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By Null
Just to clear up some potential confusion, The Virgin Suicides has essentially two great albums related to the film. First, there is the brilliant score made by the French ambient band Air, officially known as The Virgin Suicides (Score). It is excellent. Second, there is The Virgin Suicides (Music from the Motion Picture), which is comprised of various artists. Though both are great in their own right, I will be referring to the second, Music from the Motion Picture.
A truly great soundtrack should be able to stand on its own, independent of any background knowledge of the film that birthed it. A truly great compilation, or soundtrack, should have some sense of continuity, or narrative, however vague it is bound to be. Like any great mixed tape, it should take one on a journey without necessarily announcing a departer or destination. Like any album I would label a masterpiece, it must evoke a bit of mystery and magic, as this is what drew me to become a person obsessed with the album as an art form. The Virgin Suicides (Music from the Motion Picture) is just such an album.
In 1993, Jeffrey Eugenides published his first novel, The Virgin Suicides. As a life-long fan of literature, I must admit that it is one of my favorite novels. It is haunting, and often other-worldly, yet it is also a brutal portrayal of adolescent longing, desire, and disappointment set in the 1970s in suburban Michigan. I found a great uneasiness in a text that examined sexism, economic class, voyeurism, and the seemingly endless cycle of empty consumerism in late-stage capitalism, American style. Like the absurdity inherent in such a system, there is a suffocating and subtle doom that pervades the text. The book is rife with subtext and begging for examination. There is a lot to un-pack in these 243 pages.
In 1999, Sofia Coppola made her directorial debut as she adapted the book to a film. Though, obviously not as detailed and dense as the novel, she made a masterpiece of a film. It is perfectly cast, and juggles the spring of puberty with the autumn of death.
Likewise, the soundtrack itself is a perfect combination of youthful lust and hopeless suffocation. It embodies the bipolar nature of teenage reality, half other-worldly daydreams, and fantasies curtailed by harsh realities.
Here’s the track list:
Heart, “Magic Man.”
The soundtrack includes two big hits from Heart’s debut album. Being born in the 1970s, I should be rather board of these radio hits, but somehow in the context and sequence of songs on the album, these familiar songs sound surprisingly fresh and urgent.
Todd Rundgren, “Hello It’s Me.”
Rundgren fell under my radar, but I do remember this song as a kid; however, I never realized how great it was—lazy summer loneliness.
Sloan, “Everything You’ve Done Wrong.”
These contemporary Canadian pop-rockers lighten the mood somewhat and keep the record flowing. Though it was a song recorded in 1996, it has the seventies all over it. It has horns bursting everywhere, which evokes a very strong Chicago vibe.
Air, “Ce Matin La.”
Air, who also provided the score of the film, deliver this instrumental dream-like song that sounds like it was born in the 1970s. Excellent horn work.
The Hollies, “The Air That I Breathe.”
This is a simply beautiful song that hits me ever since I first heard it as a child—dreamy.
Al Green, “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.”
This is a classic that settles the emotional excitement for a moment and brings us back down to earth. It’s a slow burner.
Gilbert O’Sullivan, “Alone Again (Naturally).”
I vaguely remember this melody on the radio all those years ago, but I never really paid much attention to the lyrics. Now, listening to in more closely, I consider this a true masterpiece and one of the most beautifully depressing songs ever—remarkable and dark.
10CC, “I’m Not in Love.”
Similar to the Heart songs, I have heard this track a million times, but sandwiched in this soundtrack’s sequence of perfection, it takes on new meaning, life, and depth. Again, we are gone and dreaming in melancholia.
Todd Rundgren, “A Dream Goes on Forever.”
This song might be the least memorable on the record, melody wise, but it is good to have a few Todd Rundgren songs on heavy rotation. I’ve never fallen in love with his albums, but I do have musical heroes who love him.
Heart, “Crazy on You.”
I always loved this song, but it sounds the best on this soundtrack. It feels desperate and hungry.
Air, “Playground Love (Vibraphone Version).”
This is a good example of the mood and tone of the original score of the film. It’s mostly instrumental, thoroughly haunting, and yes, beautiful. As the “theme” of the film. It evokes a potpourri of emotion.
Styx, “Come Sail Away.”
I’m gonna just say it. This is one of the greatest songs ever written. It originally appeared on Styx’s The Grand Illusion album released in 1977. That album is a masterpiece in itself, but that is another discussion. Placing this song at the end of the soundtrack provides a climax to the dreamy isolation of the album. It feels like an orgasm, an exorcism, freedom, or, in this case, suicide. It marries a great escape with a painful “goodbye.” It is the ultimate triumph of failure. This song encapsulates the whole album, and it is the point where confusion arrives like goosebumps and the line between love and hate, or pleasure and pain, become indistinguishable. It pierces the heart of the unknowable, but does not answer any questions.
I lied. The fact that I love the book and the film do, in fact, influence my feelings about this collection of songs. For me, this soundtrack isn’t “standing on its own,” as I mentioned in the beginning of this review, as it is clearly wound up with my feeling of the novel and film. Even the album artwork gives me the feelies. However, I believe that it could stand on its own, as it is simply a great collection of songs that demand to be played over and over again. Then again, my normal disposition is melancholic.
I have listened to this album for days on end. I’ve put it away, rediscovered it, and listened to in once a day for weeks. It’s got a hold on me. It also allowed me to spend an extended period of time with songs I took for granted, or never really knew at all. This soundtrack can exist on its own like a found mix tape, but the movie helps.
Highly suggested listen.
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