For fans of director
Wes Anderson, a new movie from the bespectacled auteur means the materialization of a quirky new soundtrack as well. While 1999's British Invasion-heavy audio companion to Rushmore remains the unofficial fan fave, each collection of music (Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums, and
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) has been a glimpse into the Texas-bred
Anderson's obviously deep record collection, a window he once again opens with the typically eclectic
Darjeeling Limited. The quirk of 2004's
Zissou was that it mined classic
David Bowie songs as played by Brazilian samba revivalist and Life Aquatic cast member
Seu Jorge. This time around,
Anderson populates his tale with classic Indian art film music, from celebrated director/composer
Satyajit Ray to violinist/singer/composer
Shankar. Adapting these previously recorded scores to the director's model of "life with a near constant soundtrack" means peppering them with well-placed bursts of rock & roll, so the employment of tracks from
Anderson stalwarts
the Rolling Stones and
the Kinks should come as no surprise, as they have long been the acts that
Anderson uses to drive in the emotional nail. Toss in a little
Debussy and
Beethoven, "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" by the painfully earnest U.K. folkie
Peter Sarstedt, and a dash of gospel, and then wrap it all up with 1969's international smash "Les Champs-Elysées" from American expatriate/French pop superstar
Joe Dassin, and you've got what amounts to the usual
Wes Anderson smorgasbord of hip, never will be hip, or soon to be hipper than hip. ~ James Christopher Monger