There’s not much to add to this soundtrack that hasn’t already been written ad nauseum, but for some reason I’m going to rehash it.
The movie that launched the Ben and Matt show is arguably the last time Affleck has been tolerable in a film (or the last time he even acted; he pretty much admitted as much in a recent interview that I can’t seem to find online).
The soundtrack story was simple: Portland denizen, director Gus Van Sant, like many, many others living in the rainy, West Coast era had noticed the arresting singer songwriter Elliott Smith. Van Sant had tracked the film to many of the indie-folkie’s songs and Smith was asked to watch the version of the film cut to his songs. He liked the way they were used, enjoyed the film and gave his blessing for their use in the picture.
The film ended up being a much bigger success than both Van Sant or Smith had anticipated and, for at least a brief moment, Smith became a near household name. Smith’s original song written for the film, “Miss Misery” was implausibly nominated for an Academy Award and he performed at the Oscars in a cheap white suit, held hands with Trishia Yearwood and Celine Dion and every fan that was watching marveled at the very surreal moment (you know that he didn’t win; Danny Elfman who did the proper score was also nominated for an Oscar).
The success of the film launched Smith’s career into a slightly larger echelon of popularity and potentially added to his already growing existential unhappiness (and we all know how that ended), but the songs worked beautifully. Already introspective and wistful, most of the songs were used in traveling moments as characters (mostly Damon) quietly moved from one place to another (to work on a train, or by car to California).
Van Sant also utilized a track from fellow Portland shameless hipsters the Dandy Warhols, plus classics by the Waterboys (to support the Irish, Boston local) and Al Green.
Download: Elliott Smith – “Between The Bars”
Download: Elliott Smith – “Angeles”
Download: Elliott Smith – “No Name #3”
Download: Dandy Warhols – “Boys Better”
Never mind the last time Ben Affleck acted, how about the last time Matt Damon read anything (i.e. obviously off an autocue…) I was confused at the suggestion that Miss Misery was written for this film, and I’m not surprised to hear that the ideas came the other way round. The film is a bit of a pathetic cliched excuse for a plot (never mind a haircut), and Miss Misery sends shivers down your spine, so it didn’t add up.