 Music from the film Rushmore (London
Records 1998) - Rushmore is the quirky new film about Max Fischer (played by newcomer Jason
Schwartzman), a 10th grader at Rushmore Academy who falls in love
with first grade teacher Miss Cross (played by Olivia Williams). Max's plans go awry when one of the school's benefactors, a steel tycoon named Mr. Blume
(played by Bill Murray
in a great role) also falls for Miss Cross.
The soundtrack (assembled by Mark Mothersbaugh, best known to rock audiences
as the leader of the influential Devo), includes songs
by the Kinks ("Nothing in This World Can Stop Me Worrying About That Girl"), Cat Stevens
("Here Comes My Baby," a catchy song from 1967, and "The Wind," from his 1971 classic, Teaser and The Firecat), Chad and Jeremy
(the 1964 hit, "Summer Song"), and the Who (the ten-minute, "A Quick One While He's Away"). Instrumental tracks from the
film tie the soundtrack together.
 Explains
director Wes Anderson,
"I originally wanted to score the whole movie with songs by the Kinks. I thought this made sense because the
Kinks played loud, angry, teenage rock songs, and they wore blazers and ties; and our movie is about a teenager
who is loud and angry, and he is almost never seen without his blazer and tie (until he switches to a green velvet
suit). I eventually expanded this concept to include the whole British Invasion because they all basically dressed
like that."
Also included is John Lennon's
"Oh Yoko" and the Faces
(with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Lane)
performing the concluding, "Ooh La La."
 Suspend your
disbelief and you'll enjoy Rushmore. In particular, Bill Murray takes his old "lounge lizard" character to the nth
degree (and certainly deserved an Academy Award nomination).
While the songs didn't stand out during the movie (unlike "The Truman Show," in which the music was critical
to the mood of the film), the soundtrack more than holds its own. Enjoy Rushmore.
 Bruce
Hornsby, Spirit Trail (RCA
1998) - Bruce Hornsby returns with his sixth album, the ambitious Spirit
Trail. On this double-disk
set (recorded at Hornsby's home studio in Williamsburg, Virginia), the
43-year-old Hornsby is by turns funky, rollicking and serious.
Hornsby enjoyed big chart success with his 1986 debut, The
Way It Is. While Hornsby also penned the 1990 hit, "The End of
the Innocence" with Don
Henley, his musical interests expanded through tours with the Grateful Dead and later jazz-oriented albums,
such as Hot House (1995).
 On Spirit Trail, Hornsby returns to his piano
roots. Explains Hornsby, "I think it's a very Southern record. The place it is coming from is elemental -
gospel, folk, the blues. I'm a child of the South, and I've always written about that experience. I'm also trying
to see if there's a place for virtuosity in popular music."
With tracks like "Preacher in the Ring, Part I," "Great Divide" (with Canadian Ashley McIsaac on fiddle), and "Sunflower
Cat" (with reference to the late Jerry Garcia), Hornsby finds himself in a comfortable studio element.
Spirit Trail is actually
two albums. Bruce finished the first, then went on tour for a couple of months. While on the road, he came up with
a new set of songs. A goodly portion of the songs in the second disk were written on a Casio keyboard during down
time at the "Further Festival" shows.
Spirit Trail has inspired
strong feelings, with some critics calling it the Album of the Year. Nobody seems to like the silly cover (a 1966
photo of Hornsby's late Uncle Charley), except Hornsby, who explains "It's ironic to use an
inane cover, because it's a fairly serious record." Fans of challenging pop, with a languorous streak, will
enjoy Spirit Trail.
 Peter Murphy, Recall (Red Ant 1998) - Recall is a five-song EP from Bauhaus pioneer Peter Murphy, featuring new
versions of "Roll Call" (from his 1990 album, Deep) and "Indigo Eyes" (from 1988's Love
Hysteria).
Peter Murphy reunited last year with former Bauhaus mates David J.,
Daniel
Ash, and Kevin Haskins for the first shows since the band broke up in 1983. Energized by the "Bauhaus Resurrection"
(which included four sold-out shows in Los Angeles), Murphy headed into Seattle's Studio
X to record Recall.
 The album
remains true to Murphy's post-modern, hypnotic style - dark and moody, yet densely mixed and with post-industrial
instrumentation a la Eno
or David Bowie circa "Low."
The sound is driven by Murphy's rich and spooky voice, which is both calming and unsettling at the same time.
Also included is "Big Love of a Tiny Fool," and a live version of "Big and Tiny."
Few dare tread in this vein: Bauhaus has been described as the forerunner of Nine
Inch Nails and Marilyn
Manson. Go to the source. Try Recall.
- Randy Krbechek © 1999
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