Defying the trend of shoving a bunch of songs together for unit-shifting, the
soundtrack
to the
Bill Murray
movie
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
is a cohesive and entertaining collection of songs.
Sven Libaek
's score pieces are remarkable, from the dreamy
jazz
of
"Shark Attack Theme"
to the watery, hypnotic
"Open Sea Theme,"
while
Mark Mothersbaugh
's offerings are as consistently good as ever. From lilting horn orchestrations (
"Loquasto International Film Festival"
) to bright beautiful pieces (
"Let Me Tell You About My Boat"
),
Mothersbaugh
triumphs. Filmmaker
Wes Anderson
contrasts such instrumentals with outstanding '70s
rock
choices like
Iggy & the Stooges
' proto-
punk
Molotov
"Search and Destroy,"
Devo
's
"Gut Feeling,"
and a pair of
Hunky Dory
-extracted
David Bowie
classics like the rollicking
"Queen Bitch"
and the somber brilliance of
"Life on Mars?"
A second version of the latter, sung in Portuguese by
Seu Jorge
, is one of five absurd but likable
Bowie
covers, making for an eclectic but compelling collection. ~ John D. Luerssen