9. Wizard of Oz: Original Soundtrack
Last summer we were playing some versions of Dark Side of the Moon that were more like our versions, that we did with my nephew [Star Death and White Dwarves] and Henry Rollins and Peaches. This summer we’re playing another version that has some of the Wizard of Oz themes and ideas running through it, so that’ll be a lot of fun.
It’s just great emotional music. Judy Garland, when they picked her to be the singer, and the embodiment of that longing… she’s so perfect for that Dorothy character. There are bits on the Wizard of Oz soundtrack CD that I have – and it’s an old CD, maybe 15, 20 years old – when you take the movie away and just hear her singing, and there’s a song where she cries. I’ve put it on to a room full of people and they tear up, it’s so real. There’s not many pieces of music that can do that. She’s so perfect, but it’s not just the singing – she’s an actor. She’s on camera at the same time, she’s wearing this ridiculous costume, there’s fake backdrops behind her, there’s a lot of elements that have gone into this thing, and so for her to be so pure, so potent: it’s uncanny. That’s why that movie is so good. There’s a lot of fantastical, ridiculous, musical movies out there that, to me, are nauseating. Wizard of Oz should be one of those – out-dated, overdone, with horrible music – but it rises above what it’s made of. It’s unbelievable.
