TRENT REZNOR – MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BY NATURAL BORN KILLERS (NOTHING/INTERSCOPE)

TRENT REZNOR – MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BY NATURAL BORN KILLERS (NOTHING/INTERSCOPE)

As soundtracks (and indeed scores) grow in stature and prominence as not only just a commercial outlet/cash in for studios and labels, the compiling and creation of soundtrack albums as the thinking man’s compilation has really become something of a work of art in itself. As Quentin Tarantino became one of the first people to most use dialogue snippets effectively in his soundtracks for Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction it was actually the soundtrack to another movie that he wrote that really elevated the soundtrack to a new level. Natural Born Killers really hit notoriety upon release in the UK, falling foul of recent outcries and legislation, which lead to the movie being banned from home video for several years. As the bootleg began to do the rounds, the movie only grew in more and more notoriety, a notoriety that has been rather questioned over the years. With a darker than darker reputation associated with it the soundtrack became on of the few things attached the movie a kid could get his hands on and when Oliver Stone called in Trent Reznor as music supervisor he really knew what he was doing in order to capture the atmosphere he wanted. And when it came to the soundtrack album Reznor really went to town and took his role super seriously. I cannot think of another soundtrack album before and since that sounds like this. Sure dialogue is more evident on soundtrack CDs than ever now but this is more than an album it is more a combination of a self contained modern orchestration or something of an industrial goth/grunge mixtape. Musically this is far from the best soundtrack album to ever grace music history but I really believe it to be unique in its construction and sheer freedom in its usage and connection to movie sound bites. It begins with an initial gripe however as per usual here is a soundtrack that omits (for various reasons) a track that was in the movie. In one of my favourite film music moments in the movie Mickey and Mallory leave the opening scene and enter the credits driving crazily in their car to the accusing strains of “No No Man Part 2” by the late legend Steven Jesse Bernstein. Had that song been present here this release would have taken one step closer to perfection. What the record instead opens with is Leonard Cohen and “Waiting For The Miracle” as the soundtrack perhaps takes its cues from the Pump Up The Volume soundtrack that adopted such a tactic. Regardless of the choice’s origins it is a spot on selection as Cohen’s haunting voice sets an eerie and dark tone to proceedings as if speaking on behalf of Mickey and Mallory in addressing their hopes and desires. Then it kicks off as Juliette Lewis (Mallory Knox) asks a hillbilly “are you flirting with me?” and L7 drop on the scene like a bomb with “Shitlist”. It’s the perfect synchronisation. Then the song ends and returns to the scene of the crime and more carnage from the natural born killers themselves as they run wild in the diner before heading out to the desert accompanied by the harmonica of Dan Zanes on the “Moon Over Greene County” that serves up an expansive vision and view of proceedings. The anger resumes as Patti Smith smashes out “Rock N Roll Nigger” in the most defiant and rebellious sense looking to upset and offend. Then in another bipolar stroke Mickey and Mallory exchange more sweetness to the strains of “Sweet Jane” by Cowboy Junkies. Without doubt a twisted pairing on all fronts. After this a curious nod is made to Bob Dylan and Duane Eddy before Reznor arrives full blown with “Burn” by Nine Inch Nails and a suitable soundtrack for a riot with its overt sentiments beginning with “this world rejects me, this world threw me away, this world never gave me a chance, this world gonna have to pay”. That’s Rodney Dangerfield parenting for you. Wayne Gale (Robert Downey Jr) arrives on the scene as he stirs up a furor as the murderous couple go worldwide and establish a cult fanbase of weirdos including Lane Pryce (Jared Harris) from Mad Men curiously. Then on top of everything else the listener has to suffer Patsy Cline. By now the record is beginning to resemble one of those book and tape affairs that you had as a kid when portions of the movie would be placed on cassette and you followed the plot through the book. The words “spoiler alert” had yet to be invented it would seem. One of the albums highpoints arrives as “Ted, Just Admit It” by Jane’s Addiction gets spliced in with Mallory instigating a sexual assault cum homicide as Perry Farrell declares “nothing’s shocking” as he heads to the warble of “sex is violence” coupled with the infamous Ted Bundy sample which all eventually arrives at a climax of Diamanda Galas’ crazy voice doing a crazy version of “I Put A Spell On You” as it leads into the eventual demise of Knox’s victim coupled with a Dave Navarro wig out. Its truly punishing as it all ends in gunshots and all boxes get ticked. Thankfully things calm down as the reflective coupling of “History (Repeats Itself)” by A.O.S. and “Something I Can Never Have” by Nine Inch Nails serve to prepare for the massacre that lay shortly ahead. From here things fail to improve as they mess with forces they should not be tempering and as one snake bites another further insanity ensues to a soundtrack from Barry Adamson as the pair of them eventually wind up in a high security prison vulnerable at the hands of Warden Dwight McClusky (a possible descendant of Mrs McClusky from Grange Hill). Adamson provides a beautiful accompaniment to the image of a dead mother being eaten by ants. To fully exhibit the experience of being in prison Reznor decides to bring in Dr Dre to represent the African-American gangsta population behind bars. Sign of the times. Pre-dating her own music career Juliette Lewis gets her first music credit down with “Born Bad” which pre-empts another attempted assault on her before all hell breaks loose in the prison to the sound of Jello Biafra and Al Jourgensen as Lard with “Forkboy” that sounds like the banging of prison cell bars and the thunderous emergence of rioting prisoners. For the longest time the “Batonga In Batongaville” speech was our favourite track as its masterful delivery by Downey Jr served to encapsulate the multifaceted appeal of the meal with its sense of drama, rebellion, urgency and absurdity rendering it far beyond hilarious as the early stages of media ridiculous were being ploughed as the live stream being displayed in the movie proved not far from the rolling news that has eventually arrived on our news palates. With the climax closing in Reznor serves up some ambient noise via Nine Inch Nails with “A Warm Place” as there is a call for calm. At the close Leonard Cohen returns to bookend proceedings with “The Future” and message of looking towards the future. Whether some kind of Clockwork Orange change of heart redemption has occurred is open to debate and this song explains the uncertainty of what lay ahead. From here tagged onto the end is “What Would U Do?” by Tha Dogg Pound, which kind of knocks the cohesion of the piece and almost feels like a contractual obligation that perhaps serves to cheapen the piece. Certainly the question of the title fits. With reflection this is a pretty fucking big soundtrack that in many ways works better than the actual movie itself does. It’s a shame more people didn’t take their cues from this piece of work and create their own masterpieces. Thesaurus moment: paradigm. Trent Reznor Nothing Interscope