@Cosi
Re: the instrumental jazz tracks
Are you specifically thinking of the scene where the guy is playing the saxophone on the street corner? I’m not sure about teh name of the song, but it may have been just an improvisation. (I’m pretty sure the saxophonist was John Lurie, who plays/played in free-ish jazz group, the Lounge Lizards.
Coincidently, I just watched this over the weekend. How’d you like the film?
Here are some thoughts and questions off the top of my head:
1. I’m not sure how good the film is, but I do find it interesting, if for no other reason that it adds to my understanding of Jarmusch’s aesthetic. Actually, I also like his ostensible interest in urban decay and ennui. Jarmusch’s interest in the 50s (the clothes, music, etc.) appeals to me, too, for some strange reason. (Well, maybe not so strange as I grew up in the 80s, which had a strong retro-80s vibe.)
2. I’d be interested in hearing if anyone found the various encounters meaningful? Specifically, I’m wondering if anyone has any interpretations for some of these scenes. For me, the ones involing mentally unstable characters just seems to a way of expressing the notion of decay and breakdown of people in the environment.
I can’t produce complete credits for the soundtrack, but I can tell you that it is mostly comprised of Javanese gamelan music electronically tweaked by Jarmusch, with Lurie improvising on saxaphone occasionally layered on top of it.
In the scene where Allie dances while his girlfriend smokes a cigarette, the song is Earl Bostic’s “Up There in Orbit.”
.
I’m pretty sure Jazz is correct about this
being improvised.
Moderated
I’m not sure how good the film is either. It doesn’t really rise above the level of a generic student project. I’ve only seen it once, so maybe I have to watch again for more details.
It’s not as good as his later films, but I think it’s a very good first film.
Cosi
Anyone know all the other tracks that aren’t mentioned on imdb for the Permanent Vacation Soundtrack? I like the instrumental jazz like tracks whilst that thinks he is special kid is walking them streets