In this week's paper (link here), I talked with AJ Schnack, director of the new Kurt Cobain biopic, About a Son (and an Edwardsville High School graduate). We discussed the movie's music -- some of which is found on the soundtrack, which came out yesterday on Barsuk Records -- and its role in helping explain Cobain's creative motivations.
In a similar fashion, I asked Schnack what songs would be on the soundtrack to his life. He had this to say:
"My mom and dad ran a summer camp, in Grafton, Illinois. So there would have to be a camp song in there. There’s one we sang all the time when we were done for the night, called ‘I Love the Flowers.’ It might even have Christian overtones, an old traditional folky song. There’s a line in it that ends with, “All these wonderful things,” cause that’s how the song ends."
There was a long pause after that, and Schnack laughed and said he had to call me back with more song ideas. A few hours later, I received a list of the following songs in my inbox -- all representing (ostensibly) the different periods in Schnack's life. Here they are, with YouTube links where applicable.
1. Traditional Camp Song, "I LOVE THE FLOWERS" (a.k.a. Boom De-A-Da)
2. Harry Chapin, "CATS IN THE CRADLE"
3. Journey, "OPEN ARMS"
4. Talking Heads, "ROAD TO NOWHERE"
5. Violent Femmes, "GOOD FEELING" (decent audio, sorry for the crappy video)
6. Pixies, "MONKEY GONE TO HEAVEN"
7. Superchunk, "THE QUESTION IS HOW FAST"
8. The Lemonheads, "MY DRUG BUDDY"
9. Liz Phair/Muzzle, "FUCK AND RUN"
10. R.E.M., "NIGHTSWIMMING"
11. Jawbreaker, "I LOVE YOU SO MUCH IT'S KILLING US BOTH"
12, Wilco, "NOTHING'SEVERGONNASTANDINMYWAYAGAIN"
13. Joni Mitchell, "FREE MAN IN PARIS"
14. Ike and Tina Turner, "RIVER DEEP, MOUNTAIN HIGH"
