Thursday, January 23, 2014

Song of the day

"Spring Rain", by The Go-Betweens.

So anyway, when I mentioned Jonathan Demme's "Married to the Mob" while discussing Scorsesean uses of music in film it is quite possible that what I actually had in mind was "Something Wild", Demme's previous film, and in particular its use, at a perfect moment, of the exhilarating strains of "Spring Rain". The song then was brand new, so there was also a major element of surprise in hearing it used by a Hollywood director, at a time when The Go-Betweens where critics' darlings but commercial nobodies.

I must confess, I haven't followed Demme's career beyond "Married to the Mob". But I stuck with The Go-Betweens, like glue, until the (tragic) end. Come to think of it, there is probably a Hollywood narrative arc that could be teased out of the story of The Go-Betweens. Or at least Sundance. (Any happy ending would have to be invented.)

This song came out in 1986 (as did the film). But watching this video it seems like yesterday.

*Sigh*



Bonus beats: Jonathan Demme directed this video of New Order's "Perfect Kiss". There is nothing particularly "arty" about it, but it is, in its own modest way, perfect. (It also has its own catalogue number. How Factory is that?)