scene. It’s upbeat, and rocking. Nuff said.

Perry Farrell – Go All The Way (Into The Twilight)

My train of thought on this song is thus follows:
On first listen: WTF?
Second listen: Um…
Third listen: Alexandra Patsavas, what the F where you thinking, allowing this to go onto the soundtrack?
Twentieth listen: Fine. Whatever. I’m resigned. It get’s stuck in your head, and just. won’t. leave.

My opinion? I expected a lot more. I mean, when I heard the lead from Nine Inch Nails was collaborating on it, I thought, “Heck yes! A song worthy of Twilight!”. I thought it would be gritty and rocky.

Erm. No. In fact, the girl sounds like she’s pinching her nose, and the guy sounds like his things are getting squeezed, admidst all the “Lightning strikes! Let’s gooooooo, into the twilight!”

I’m not even KIDDING. Lightning strikes? What’s next, thunder crashes? Sailor Jupiter comes running in with her arms over her head, calling upon her powers?



Okay, yes, kind of dramatic, but honestly, I couldn’t believe it. I don’t really like the song, but like I said on the twentieth listen, it’s catchy. It gets in your head. But god forbid it get radio play.
My prediction – considering the (coughcheesyandcompletelyunrelated) lyrics:


The bedroom scene. No doubt about it. They will ruin a steamy, tension-filled scene with ‘LIGHTNING STRIIIIIIIIIIIKES in the twilighhhhhhhhhhhht!’ I am currently crying. Can you tell?

Paramore – I Caught Myself


Another good Paramore song, although I have to admit RIGHT NOW I am a member of the Decode-was-better movement. Because… Decode WAS better.

Some people say that they prefer this song, purely because it goes back to Paramore’s roots. I swear I read at some point that “Decode was too emotional for Paramore” I’m trying to find the positive in that. After my whole life of music, I figured emotion was one of the main parts of it. Maybe I was wrong.

My prediction – it’ll be used in the beginning of the movie as either Emo-Edward’s or Insecure-Bella’s anthem. It works either way. But probably Edward. And probably as he’s watching her.

As Edward does.

And just on a side note—Decode’s been officially released, video and all, for a while now. The video keeps in the Twilight theme without rubbing the I’M-ON-THE-TWILIGHT-SOUNDTRACK-AND-THIS-SONG-WILL-BE-IN-THE-MOVIE-AND-DID-I-MENTION-IT’S-RELATED-TO-TWILIGHT??? label in your face (not mentioning names, Farrell). In fact, I heard it on Nova 106.9 the other day and fangirl squealed, jumping around my room like the teenager I am.

The Loss of the Spanner

Currently listening to: “Trouble Trouble” by The Potbelleez.

I admit, I usually avoid the show Australian Idol at all costs. Period. The show is lame, lame, lame, and the winners never get ANYWHERE. If I rack my brains hard enough, I can only just remember the last few winners… Natalie Gouchie (sp?)… some Irish guy… nothing.

Sure, when it first came out, I was all Guy vs Shannon too. I loved the first season. And guess what? Obviously a lot of people did too, because you still hear from Guy, and I own Shannon’s albums. The guy rocks my unsocked feet, which is weird because I usually avoid country music in the same respect as Australian Idol. The guy has such a typical Aussie voice though, so all is forgiven.
Anyway, it was by pure chance that I caught last weeks performance of a man called Mark Spano, aka “Spannerman”, with the gravelly voice and scars that have you begging to ask how he got them. The guys got the whole sexy-and-dangerous thing down. Pat.

So, naturally, he got booted off tonight.

Honestly, he was the only reason why I tuned in this week. I don’t think I was alone in melting at his rendition of Chris Issak’s “Bad Bad Thing” last week. I mean, he OWNED that song. Even Issak himself (who, conveniently, was on the judging panel) said that, if he could go back, that was how he should have recorded the song. But whatever.

My point is, my heart is now bleeding. Here I was thinking, “Finally! We have a man who can out-sing the lead singer of Kings of Leon at his own song!”. But no. Gone, baby, gone.

Halloween

Currently listening to: "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun.

I embraced it and I feared it this year. I mean, I live in Australia. Halloween is usually just another night, sometimes acknowledged and treated with the same amount of wariness as Friday the 13th, but nevertheless unimportant.

Until this year.

Heck, what happened this year? As far back as I care to remember, this year went off like nobody's business. And it was surreal.

My first tip-off was the Halloween merch sales at job number one. Usually each year we get heaps of the stuff, we have nowhere to put it, it becomes something of an eyesore, and is eagerly stashed into toys once November 1 rolls around. This year, however, we couldn’t replenish the stock fast enough. So much so, in fact, that our dearest manager, Dolly, allowed us to dress up and listen to something other than the regulatory music our store is forced to endure. Yep, you guessed it. Thrillers all around.

…Of course I got stuck with making the music (naturally).

It was actually fairly easy, once I decided to embrace the stereotypical Halloween songs. At first I’m all, “There is NO WAY we’re listening to the Time Warp. Nope. Nada.” Then, after my alternate songs ran dry—I managed to find a Prodigy remix of “Ghost Town” and Siobhan’s “Ghosts”—I just gave into the Mash. The Monster Mash.

…You may or may not find me guilty of also slipping in a little “Talk Like That” by The Presets. My argument (apart from the fact that, as a piece of seriously awesome Aussie music that deserves to be flaunted wherever possible) was that it sounded so stereotypically retro, so why not, right? Even if the lyrics has nothing to do with the big H, per se.


Embracing our inner demons, with blood on our necks--AmEx, Dolly (top) and Peggy and me (bottom).

My turn to rock the meat cleaver. Oh yeah.

Anyways, it was totally worth it. We ended up making double what we usually do, so everybody wins. When I told my boss at job number two about it, he just looked at me and said, “Don’t expect that here.”

Being my usual nosy-journalist-in-training self, I ask “Why?”

“Because it’s a stupid American tradition and it makes me sick. If any kids come to my door and ask for a freaking trick or treat, I tell them ‘GO TO FREAKING AMERICA IF YOU WANT A FREAKING TREAT! GET AWAY FROM MY HOUSE!’”

Nevertheless, by this time I’m blinking at him in shocked silence, mentally apologising to the trauma those poor kids must suffer ever October 31st. Instead, I just reply meekly:

“Um. Pretty sure Halloween is an Irish tradition.”

Someone must love me, otherwise I may have gotten fired at that moment.