Stranger Than Fiction (soundtrack)
Encyclopedia
Stranger than Fiction: Music From The Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 2006 film Stranger than Fiction which was directed by Marc Forster
and written by Zach Helm
.
includes original scores arranged by the collaborative effort of Brian Reitzell (Redd Kross
, soundtracks for Marie Antoinette
, Lost in Translation
, The Virgin Suicides
, and Thumbsucker
) and Britt Daniel
(singer/songwriter of Spoon
), as well as an eclectic mix of indie rock
songs from various artists including Spoon. In the film, nearly all of the Spoon songs heard are instrumental
versions; however, in the actual soundtrack, they include the vocals as well.
When asked about the collaboration, Reitzell commented:
Even though the song "Love You" by The Free Design
was featured in the end credits of the movie, it was not on the soundtrack.
The song "I Turn My Camera On" by Spoon was also in the movie while Harold Crick was in the Guitar Store. The Ray Davies
song "Stop Your Sobbing" covered by The Pretenders
is featured in the trailer. The movie credits list 22 songs, unfortunately the soundtrack only contains 15 of the songs. The film's score also features two tracks by Max Richter
titled "Horizon Variations" and "On the Nature of Daylight" which is played during the scene when Harold knows of his death.
Marc Forster
Marc Forster is a German-Swiss filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the films Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger than Fiction, The Kite Runner, and Quantum of Solace.- Life and career :...
and written by Zach Helm
Zach Helm
Zachariah "Zach" Helm is an American writer and film director. He is an alumnus of DePaul University.As a playwright Helm has had two plays produced; Last Chance for a Slow Dance and Good Canary, the latter having its 2007 world premiere in Paris under the direction of John Malkovich...
.
Composition
The music for this soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
includes original scores arranged by the collaborative effort of Brian Reitzell (Redd Kross
Redd Kross
Redd Kross, a rock band from Hawthorne, California had their roots in 1978 in a band called The Tourists begun by Jeff and Steve McDonald while the brothers were still in middle school...
, soundtracks for Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette (2006 film)
Marie Antoinette is a 2006 biographical film, written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It is very loosely based on the life of the Queen consort in the years leading up to the French Revolution. It won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design...
, Lost in Translation
Lost in Translation (film)
Lost in Translation is a 2003 American film written and directed by Sofia Coppola; her second feature film after The Virgin Suicides and it stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson...
, The Virgin Suicides
The Virgin Suicides (film)
The Virgin Suicides is a 1999 American drama film written and directed by Sofia Coppola, produced by her father Francis Ford Coppola, starring James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, and A.J...
, and Thumbsucker
Thumbsucker (film)
Thumbsucker is a 2005 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Mills adapted from the Walter Kirn novel of the same name. The movie focuses on teenager Justin Cobb and how he copes with his thumb sucking problem, and his experiments with hypnosis, sex and drugs.-Plot:Justin Cobb is a shy...
) and Britt Daniel
Britt Daniel
John Britt Daniel is the co-founder, lead singer and guitarist of the Austin, Texas, rock band Spoon.-Biography:Britt Daniel was born in Galveston, Texas, and grew up in Temple, Texas, in a household of five children...
(singer/songwriter of Spoon
Spoon (band)
Spoon is an American rock band formed in Austin, Texas. The band is composed of Britt Daniel ; Jim Eno ; Rob Pope and Eric Harvey .-History:...
), as well as an eclectic mix of indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
songs from various artists including Spoon. In the film, nearly all of the Spoon songs heard are instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
versions; however, in the actual soundtrack, they include the vocals as well.
When asked about the collaboration, Reitzell commented:
“When I was approached to do the music for Stranger than Fiction, I thought it might be the perfect occasion for Britt Daniel and I to collaborate...I was basically scoring the film with Spoon songs - it created a kind of sonic thread that had just the right amount of nervy melody and rich, simplistic tone I thought suited Zach'sZach HelmZachariah "Zach" Helm is an American writer and film director. He is an alumnus of DePaul University.As a playwright Helm has had two plays produced; Last Chance for a Slow Dance and Good Canary, the latter having its 2007 world premiere in Paris under the direction of John Malkovich...
story and Marc'sMark ForsterMark Forster is a British author best known for three books on time management. A business coach until he retired on 24 November 2008, in the past he has also worked for the British Army, Ministry of Defence and the Church of England....
vision of the film. The actual ‘job’ of scoring that Britt and I were so excited about doing together became a much easier task since the existing and newly remixed music worked so well. For this soundtrack album, it seemed appropriate to include the full vocal versions of the songs so you can hear them in all their glory as the band originally intended."
Track listing
- "The Book I Write" (SpoonSpoon (band)Spoon is an American rock band formed in Austin, Texas. The band is composed of Britt Daniel ; Jim Eno ; Rob Pope and Eric Harvey .-History:...
) – 2:13 - "Going Missing" (Maxïmo ParkMaxïmo ParkMaxïmo Park are a British alternative rock band, formed in 2000. They are signed to Warp Records. The band consists of Paul Smith , Duncan Lloyd , Archis Tiku , Lukas Wooller and Tom English...
) – 3:41 - "Whole Wide World(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World" Whole Wide World" is a song written by English rock and roll singer-songwriter Eric Goulden, better known as Wreckless Eric. Goulden wrote the song in May 1974, and recorded it in 1977 while an original member of the Stiff Records label...
" (Wreckless EricWreckless EricWreckless Eric is an English rock and roll/new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single " Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time...
) – 2:59 - "Flours" (Britt DanielBritt DanielJohn Britt Daniel is the co-founder, lead singer and guitarist of the Austin, Texas, rock band Spoon.-Biography:Britt Daniel was born in Galveston, Texas, and grew up in Temple, Texas, in a household of five children...
/Brian Reitzell) – 1:05 - "The Way We Get By" (Spoon) – 2:41
- "Mind Your Own Business" (Delta 5Delta 5-Career:The original members of Delta 5, Julz Sale , Ros Allen and Bethan Peters , formed the band "on a lark", but soon became a part of the thriving Leeds post-punk scene, and later added Kelvin Knight on drums and Alan Riggs on guitar...
) – 3:10 - "Bottles and Bones (Shade and Sympathy)" (CalifoneCalifoneCalifone is an experimental rock band from Chicago. The band is named after Califone International, an audio equipment manufacturer. Their work has been critically acclaimed....
) – 5:32 - "Writer's Block" (Britt Daniel/Brian Reitzell) – 2:22
- "My Mathematical Mind" (Spoon) – 5:01
- "La Petite Fille De La Mer" (VangelisVangelisEvangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...
) – 5:52 - "That's EntertainmentThat's Entertainment (song)"That's Entertainment" is a 1980 song by British punk/Mod Revivalist group The Jam off their fifth album, Sound Affects.-Song profile:...
(Demo Version) “ (The JamThe JamThe Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
) – 3:13 - "Dubbing in the Back Seat" (The UpsettersThe UpsettersThe Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am The Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxsone Dodd....
) – 3:18 - "Auditor" (Britt Daniel/Brian Reitzell) – 1:52
- "Vittorio E" (Spoon) – 3:14
- "In Church (Cyann and Ben Remix)" (M83M83 (band)M83 is a musical act by French musician Anthony Gonzalez. It is named after a spiral galaxy, Messier 83. The band was founded in 2001 by Gonzalez and former member Nicolas Fromageau in Antibes, France...
) – 6:56
Even though the song "Love You" by The Free Design
The Free Design
The Free Design was a Delevan, New York-based vocal group playing jazzy pop music. Their music can be described as sunshine pop and baroque pop, which were pop music subgenres at the time, which later influenced the bands Stereolab, Cornelius, Pizzicato Five, Beck and The High Llamas.-Early...
was featured in the end credits of the movie, it was not on the soundtrack.
The song "I Turn My Camera On" by Spoon was also in the movie while Harold Crick was in the Guitar Store. The Ray Davies
Ray Davies
Ray Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...
song "Stop Your Sobbing" covered by The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
is featured in the trailer. The movie credits list 22 songs, unfortunately the soundtrack only contains 15 of the songs. The film's score also features two tracks by Max Richter
Max Richter
Max Richter is a German-born British composer.-Biography:Richter studied composition and piano at University of Edinburgh, the Royal Academy of Music and with Luciano Berio in Florence. After finishing his studies, Richter co-founded the contemporary classical ensemble Piano Circus...
titled "Horizon Variations" and "On the Nature of Daylight" which is played during the scene when Harold knows of his death.
External links
- Columbia Records: Stranger than Fiction site
- Stranger than Fiction soundtrack Soundtrack questions, answers and other music information.