Track Listing

1. 111 Arthur Avenue - Mark Mothersbaugh
2. These Days - Nico
3. String Quartet in F major (Second Movement) - Ysaye Quartet
4. Lindbergh Palace Suite - Mark Mothersbaugh
5. Wigwam - Bob Dylan
6. Look At That Old Grizzly Bear - Mark Mothersbaugh
7. Lullaby - Emitt Rhodes
8. Mothersbaugh's Canon - Mark Mothersbaugh
9. Police & Thieves - The Clash
10. Scrapping and Yelling - Mark Mothersbaugh
11. Judy Is A Punk - Ramones
12. Pagoda's Theme - Mark Mothersbaugh
13. Needle In The Hay - Elliott Smith
14. Fly - Nick Drake
15. I Always Wanted To Be A Tenenbaum - Mark Mothersbaugh
16. Christmas Time Is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
17. Stephanie Says - Velvet Underground
18. Rachel Evans Tenenbaum (1965-2000) - Mark Mothersbaugh
19. Sparkplug Minuet - Mark Mothersbaugh
20. The Fairest Of The Seasons - Nico

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #138254 in Music
• Released on: 2002-03-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack

Amazon.co.uk Review
The magical triad behind Rushmore's spunky, starry eyed soundtrack--music supervisor Randall Poster, composer Mark Mothersbaugh and director Wes Anderson--leaps forward a decade from that beloved soundtrack's 1960s gems, in the process adopting a more pensive feel for The Royal Tenenbaums' musical backdrop. It may lack the euphoric singalong feel of, say, Creation's "Makin' Time", but the rock and folk tracks here perfectly match the film's crumbling characters and their dilapidated relationships. The Ramones' "Judy is a Punk" is a burst of nostalgic rebellion but surely causes a sad twinge in light of Joey Ramone's untimely death in 2001; gloom-folker Nick Drake's "Fly" and Elliott Smith's excellently depressing "Needle in the Hay"--which is used to chilling effect during a wrist-slashing scene--further deepen the dark thread running through Tenenbaums. But those who prefer the sunny disposition of Rushmore will be thrilled by the calming concoctions of Mothersbaugh, who heralds the coming of a new scene with graceful woodwind/string parts ("Scrapping and Yelling") and playful sitar pieces ("Pagoda's Theme"). Throw in the Clash's squalling "Police and Thieves" and the Velvet Underground's petal-soft "Stephanie Says" and you've got another winning soundtrack from the film biz's most in-tune music lovers. Tenenbaum or not, you can go home again. --Kristy Martin

Customer Reviews

Fabulous work that avoids all the soundtrack cliches.
Wes Andersen's latest flight of fancy reaches Britain's shores this month. The film, about a disloyal, sometimes treacherous and distinctly dodgy old rogue (played superbly by Golden Globe winner, Gene Hackman) who seeks redemption from his disinterested brood (played by Ben Stiller, Gweneth Paltrow and Luke Wilson), finally undergoing terminal illness to win their acceptance, is a distinctly original work by Anderson, the maker of 'Rushmore'. He's quickly giving the Coens a run for their money as one of America's brightest and most ironic film-makers.

This new film is far more accomplished than even the much lauded 'Rushmore', partly because of a wonderful ensemble cast's gusto performances (even Paltrow, shock horror, delivers the goodies) and because of the sheer warmth and wit of the material.

There's nothing worse on a soundtrack than the very song you think is about to come up actually coming up: watch 'Carlito's Way' or 'Being Famous', to witness the 'Lady Marmalade' style-cliches in action. Even Moulin Rouge falls victim to this a tad.

The Royal Tenenbaums never falls into that musical trap and instead goes for the lesser known tracks from the greats (like Lennon's 'Look At Me' and the Clash's version of 'Police and Thieves').

A central part of the film's success is the fabulous soundtrack, opening with life stories of the marriage-damaged children, underpinned by an orchestrated 'Hey Jude' (perfect and clever given that Macca wrote it on his way to visit the young Julian Lennon during his parent's break-up).

Other classics by Nico, Paul Simon and a host of others evoke fantastically the softer and more esoteric side of the 1970s. Every song selection fits perfectly the film's funny and bitter-sweet vibe.

Great track selection: in my mind, the best soundtrack since the Coen Brothers' 'O Brother Where Art Thou?'.

A Royal Soundtrack
This soundtrack, like the one for Rushmore which preceeded it, contains a mixture of classic songs and original instrumental scoring by Mark Mothersbaugh.

The songs are mainly from the reflective singer songwriter genre. Nico's haunting rendition of These Days is memorable from its prominent use in one scene. We also have Elliot Smith and Nick Drake performing similarly melancholic tunes.

One notable thing about the film was the way it showed the characters actually listening to records, in one instance two tracks from the same Rolling Stones LP, (Sadly not included here).

By playing this CD, the listener is given an apt reminder of this wonderfully odd and witty film.

great film great soundtrack
I've had this for a month and it hasn't left my car cd player once.

love it