Fingerprints Music

Reviews:

There's a scene in "American Beauty" where Kevin Spacey walksinto teenage pot-dealer Ricky Fitts' room and notices a Pink Floyd CD,remarking, "I didn't know you liked Pink Floyd!" And Fitts responds,"I like a lot of different types of music." This gives the world onemore reason to love this movie's screenwriter, Alan Ball, who has now resurfacedas the creator of the equally transcendent HBO series "Six Feet Under."Since HBO has discovered the importance of a well-chosen soundtrack with thesuccess of "The Sopranos" mixes, they've given Ball and his musicsupervisors Thomas Golubic and Gary Calamar an opportunity to market their tastesto the world. And they've generously doled out space to a lot of artistshere that certainly deserve the exposure.

Left Coast dwellers that they are, Ball and the boys steer the soundtrack awayfrom David Chase's Jersey-boy obsessions with Springsteen, hip-hop andopera. Rather, the mix focuses on the post-rave electronica that characterizesL.A. radio stations like KCRW (where not surprisingly Golubic and Calamar workas radio programmers) with a few rock numbers by PJ Harvey and the Dandy Warholsthrown in for good measure. And the field is exquisitely represented by beautieslike Lamb's "Heaven" and Zero 7's "Distractions."The past both remembered and recently discovered is also covered by ClassicsIV and soul artist Shuggie Otis. And just so we don't forget how hip Ballhappens to be, remixes of Thomas Newman's show theme are provided by apostatejunglist Photek and Manchester trip-hop duo Rae & Christian. Sure, thereare some campy numbers by Peggy Lee and Julie London thrown in, but they'rekept to a minimum, and it serves well to leverage the quiet intensity of thisCD's best work with some gentle humor. Not unlike Ball's work itself,when you think about it.