Podcast - Soundtracking with Bruce Springsteen

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“We’re always trying to find someone whose broken pieces fit with our broken pieces.”

Last Autumn I spent a quiet afternoon hiding out at the cinema watching Bruce Springsteen’s film Western Stars. I have to confess I don’t know his music too well but the movie, well, the movie is just beautiful. It’s a sweeping meditation. A performance film intercut with stories about the songs and stunning footage of the American landscape. It makes you feel like you’re out on the open road, under an endless starry sky and in a bar with your best friends at the same time. The songs are accompanied by a 30 piece orchestra and Springsteen’s unmistakable vocal.

This gorgeous interview digs deeper into why he made the movie. Springsteen talks about how he wanted to immerse himself in thoughts about “love and difficulty of love” and asks “how do you move from being an individual into a life that’s filled with… communal experience.” The discussion is dotted with clips of music from the film and it’s just lovely. A perfect listen for a walk out in the fresh air.

Episode 177: Bruce Springsteen & Thom Zimny On The Music Of Western Stars

It's been a very good week for Soundtracking, with our little film music podcast nominated for two gongs at the UK's premier audio industry awards, the ARIAs. And who better to celebrate with than one of the biggest names in the music business, Bruce Springsteen.

Monday Movie - Emma

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I went to see the wonderful Emma at the cinema last week. Snuggled on a sofa with coffee and popcorn, it was the perfect way to while away an afternoon. The director Autumn De Wilde has previously directed music videos and is an award-winning photography and I loved her artistic telling of the story. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful. I love this interview with the actors. They talk about how Autumn asked them to study screwball comedies to give the film the feel of classics like Bringing Up Baby. There are so many little details in the film, the team behind it has taken such care with it. Such a treat.

Autumn de Wilde's new take on Jane Austen's Emma seems intent on disproving the stereotype that all period pieces are "stiff" or "stuffy." From its eye-poppi...

Santa Lucia Day In Copenhagen

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In December I returned to Copenhagen for a few days escape. I explored some new areas including Christianshavn where I wandered down a picture perfect street called Wildersgade. I also visited the Glyptotek gallery for a second time and spent a while looking around the magnificent sculptures including the two huge lions in one of the lobbies. It’s wonderful that the word for lion in Danish is løve.

One of the main reasons I visited was to experience the Santa Lucia Day celebrations that take place each year on December 13th. In Scandinavia this date coincided with Winter Solstice and the day celebrates light coming back into the darkness. You can read more about the tradition here. I heard about a lovely, quirky custom that the kayak clubs of Copenhagen embrace. As the light fades, they cover their kayaks in fairylights and take to the canal. Hundreds of them drifting along the water. Crowds gathered and there was a lovely sense of calm as we all watched spellbound.

Winter Solstice - A Painting & A Poem

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Inspired by the shortest day of the year. And now the light starts to tiptoe back in.

Monday Movie - Moonstruck

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“Love don’t make things nice, it ruins everything. It breaks your heart, it makes things a mess. We aren’t here to make things perfect… We are here to ruin ourselves and to break our hearts and love the wrong people...”

I watched 1987 classic Moonstruck for the first time this week. I’ve been watching romcoms while I work on my film script, trying to feel what works and what doesn’t. Moonstruck caught me off guard. It’s off kilter, somehow managing to be melodramatic and sweet at the same time. The plot is simple and almost too easily resolved but it’s still really absorbing. I feel like I need to watch it again to make some sort of sense of it. I loved Nicolas Cage’s over the top tortured soul, declaring his love like an operatic hero. The quote above is from his speech to Cher’s character. It feels like you wouldn’t be able to get away with this dialogue in a movie these days. The 80s teenager in me misses those days.

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