“If you ever drop your keys in a river of molten lava, let ‘em go…because man, they’re gone.”
- Jack Handey/Deep Thoughts
Do you have a favorite movie soundtrack? Or a soundtrack that you learned of a new artist or song from? The kind that makes you turn to the person you're with and say, "Who is singing that? You gotta know.
Back in 2001, we went to see an independent film called Lovely and Amazing. At the movie's end a song played that drew me in. The singer's voice was uncommon, beguiling. I wasn't getting out of my seat until that song ended and I could check the credits for the name of the song and the artist. Forgiven by Deb Talan it said. Well, I rushed right out and purchased her only CD. I was an immediate fan. Not long thereafter, she teamed with her musician husband, Steve Tanan, to form the Weepies. I'm an even bigger fan of theirs. We've seen them play in Nashville and Boise. We covered one of their songs on a album, Be My Thrill. I like 'em. Their songs are sprinkled around on several different soundtracks. One in particular I've included below.
Another song/artist I discovered was in the movie, Peanut Butter Falcon. If you haven't seen it, stop reading now and do so. You won't regret it. In one sober, reflective scene in the film, a song plays that nails the spirit of the moment, The Sable Song by Gregory Alan Isakov. Man, beautiful.
I don't have any soundtracks that I love top to bottom with the exception of one. In 1983 a movie was released called Local Hero. Back then, information was harder to come by, but I got wind somewhere that Mark Knopfler had written and preformed the music for it. Knopfler, of Dire Straits, was and remains my favorite guitarist. I dashed out and bought the album (literal album). It was loaded with gorgeous Celtic songs driven by Knopfler's signature guitar style. It's the first time I'd been exposed to Celtic music, really. I knew from the way it rang a bell in my soul that I must surely be Irish/Scottish. I am, as I've learned since, on my mother's side, the Cochrans.