Sountrack for sadness

April 5, 2009 7:04 AM

Soundtrack ideas needed.

My uncle is a Vietnam vet, and he's dying of cancer. He mentioned to my mother that he regrets never visiting the Memorial Wall in DC.
I live in Philly, so yesterday my wife and I drove down and took a few hundred photos and video taped a slow walk along the whole length. I've put this together as a slide show and a movie using iDVD. Now I'm looking for accompanying music and can't decide what to use.
I need two songs: one for the video of walking along the wall, which lasts 5:46, and one for the slideshow, which lasts about 2 minutes, although this time is flexible.
I want to avoid classical music, which is kind of a cliche for this sort of thing. I'd like a somber tone, but not too much so, if you know what I mean. Music from the period preferred.

posted by Eddie Mars to media & arts (17 comments total)

Goodnight Saigon?
posted by The White Hat at 7:26 AM on April 5

How about something from a Mychael Danna soundtrack? He uses a lot of natural instruments and organic sounds, The Sweet Hereafter is good one and also the Ice Storm. But, there are a lot more.
posted by hazyspring at 7:42 AM on April 5

The soundtrack from Amelie has a lot of quiet, comtemplative music. Not from the period, though.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 7:44 AM on April 5

Dylan's Cross The Green Mountain, written for the Civil War movie God and Generals, has a slightly martial tone with a pretty but somber melody. Here are the lyrics - only occasionally Civil War-centric, but possibly a little too bleak - and a link to the longer version, which runs 8.14.

All the best to your uncle.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:06 AM on April 5

"Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits and "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley both come to mind, and both are a decent length.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 8:17 AM on April 5

Shelter from the Storm by Bob Dylan

Not so slow, but moving because of the kindness shown.
posted by davidamann at 8:19 AM on April 5

Seconding "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits. Also Barber's "Adagio for Strings" that was used so effectively in Platoon springs to mind, but it certainly falls into the well-known/overused classical category.
posted by Overzealous at 9:09 AM on April 5

I think it's real nice of you to be doing this for your uncle. It's really hard to know what would be appropriate for a project like this without knowing your uncle, but here are some tracks to think about. The Weight -The Band, Ride Me Down Easy- Waylon Jennings, We Shall Overcome - Bruce Springsteen. I hope you can find or think of the right fit for your project.
posted by nola at 9:19 AM on April 5

The music Explosions In the Sky did for the Friday Night Lights soundtrack might work-- it feels to me contemplative without being maudlin. Not from the era, of course.
posted by sharkfu at 10:01 AM on April 5

Sweet idea! I'd have a chat with your uncle or those closer to him about songs he loved from those days; wouldn't take much digging, I guess, to find the right notes for his ears…
posted by dpcoffin at 10:13 AM on April 5

I've an older friend who is much like your uncle, (disabled in a different fashion) and I just called him and asked what a good song would be.

He mentioned "Where Have The Flowers Gone" by Peter Paul and Mary.

He also said to tell you that you are doing a very good thing, and to thank you for this gesture to a brother.

Respect to you, Eddie Mars.
posted by reflecked at 11:43 AM on April 5

I'm so sorry. It's a kindness to him, allowing him to revisit these memories. May he take comfort in your gift.

Not period, but a classic: Johnny Cash, "Oh, Danny Boy." Jane Siberry, "Calling All Angels." A bagpipe rendition of "Amazing Grace."
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:35 PM on April 5

Thirding Dire Straits and seconding Jeff Buckley.

What a wonderful thing for you to do for your uncle. Please let him know that total strangers are thankful for his service.
posted by cooker girl at 1:30 PM on April 5

Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. I ended up using Yann Tiersen – Comptine d'un autre été from the Amelie sountrack for the photo slideshow and Mychael Danna - It Was a Wonderful Time in our Lives from The Sweet Hereafter soundtrack for the video. I spent the day listening to everyone's suggestions and trying out various combinations.

The pictures and video turned out pretty well, I think. I've posted a few photos up to Flikr.

Thank you all for your kind words of support.
posted by Eddie Mars at 6:42 PM on April 5

One last update. My uncle died last night. The end came much more suddenly than we'd expected. The doctors had originally thought he had another two to three months. He was talking to my Dad about going to a baseball game at the end of the month. We were all caught off-guard by how quickly the end came.
I'm glad now that I sent the pictures out so quickly. They reached him a day or two before things started to get really bad. He had a chance to watch it, and hopefully it helped.
posted by Eddie Mars at 3:22 PM on April 12

Eddie Mars: "One last update. My uncle died last night. The end came much more suddenly than we'd expected. "

I'm so sorry for your loss, but I'm glad you were able to send the pictures in time. I'm sure it helped it some way.
posted by sharkfu at 1:42 AM on April 13

.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 8:33 AM on April 16