(Cast)Melbourne University Choral SocietyAnna Cumming, Kim Asher, Anh-Dao Vlachos, Rachel Harris,Sarah Chan, Olivia March, Olivia Eckel, Michael Watts, Justin Presser,Arran Stewart, Benno Rice, Berin Boughton, Donald Shaw

Music Editor & Soundtrack Producer Richard LowensteinBestBoy Liaison Gary SeegerMusic Supervision Mana Music

Chris Gough Julie Spinks

"Golden Brown"(Cornwell/Burnell/Greenfield/Black)Complete Music Limited/Festival Music Pty Ltd\EMI Music PublishingPerformed by The Stranglers℗ 1981 EMI Records LtdCourtesy of EMI Music Australia

"Buy Me A Pony"(Spiderbait) Sony/ATV Music Publishing AustraliaPerformed by SpiderbaitCourtesy of Grudge RecordsUnder licence from Universal Music Australia

"Run On"(Richard 'Moby' Hall) © 1999 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp (BMI)& The Little Idiot Music (BMI)All rights on behalf of The Little Idiot Music (BMI)Administered by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp (BMI)Performed by MobyLicensed from Festival Mushroom GroupCourtesy of Mute Records & V2

"Ya Ya Ringe Ringe Raja"(Dorsey/Lewis/Levy) © 1961 EMI Longitude Music CoLicensed & Administered by EMI Music Publishing Australia Pty LtdPerformed by Goran Bregovic & Kolic ZlatkoCourtesy of Mercury Records FranceUnder licence from Universal Music AustraliaFrom the original soundtrack "Underground"

"German Girl"(Bickford) Mushroom Music PublishingPerformed by Paradise MotelLicensed from Festival Mushroom Group

"Always On My Mind"(Christopher/James/Thompson)© 1971 Press Music Co/Screen Gems-EMI Music Inc/© 1971 Budde Songs IncAdministered by EMI Music Publishing Australia Pty LtdLicensed by EMI Music Publishing Australia Pty Ltd& Fable Music Pty LtdPerformed by Rick Charles & cast membersRick Charles appears courtesy of Casino Promotions

"Dr Who (Theme" (The Pound System 2000 remix)(Grainer) © Chappell Music LimitedBy kind permission of Warner/Chappell Music LimitedPerformed by The Pound SystemLicensed from Festival Mushroom Group

"La Valse"(Crespin) © 1989 EMI Virgin Music Publishing FranceAdministered by EMI Virgin Music Publishing Australia Pty LtdLicensed by EMI Music Publishing Australia Pty LtdPerformed by Les Negresse VertesCourtesy of EMI Music Australia

"La Dolce Vita"(N. Rota)Performed by Nino RotaOrchestra Conducted by Carlo Savina© & ℗ 1960 C.A.M. S.r.lFrom the original soundtrack "La Dolce Vita"

"Ride Of The Valkyries"(Wagner)Performed by CSR Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava)Conducted by Uwe MundUnder licence from Naxos

Solstice Chant(Traditonal)

Performed by The Melbourne University Choral Society

"Tomorrow Belongs To Me"(Kander/Ebb)© 1966 Ally Music Corp & Trio Music Co. Inc/Warner/Chappell MusicPerformed by The Melbourne UniversityChoral Society & cast members

"Aulde Lang Syne"(Traditional) Collected by Robbie BurnsPerformed by The Melbourne University Choral Society

"Miss Sarajevo"(Hewson/Evans/Clayton/Mullen/Eno)© Polygram Int. Music Publishing B.V/David Platz Music (Australia) Pty LtdAdministered by Universal Music Publishing Pty LimitedPerformed by PassengersCourtesy of Island Records UKUnder licence from Universal Music Australia

"The Passenger"(Osterberg/Gardiner/Pop) © 1977 Mainman Saag Ltd/EMI Music Publishing/James Osterberg Music/EMI Virgin Music Ltd/Ricky Gardiner Songs/Festival Music Pty LtdAdministered by EMI Music Publishing Australia & EMI Virgin MusicLicensed by EMI Music Publishing AustraliaPerformed by Rowland S Howard

"The Mercy Seat" (2000 live version)(Cave/Harvey) Mushroom Music Publishing/Mute Song LimitedPerformed by Nick Cave, Warren Ellis & Susan StengerLicensed from Festival Mushroom GroupCourtesy of Mute Records

"The Mercy Seat"(Cave/Harvey) Mushroom Music Publishing/Mute Song LimitedPerformed by Nick CaveLicensed from Festival Mushroom GroupCourtesy of Mute Records

"Everloving"(Richard 'Moby' Hall) © 1999 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp (BMI)& The Little Idiot Music (BMI)All rights on behalf of The Little Idiot Music (BMI)Administered by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp (BMI)Performed by MobyLicensed by Festival Mushroom GroupCourtesy of Mute Records & V2

"Ian Gets It"Performed by Emma Bortignon

"Man Overboard" (The WBSS 2000 remix)(Carter/Philip/Bray/Conway) Festival Music Pty LtdPerformed by Deborah Conway & Wicked Beat Sound SystemLicensed from Festival Mushroom Group

"Didley Squat"(Keiller/Cartwright) Festival Music Pty LtdPerformed by sonicanimationLicensed from Festival Mushroom GroupSonicanimation appear courtesy of Global Recordings

"Drive"(Ocasek) Mushroom Music Publishing/Lido MusicPerformed by Paradise MotelLicensed from Festival Mushroom Group

"The Human Germ"(Thrussell) Festival Music Pty LtdPerformed by SnogLicensed from Rollercoaster Recordings/I.M.C.C. Quality Products

"Into My Arms"(Cave) Mushroom Music Publishing/Mute Song LimitedPerformed by Nick Cave & The Bad SeedsLicensed from Festival Mushroom GroupCourtesy of Mute Records

"California Dreaming"(J. Phillips/M. Gilliam) Universal/MCA Music Publishing Inc., ADO Universal StudioAdministered by Universal Music Publishing Pty Ltd, Performed by The

Mamas & The PapasCourtesy of MCA Records, Under licence from Universal Music Australia

Soundtrack available through Best Boya division of the Festival Mushroom GroupBest Boy logo

CD:

A CD of the soundtrack was released:

CD Best Boy/Festival Music Records 334082 2001Mastered by William "Willy" Bowden @ Festival Studios 2001

01: GOLDEN BROWN, The Stranglers, Burnel, Cornwell, Black, Greenfield, Festival Music Pty Ltd & EMI Music Publishing, 1981 EMI Records Ltd., licensed courtesy of EMI Music Australia02: BUY ME A PONY, Spiderbait, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, 1996 Polydor Records Australia, licensed courtesy of Universal Music Australia Pty Limited03: MURIEL'S WEDDING, Noah Taylor, film dialogue, 2001 Notorious Films Pty Limited, licensed courtesy of Notorious Films Pty Limited04: RUN ON, Moby Moby, Warner/Chappell Music Publishing, 1999 Mute Records Limited05: YA YA RINGE RINGE RAJA, Goran Bregovic & Kolic Zlatko, Dorsey / Levvis / Levy, EMI Music Publishing, MCA Records Inc., licensed courtesy of Universal Music Australia Pty Limited06: ALWAYS ON MY MIND, Rick Charles & Cast (Christopher/James/Thompson), 1971 Press Music Co/Screen Gems-EM1 Music Inc., 1971 Budde Songs Inc., administered by EMI Music Publishing Australia Pty Ltd., licensed by EMI Music Publishing Australia Pty Ltd & Fable Music Pty Ltd.,2001 Notorious Films Pty Limited, licensed courtesy of Notorious Films Pty Limited07: THE SECRET WEAPON, Romane Bohringer & Noah Taylor, film dialogue, 2001 Notorious Films Pty Limited, licensed courtesy of Notorious Films Pty Limited08: DR WHO (CYBERMAN REMIX), Pound System R Grainer, Chappell Music Limited, by kind permission of Warner / Chappell Music Limited, 2001 Mushroom Records Pty Ltd.09: FRIGID UPTIGHT COLD ICY, Emily Hamilton & Noah Taylor, film dialogue, 2001 Notorious Films Pty Limited, licensed courtesy of Notorious Films Pty Limited10: LA VALSE, Les Negresses Vertes Mathieu Crespin, EMI Virgin Music Publishing France, 1991 Delabel, licensed courtesy of EMI Music Australia11: LA DOLCE VITA, Nino Rota, 1960 C.A.M. S.d., licensed courtesy of C.A.M. S.r.l.12: SOLSTICE CHANT, The Melbourne University Choral Society, traditional, 2001 Notorious Films Pty Limited, licensed courtesy of Notorious Films Pty Limited13: TOMORROW BELONGS TO ME, The Melbourne University Choral Society & Cast Members, J Kander / F Ebb, 2001 Notorious Films Pty Limited, licensed courtesy of Notorious Films Pty Limited14: THE PASSENGER, Rowland S Howard Iggy Pop / Ricky Gardiner, EMI Music / Ricky Gardiners Songs Co / Festival Music Pty Ltd., 2001 Notorious Films Pty Limited, licensed courtesy of Notorious Films Pty Limited15: MISS SARAJEVO, The Passengers, Passengers B Eno, Bono, A Clayton, Edge, L Mullen Jnr, Universal Music Publishing & David Platz

Music 1995 Polygram International BY., licensed courtesy of Universal Music Australia Pty Limited16: IT'S THE POLICE SAMMY, Noah Taylor, film dialogue, 2001 Notorious Films Pty Limited, licensed courtesy of Notorious Films Pty Limited17: THE MERCY SEAT (LIVE), Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Nick Cave & Mick Harvey, Mushroom Music Publishing, 1993 Mute Records Limited18: EVERLOVING, Moby, Moby Warner/Chappell Music Publishing, 1999 Mute Records Limited19: I HAVE SOMETHING TO DECLARE, Francis McMahon, Noah Taylor, Sophie Lee & Romaine Bohringer, film dialogue, 2001 Notorious Films Pty Limited, licensed courtesy of Notorious Films Pty Limited20: MAN OVERBOARD (2001 REMIX), Deborah Conway & Wicked Beat Sound System Carter / Philip / Bray / Conway, Festival Music Pty Ltd., 2001 Mushroom Records Pty Ltd.21: DRIVE, Paradise Motel Ric Ocasek, Mushroom Music Publishing, 1998 Mushroom Records Pty Ltd.22: THE HUMAN GERM, Snog David Thrussell, Festival Music Pty Ltd., produced by Snog, recorded at Elder Manor, I.M.C.C Duality Products 2001, www.cyberden.com/imcc23: AND DON'T EAT THE FELAFEL, Terry Serio & Steve Bastoni, film dialogue, 2001 Notorious Films Pty Limited, licensed courtesy of Notorious Films Pty Limited24: INTO MY ARMS, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Nick Cave, Mushroom Music Publishing, 1997 Mute Records Limited.,25: THERE'S JUST ONE MORE THING, Emily Hamilton & Noah Taylor, film dialogue, 2001 Notorious Films Pty Limited, licensed courtesy of Notorious Films Pty Limited26: CALIFORNIA DREAMING, The Mama's & The Papa’s, J Phillips & M Phillips, Universal/MCA Music Publishing, MCA Records, Inc., licensed courtesy of Universal Music Australia Pty Limited27: AULDE LANG SYNE, The Melbourne University Choral Society & Cast Members, Traditional, 2001 Notorious Films Pty Limited, licensed courtesy of Notorious Films Pty Limited

CD Review:

The soundtrack release was reviewed on Urban Cinefile, here, saved to WM here:

And I thought the Moulin Rouge soundtrack was eclectic. Here we have a dizzying array of styles that could never have expected to share the same disc, but have been brought together by a story about people who share houses.

One such housemate is the titular corpse. Surprisingly, no one from the Big Brother household was cast in this role, although I’d have thought a number of them had just the right charisma.

Never mind. If, like me, you’re bored stiff-as-a-dead-felafel-eater by the inanity of prime time television, switch off the tube and give this tasty soundtrack a whirl.

The Anglo-Saxon hues of Golden Brown kick it off to a wistful start. I always find these folksy ternary-accented tunes have me dreaming of Nottingham Forests, although John and Paul apparently dreamt of Norwegian Woods. Anyway this delightfully zesty tune was a huge hit for The Stranglers about a decade ago, despite belonging to that rare species of pop song that bounces along without a heavy snare back-beat. Only Enya comes to mind as producing such chart-topping, toe-tapping hits on the back of percussion-light arrangements.

Golden Brown's intro pattern;—repeated in the bridge—does spring a trap for unwary waltzers, however. Watch for that extra beat as it cycles around... perfect for those with two left feet.

No one will lose stride to the jaunty waltz of Negresses Verde’s La Valse, or the exquisite walking bass lines of a grab from Nina Rota’s La Dolce Vita score. Yes, that’s right, Nina Rota. La Dolce Vita. This excerpt lasts a total of three and a half minutes, and of course it alone is worth the price of the CD.

At the other end of the musical spectrum, some less virtuosic offerings from Rowland S. Howard and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are sparse with quality musicianship but pretty rich with character. I’ve been known to give Nick and his Seeds a royal roasting in the past but I have to admit that Into My Arms and more particularly a live recording of The Mercy Seat showcase the depths of charisma that sometimes spark interest over the simplicity of the music. He’s still wonky on a few notes, but even I have to admit that Nick’s is a Cavernous voice.

Another stylistic leap and we have three tracks featuring the pure voices of The Melbourne University Choral Society. These run the gamut from the Latin intonations of Solstice Chants to the closing Celtic lilt of Auld Lang Syne.

Just when we seem to be running out of musical dimensions along comes Pound System with the fabulous theme from that eponymous pronoun with

the fourth-dimension-defying police box. Unfortunately they spend too little time putting some pound into the timeless theme and too much time exploring every techno cliché in the galaxy.

Incredibly, the variety doesn’t end there. Some hip-hop meets gospel from Moby, the old U2/Pavarotti collaboration Miss Sarajevo and an old classic from The Mamas & The Papas bob up between excerpts of short but hilarious film dialogue.

The eclecticism isn’t as seamless as Luhrmann’s cleverly woven project, but overall the music is just about as good. Brad Green, published August 30, 2001

Lyrics:

Head credits:

The film’s head credits feature a video clip of The Stranglers’ Golden Brown. Lyrics as heard in the film:

Golden brown, texture like sun (video clip is full on TV screen)Lays me down, with my mind she runsThroughout the night … (the felafel, held in Flip’s dead hand, begins to slide on to the screen from left, as the clip keeps running. The felafel, sauce trickling down his arm, ends up on the right, the TV clip in the middle and his head on the right)No need to fightNever a frown with golden brownEvery time just like the lastOn her ship tied to the mastTo distant landsTakes both my handsNever a frown with golden brown …

(Cutaway to Danny looking at the television and Flip:Danny: “Flip, turn the fucking TV off! People are trying to sleep.”The instrumental part of the song continues, and then there’s another line as we see the felafel, the TV with video clip and Flip from behind.Danny: “Flip, have some fucking consideration!”Danny moves over and turns the sound down, then turns to look at Flip.Danny: “For Christ’s sake, Flip!”Danny stares at the dead Flip, the now mute clip still playing in the background.

Danny: “Flipster? (quietly, as he realises) … Oh, shit! (then more emphatically, “Shit!” “Fuck!!”Cast and crew titles then continue over black, with a zapping sound accompanying each change, and with a new rock song, Spiderbait’s Buy Me a Pony):

Don’t you wanna beA personality?An ocean in the sea?But you’ll never make itif you can’t shake itSo don’t mistake itJust try and fake itAnd I want to knowYou don’t have far to goSo we’ll use all your doughTo buy new clothes and see what flowsAnd powder your nose for those photosYou’re almost on your wayTo popularityAnd we’ll teach you to play With icy stare and punk-rock hairAnd beatnik flareWe’ll take you there …

(That line over Richard Lowenstein’s writer, producer, director credit, then as the credit zooms off, the next line is over black …as emphatic sounds herald the arrival of each word of the main title on the screen, with the song lower in volume)

And there’s so many round like youAnd we don’t care just what you’re doingAfter we have gone our separate waysYeah, yeah …Yeah, hey …

(The main title zooms off, the song fades out on an instrumental note, and over a CU of a croaking canetoad, there’s a title “house #47 Brisbane, Australia …” with typewriter noise, followed by “9 months earlier …”)

Tail credits:

The Stranglers’ song Golden Brown and Flip’s death returns at the end, and

then Danny and Sam are walking off down the street, as a cop car, siren blaring, roars past them. They keep walking:

Danny: “Do you want to get married?”Sam: “Can’t. Got to go out later.”Danny: “I don’t know if it’s all it’s cracked up to be, anyhow.”(As they get closer to camera)Sam: “There’s just one more thing.”Danny: “Mmm?”Sam: “Beserk? Gaga? Talking in tongues?”Danny: “Well, you know, I may have exaggerated that part a little.”

(Sam smiles knowingly, and as they look at each other California Dreaming begins to play, before we hear Danny off ask a question, and we see it in a title, “getting some serious rays there, Flip..?” As the line finishes, the instrumental introduction finishes, and singing begins, just as Taylor shouts out “Fore!” and whacks a cane toad with his golf club. Lyrics as heard in the film):

All the leaves are brown … (all the leaves are brown)And the sky is grey … (and the sky is grey)I’ve been for a walk … (I’ve been for a walk)On a winter’s day … (on a winter’s day)I’d be safe and warm … (I’d be safe and warm)If I was in L.A. … (if I was in L.A.)California dreaming … (California dreaming)On such a winter’s day …Stopped into a churchI passed along the wayWell I got down on my knees … (got down on my knees)And I pretended to pray (I pretend to pray)You know the preacher liked the cold … (Preacher liked the cold)He knows I’m gonna stay … (knows I’m gonna stay)California dreaming … (California dreaming)On such a winter’s day …

(Flute-driven instrumental)

All the leaves are brown ... (all the leaves are brown)And the sky is grey … (and the sky is grey)I’ve been for a walk … (I’ve been for a walk)On a winter’s day … (on a winter’s day)If I didn’t tell her … (if I didn’t tell her)

I could leave today … (I could leave today)California dreaming … (California dreaming)On such a winter’s day …California dreaming …On such a winter’s day ...California dreaming …On such a winter’s daaaayyyy ….

(As the song finishes, a CU of a canetoad on grass, with Taylor shouting “Fore!” and putting the golf club head down alongside the toad. Before he can complete his swing, the toad jumps away with a croak. We hear a quiet “Shit” from Taylor as the last bit of California Dreaming sounds.

A shortened version of a traditional song heard earlier in the film then runs over the final credits):

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,and never brought to mind?Should auld acquaintance be forgot,In days of auld lang syne?For auld lang syne, my dear,For auld lang syne,We’ll take a cup o' kindness yet,For auld lang syne.Should auld acquaintance be forgot, (the song begins a slow fade out)and never brought to mind?Should auld acquaintance be forgot,In days of old auld lang syne …

Music in the film:

Found music occupies much of the soundtrack. (There is no composer credit, rather Richard Lowenstein acted as music editor and soundtrack producer).

Music also turns up within the film, including but not limited to these examples.

Noah Taylor, who had aspirations in music off-screen, is occasionally seen with a guitar in hand:

And the gang clustered around the television do a kind of karaoke:

The black mass features chanting:

And there’s a kind of mass singalong as the house collapses around the black mass. Tomorrow Belongs to Me turns into Auld Lang Syne as the action unfolds: