Author Topic: BABEL: Santaolalla and Prieto Together  (Read 9963 times)

Offline Lynne

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A more intelligible review of the "Babel" soundtrack
« Reply #10 on: January 02, 2007, 04:45:23 am »
"VARIOUS ARTISTS: "Babel" (Concord)

The soundtrack to the movie "Babel" sounds like it comes from everywhere, and nowhere, at once.

That's by design. The film knits together cultures and story lines, blurring place, context and language (hence the "Babel" title).

For the ambitious musical component to his film, director Alejandro González Iñárritu tapped longtime collaborator Gustavo Santaolalla, who earlier put together the witty rock-en-español soundtrack for Iñárritu's "Amores Perros," and wrote the brittle, Oscar-winning score for "Brokeback Mountain."

For "Babel" the Argentine-born Santaolalla roamed the globe - selectively. The album is neither an encyclopedic race through ethnic styles nor an "It's a Small World After All" serenade. Instead it concentrates on music from Morocco (where key scenes in the movie take place), Mexico (where Iñárritu hails from) and Japan, with quick side trips to the U.K. and U.S.

For the Moroccan influence, Santaolalla taught himself to play the oud (a kind of Middle Eastern lute). He also made use of traditional Gnawa percussionists, who provide the CD's most haunting and tactile aspects. The hallowed quality of Morocco's music breaks up the album's whimsical forays into Mexican norteño and cumbia, which are each laced with florid accordions and zany beats. Along the way, Santaolalla employs everyone from the Mexican rap-rock act Control Machete and the Tijuana avant-gardists Nortec Collective to Japan's Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Fatboy Slim, who mashes up a hit by Earth Wind & Fire with a cymbal hook from Steve Miller. There's also one ennui-laden song from British art-balladeer David Sylvain.

There's nothing pure or faithful about any of these styles but that's the whole point: Santaolalla wants to make up a musical world of his own."

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/story/484196p-407605c.html
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Offline belbbmfan

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Re: Santaolalla and Prieto Work Together on "Babel"
« Reply #11 on: January 02, 2007, 05:00:26 am »
A friend and I saw Babel last night, and I loved both Gustavo's and Rodrigo's work!  It is well worth seeing, and I'll be getting the soundtrack soon.

The sound in the theatre was too loud, so that was annoying.  Nevertheless, Gustavo's plaintive guitar strains - Spanish style for the scenes in Mexico, and Middle Eastern for Morocco - were completely identifiable as HIS.  His use of simplicity and silence - no Brokie could mistake it for anyone else.  There were also more frenetic, very intricate pieces for more dramatic moments to build tension - charango, I think - which were amazing.

And Rodrigo - goodness - the sweeping vistas of the deserts, infinite blue sky, relentless heat, Tokyo - unending city at night - the sense of lights as far as you can see, the fast pace of Tokyo city streets - unending motion, some terrific aerial shots.  There was also excellent work of faces, expressions up close and personal.

(I'm no critic, so someone please come along behind me and do a better job describing this!)

hey Lynne,

i saw 'Babel' a couple of weeks ago and i loved it! Very intens. I loved Rodrigo Prieto's work with it. As you said the vistas, skies, and images of the city were at times overwhelming. And Santaolalla score was very evocative.

SPOILER



But i swear i heard the music used for the Flashback scene in BBM during a scene in Babel, the one where the two Moroccan boys and the father are under fire. Did you hear that too? Or is it just me not being able to get BBM out of my head??  ???

'We're supposed to guard the sheep, not eat 'em'

Offline Lynne

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Re: Santaolalla and Prieto Work Together on "Babel"
« Reply #12 on: January 02, 2007, 05:09:43 am »
I kept hearing BBM in nearly everything, but I think that's me and how I've got Gustavo's style now imprinted on my brain cells.  I didn't pick up on anything that was the same, but I intend to see it again, so I'll keep my ears open for it in that scene specifically.
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Offline SFEnnisSF

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Re: Santaolalla and Prieto Work Together on "Babel"
« Reply #13 on: January 03, 2007, 01:10:51 am »
There was the part in Babel where all three stories started to come together.  And right at this point the SAME EXACT PIECE OF MUSIC we hear in BBM when Ennis is in Jack's Closet and finds the shirts starts playing in Babel.  :o  The track is called "Closet" on the BBM Score CD.  When I was watching Babel, and that music started up, I almost fell out of my seat.  I forgot what was going on in Babel, and all I could see was Ennis reaching for the shirts... 

Offline belbbmfan

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Re: Santaolalla and Prieto Work Together on "Babel"
« Reply #14 on: January 03, 2007, 03:07:28 am »
There was the part in Babel where all three stories started to come together.  And right at this point the SAME EXACT PIECE OF MUSIC we hear in BBM when Ennis is in Jack's Closet and finds the shirts starts playing in Babel.  :o  The track is called "Closet" on the BBM Score CD.  When I was watching Babel, and that music started up, I almost fell out of my seat.  I forgot what was going on in Babel, and all I could see was Ennis reaching for the shirts... 


I didn't notice this.  :o

I didn't like BBM music just popping up in another movie... All i could think of was the Flashback scene.  :(
'We're supposed to guard the sheep, not eat 'em'

Offline Lynne

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Re: Santaolalla and Prieto Work Together on "Babel"
« Reply #15 on: January 04, 2007, 02:21:13 am »
I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about this.  I haven't re-watched Babel, but I did listen to Closet again carefully, and I'm sure Eric's right - I just wasn't trusting my own ears.

In the NYC interview (and I may mangle this some, so my apologies - maybe Meryl or Jenny or Adrian can help me out??), Gustavo talked about Wings and it being a simple, even common, chord progression, something like the Beatles' Blackbird...the first few notes are the same, but Blackbird then goes in one direction and Wings in another.

I guess I'm feeling a bit betrayed on one hand, but I'm trying to remember that just because I idolize Gustavo, he's still human and capable of foibles or follies or mistakes.  It's not like you can plagiarize yourself - just misrepresent maybe?  And I really hope unintentionally because heroes are hard to come by.
"Laß sein. Laß sein."

Offline SFEnnisSF

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Re: Santaolalla and Prieto Work Together on "Babel"
« Reply #16 on: January 04, 2007, 08:54:41 pm »
Well, similar music was also used in Amores Perros and 21 Grams.  The music from the SNIT was originally used in 21 Grams first.   I kinda felt cheated at first too when I heard all this, but then I got over it.  Not so bad to use good music in multiple movies I guess...

Offline Lynne

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Re: Santaolalla and Prieto Work Together on "Babel"
« Reply #17 on: January 10, 2007, 07:12:49 pm »
I've decided I'm over it too.  Otherwise, I'd need to feel similarly annoyed that Monet did multiple studies of water lilies or poppies...

-Lynne
« Last Edit: January 10, 2007, 07:19:44 pm by Lynne »
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Offline adrian

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Re: Santaolalla and Prieto Work Together on "Babel"
« Reply #18 on: January 13, 2007, 03:45:12 pm »

I have not yet seen Babel, but I remember how much I loved John Barry's music when I first saw Out of Africa.  I recognized it his style again in Somewhere in Time and then in Dances With Wolves.  Then again and again in many subsequent films.  I could tell it was his music before even seeing the credits.

So, like John Barry and Leonard Bernstein and John Williams, Gustavo might just have a style that works.  It was his music that made me want to see BBM.
There were only two of them on the mountain flying in the euphoric, bitter air, looking down on the hawks back and crawling lights of vehicles on the plain below....they believed themselves invisible.   A. Proulx

Offline Lynne

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Re: Santaolalla and Prieto Work Together on "Babel"
« Reply #19 on: January 25, 2007, 02:09:33 am »
So, like John Barry and Leonard Bernstein and John Williams, Gustavo might just have a style that works.  It was his music that made me want to see BBM.

I didn't know that, Adrian...very neat.  I've got Motorcycle Diaries from Netflix waiting for me to give it back ;)Babel is completely worth seeing, IMO.  I went in expecting Gustavo's music and Rodrigo's panorama and got both.  And the bonus was that Brad Pitt is a much better actor than I knew.
 8)
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