I, Movie - March 2010 - DJ Cucumbah

Because I neglected to put any explanation on the packaging, the title of this month's CD doesn't really make any sense by itself. I, Movie is a collection of songs that were either, featured in, or composed for films I have produced and/or directed. Roughly assembled in chronological order, except for some treats at the end of the disk (placed for purposes of flow and structure), it is my filmography in song. It also includes tracks that were chosen, but never made it into the final films (because of cash shortages, mean agents, uncooperative and just plain greedy music publishers, etc). There are some original compositions recorded for specific films and even a few tracks that I hope will appear in projects that are still just scripts (my future filmography). It does evolve from garage rock, into female pop, and then onto much more funky and atmospheric material - I think it holds together as a disk. A bit of an ego trip perhaps, but at least I don't sing on any of the tracks.

Population 420 (1993, 28 minutes)

1. Wake Up

A snippet of dialogue from my first post-film school drama - the short drama Population 420. A dark tale of an alcoholic ex-cop who tracks his missing girlfriend back to her tiny rural hometown - but what are Frank's real intentions?

The Suburbanators (1995, 87 minutes)

2. Atom Smacker - The Primrods

The Suburbanators was my first feature film as producer. Shot in Calgary in 1995, we used local indie-bands for the soundtrack. The Primrods were a really great band that almost went places. They eventually recorded an album for Geffen Records but it got shelved and the group fell apart. The Suburbantors played at The Sundance Film Festival and was quite successful for a super low-budget first feature. The notorious Troma Entertainment (of Toxic Avenger fame) released it in the USA and still distributes it internationally.

Kitchen Party (1997, 92 minutes)

3. Ragweed - Rollerball

I produced Kitchen Party (Gary Burns 2nd film) but also worked closely on the soundtrack. We had a real budget and a real music supervisor as well, John Bissell who had just finished doing the music for The Horse Whisperer? He lived in Montana in a little town filled with Hollywood screenwriters and was pretty plugged into the music scene on the west coast. I have no idea where this group came from or where they went, but I still like this track (it's so old its retro, again).

4. Nothing Boy - The Lux

A Vancouver band that seems to have disappeared.

5. The Truth This Time - The Soft Tips

Twin brothers from Calgary who only recorded a couple of songs. A really catchy tune - a little rough, but it works. That's just the kind of shit that happens in a garage.

Bad Money (1999, 89 minutes)

6. Carnavalis - Schaun Tozer

Part of the tropical themed score for Bad Money - my first feature as director. Schaun Tozer composed much of the music and supervised the recording. We used a lot of real musicians and spent a lot of time on the soundtrack. The movie is about the financial struggles of four different middle class people. The premise was to look at the lengths people will go to to hold onto their station in life, no matter how modest. Oh, and it's a comedy and is still available on DVD in Germany.

7. The Magnificent Seven - Tito Rodríguez

We edited a big scene, where two down and out punks try to make some money by working as prostitutes at a gay cowboy convention, to this lounge version of Elmer Bernstein's title music for The Magnificent Seven, but we were unable to secure the rights. The composer doctored up a facsimile that had the same feel and tempo, and we recorded and used that instead (included as track 20 The Cowboy Thong). But this original is still an awesome arrangement.

8. Don't Die Just Yet - David Holmes

Again, we used this in the editing but it turned out we just couldn't afford it. We listened to this so much while we were editing that it feels like it's part of the film - even though it isn't.

These Girls (2005, 92 minutes)

9. Friday is the Spice of Life - The Von Zippers

I tried to have as many rocking girl groups as possible on the These Girls soundtrack but I needed a little something heavier in select places. Shooting on location, I listened to The Von Zippers' album 'The Future Is Now' every morning in my shitty little vacation cottage in Shediak New Brunswick - to knock the cobwebs out of me head and the bugs out of the rug. Later on in the editing room I used it when we needed some heavy lifting done. These boys have crunch. The DVD cover shown is the Portuguese version, it can be found in Spanish, German, French and the original English as well. It just played on Romanian TV.

10. Smack - Bettie Serveert

A friend of mine was a big fan of this Dutch outfit (headed up by a Canadian gal) and they fit perfectly into the These Girls soundtrack. They came to Montreal when we were in post-production so I was able to accost them after the show.

11. Combat Baby - Metric

These guys (and gal) were just starting to take off so we got this song for a song (and some cash). It plays over the credits sequence and lends the overall film a certain combative tone.

12. Finacé - The Sunday Sinners

An all girl (plus a dude on bass) group from Montréal The Sunday Sinners put on quite a show. They really know their old school rock. They still play around town.

13. Walking With A Ghost - Tegan & Sara

I can't handle too much of Tegan & Sara at one time, but this song really works. The White Stripes covered it.

14. What is the Light? - The Flaming Lips

In the several years it took to develop and write (rewrite) These Girls, I always had this grand idea that I would get The Flaming Lips to agree to let me re-mix the entire album 'The Soft Bulletin' into a soundtrack. That of course never happened, and even if it had it would have been for a far moodier and darker film than what These Girls eventually turned out to be. But I did listen to this song over and over again as I toiled over the script.

In a World Created by a Drunken God (2008, 92 minutes)

15. I'm On My Way - The Dead Indians

Drunken God was an odd little project I was hired to direct. It is the story of a white man who tries to get his 'long lost' native half-brother to donate a kidney to their dying father. It's all about healing or as the Edmonton Journal aptly wrote 'Film questions our need for healing'. For a super low budget project it has done very well and picked up a few awards here and there. I wanted a tough soundtrack to reflect the boiling anger of the main native character and listened to a lot of native rap music looking for the perfect tracks. The Dead Indians fit the bill. This track didn't make it into the film, the producers took it out for some reason. Too much cussin' on the mic perhaps?

My Present Age

16. Donauschingen
(Peter Kruder's Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänskajütenremix) - Trüby Trio

I have been working on My Present Age - an adaptation of Guy Vanderhaeghe's novel of the same name - for ten years. The story of a divorcee-to-be who gets too much into his own head - Ed is given to wild flights of fantasy that have wreaked his relationship with Victoria. This piece off the classic Kruder and Dorfmeister's K&D sessions would go very nicely with the off kilter comic tone of the film. With a bigger budget this time I just might be able to afford it.

17. You're Gonna Get Yours - Public Enemy

In My Present Age there is a character called Rubacek. She is maybe 20 years old on a good day, but she claims to have an extensive criminal past and has a memoir she is writing based on some hard prison time she also claims to have done. This song should play as she drives her purple vintage Grand Prix around town.

O Cannabis

18. Double Drums (DJ DSL Mix) - Peace Orchestra

I was hired to rewrite a script called O Cannabis - I threw out the script, kept the title, and started over. The tale of a hapless farmer who has bankrupted the family raising ostriches and llamas, O Cannabis tracks the Potter family as they turn to growing marijuana to save the farm. Because this is well trod territory, I have to aim to put a new spin on this type of story, and I thought that this track would go well with and in beautiful contrast to the wide open skies of Saskatchewan where this is set. Imagine smoking a fatty and relaxing to this remix as the prairie wheat and country bumpkins drift by.

19. The Day My Baby Gave Me A Surprize - Devo

I just wrote my first TV pilot. A half hour comedy penned collectively with fellow screenwriters Dan Williams and Lienne Sawatsky. Brannen is a handsome detective who solves odd ball crimes in the Plateau neighbourhood of Montreal and he has lots of trouble with ladies. I thought this would make a great titles sequence song. The poster image is a mock-up for demonstration purposes and by no way implies that Jon Dore (featured) is associated with the show.

20. The Cowboy Thong - Schaun Tozer & Dan Seguin

Because we couldn't get The Magnificent Seven title music, the composer for Bad Money did a 'version' for the film. We recorded with a horn section and a few percussionists - it was a fun day in the studio.

21. Track 12 - Andy Greatrix

We recorded a lot of country music for Population 420 - funny ersatz hurtin' song that my co-director Michael Gregory wrote the lyric for. However they aren't great listening songs for my purposes here. So this is the instrumental version of one of the songs we used a lot in the film. The pedal steel player, Andy Greatrix, was super talented and rock solid, so we just let him go. It is a one take track and has flaws but I really like the feel of this one.

22. Fry 'em Right

Another snippet from Population 420. Some wisdom from a local character on the deeper meaning and nuance of ordering eggs.